Karl Christian Friedrich Krause | |
|---|---|
 Karl Christian Friedrich Krause, lithograph by Heinrich Dragendorff, published inDie reine d.i. allgemeine Lebenlehre und Philosophie der Geschichte (Göttingen, 1843) | |
| Born | 6 May 1781 |
| Died | 27 September 1832 (1832-09-28) (aged 51) |
| Education | |
| Education | University of Jena (PhD, 1801) |
| Philosophical work | |
| Era | 19th-century philosophy |
| Region | Western philosophy |
| School | German idealism Krausism Panentheism |
| Main interests | Mysticism |
| Notable ideas | Panentheism Identitätsphilosophie [de] |
Karl Christian Friedrich Krause (German:[ˈkʁaʊzə]; 6 May 1781 – 27 September 1832) was a Germanphilosopher whose doctrines became known asKrausism. Krausism, when considered in its totality as a complete, stand-alone philosophical system, had only a small following in Germany, France, and Belgium, in contradistinction to certain other philosophical systems (such as Hegelianism) that had a much larger following in Europe at that time. However, Krausism became very popular and influential inRestoration Spain not as a complete, comprehensive philosophical systemper se, but as a broad cultural movement. In Spain, Krausism was known as "Krausismo", and Krausists were known as "Krausistas". Outside of Spain, the Spanish Krausist cultural movement was referred to as Spanish Krausism.
Krause was born in Eisenberg, Thuringia, in the duchy of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, Germany. His parents were Johann Friedrich Gotthard Krause (1 January 1747 - 17 February 1825) and Christiana Friederica Böhme (1755 – 21 December 1784). Karl's father Johann was a teacher at the lyceum in Eisenberg, and in 1795 became a Lutheran pastor and hymn collector in Nobitz.
Educated at first in Eisenberg, in 1797 Karl enrolled in the nearbyUniversity of Jena, where he studiedphilosophy underF. W. J. von Schelling,[1]J. G. Fichte,[2] C. G. Schütz,[3] H. K. A. Eichstädt,[4] and A. W. von Schlegel.[5] He also attended lectures by theologiansJohann Jakob Griesbach (1745-1812),Heinrich Eberhard Gottlob Paulus (1761-1851),Karl David Ilgen (1763-1834), and Johann Adolf Jacobi (1769-1847), and lectures by professors in various departments of science and mathematics, including A. J. G. C. Batsch, F. F. Bretschneider, J. F. A. Göttling, J. C. F. Graumüller, J. G. Lenz, J. F. C. von Loder, K. D. M. Stahl, L. J. D. Suckow, and J. H. Voigt. Krause received the degree ofDoctor of Philosophy from the University of Jena on 6 October 1801, and became aPrivatdozent in 1802.
With characteristic imprudence, on 19 July 1802 Krause married Sophie Amalie Concordia Fuchs (born 1780), withoutdowry. Amalie was a daughter of Augustin Christian Fuchs (1748-1812) and Christiane Friederike Herrmann. Karl and Amalie had 14 children in all, 12 of whom survived their parents. The children included: Sophie (Sophia) Christiane Friederike Krause[6] (1803 - December 1873), Karl Erasmus Friedrich Krause (20 September 1805 - 29 November 1861), August Julius Gotthard Krause (b. 1809), Maria Sidonia (Sidonie) Krause[7] (14 August 1810 - 26 August 1875), Otto Krause (1812-1872), Henriette Auguste Karoline Emma Krause (b. 1814), Heinrich Karl Gottlieb Krause (b. 1817), Wilhelm August Ernst Heinrich Krause, Friedrich, Ludwig, Hugo, and Maria Krause (b. 1823).
In 1804, lack of pupils compelled Krause to move toRudolstadt, and later toDresden, where he gave lessons inmusic. In 1805 his ideal of auniversal world-society led him to join theFreemasons, whose principles seemed to tend in the direction he desired. InDresden he published two books on Freemasonry,Höhere Vergeistigung der echt überlieferten Grundsymbole der Freimaurerei: in zwölf Logenvorträgen (1811) andDie drei ältesten Kunsterkunden der Freimaurerbrüderschaft (1819), but his opinions attracted opposition from the Masons.[8]
Krause lived for a time inBerlin and became aprivatdozent there, but was unable to obtain aprofessorship. He, therefore, proceeded toDresden (where he taughtArthur Schopenhauer), and afterwards toMunich, where he died ofapoplexy at the very moment when the influence ofFranz von Baader had at last obtained a position for him.[8]
Krause is buried in theAlter Südfriedhof (Old South Cemetery) (aka the Alter Südlicher Friedhof) in Munich, Germany.
Krause's philosophy, as a whole, is an example of what historians of philosophy refer to asIdentitätsphilosophie [de] (philosophy of identity).[9] AnIdentitätsphilosophie is a philosophical system that posits the fundamental identity of spirit and nature. In Krause's philosophical system, the parts of the system which, technically, constitute its "panentheism", are only parts of a much broader whole. Therefore, although Krause's philosophy is accurately described as being "panentheistic", Krausism as a whole is better categorized as anIdentitätsphilosophie which features panentheism as one of its primary fundamental components.
Krause endeavoured to reconcile the ideas of aGod known byfaith orconscience and the world as known tosense. According to Krause, God - intuitively known by conscience - is not apersonality (which implies limitations), but anall-inclusiveessence (Wesen), which contains theuniverse within itself.[8] Krause used the termpanentheism (Panentheismus in German) in an attempt to accurately describe and encapsulate - in a single technical term - diverse aspects of his philosophical system which were cosmo-theological (simultaneously cosmological and theological) in nature. When considered from a theological perspective, panentheism can be viewed, broadly, as a synthesis of various elements derived from bothmonotheism andpantheism.
Historians of philosophy usually give Krause sole credit for coining the term "panentheism" in 1828. However, according to evidence provided by Philip Clayton,[10] the German idealist philosopherFriedrich Wilhelm Joseph von Schelling (1775-1854) had already used this term (albeit in a slightly different form - in the form of the phrase "pan + en + theism"), and also had discussed numerous concepts and issues related to it, in hisPhilosophische Untersuchungen über das Wesen der menschlichen Freiheit und die damit zusammenhängenden Gegenstände (1809) (Philosophical Investigations into the Essence of Human Freedom and Matters Connected Therewith).[11]
Additionally, Krause and Schelling scholars now recognize that Krause's philosophy, as a whole, reflects, and partially incorporates, many of the themes, concepts and insights present in Schelling'sNaturphilosophie (Philosophy of Nature), which itself is a form of panentheism. It now appears that Schelling's work may have provided much more of the framework of Krausean panentheism than historians of philosophy in the past had realized. Based on Clayton's evidence, it is quite possible that Krause, who was well-acquainted with Schelling and his works, adopted at least some of the initial basic concepts of his own panentheistic system from various works of Schelling (especially from Schelling'sPhilosophical Investigations into the Essence of Human Freedom) and then gradually developed those basic concepts into his own very elaborate version of panentheism.
Looking forward, it might be more accurate for historians of philosophy to now say that Schelling in 1809 provided not only the terminological framework of Krausean panentheism but also some of thebasic concepts (at least), of what was to become Krausean panentheism. Krause not only adopted and greatly expanded upon those concepts and insights from Schelling but also adopted Schelling's phrase "pan + en + theism". In 1828, he merely reduced Schelling's phrase into a more concise and compact form (as the single term "panentheism") in an attempt to succinctly and adequately describe, in a single term, the cosmotheological aspects of his own philosophical system.
In his published works, Krause first used the term "panentheism" (in its German-language form "Panentheismus") inVorlesungen über das System der Philosophie (Göttingen: 1828).[12] The term "Panentheismus" next appears in hisVorlesungen über die Grundwahrheiten der Wissenschaft, zugleich in ihrer Beziehung zu dem Leben. Nebst einer kurzen Darstellung und Würdigung der bisherigen Systeme der Philosophie, vornehmlich der neusten von Kant, Fichte, Schelling und Hegel, und der Lehre Jacobi's. (Göttingen: 1829).[13]
Krause argued that the world itself and mankind, its highest component, constitute anorganism (Gliedbau), and the universe is therefore a divine organism (Wesengliedbau). The process of development is the formation of higher unities, and the last stage is the identification of the world with God. The form which this development takes, according to Krause, is Right or the Perfect Law.[8]
Right is not the sum of theconditions of externalliberty but of absolute liberty, and embraces all theexistence ofnature,reason andhumanity. It is the mode, orrationale, of allprogress from the lower to the highest unity or identification. By its operation, the reality of nature and reason rises into the reality of humanity. God is the reality whichtranscends and includes both nature and humanity. Right is, therefore, at once the dynamic and the safeguard of progress.[8]
Ideal society results from the widening of the organic operation of thisprinciple from the individual man to small groups of men, and finally to mankind as a whole. The differences disappear as theinherent identity of structurepredominates in an ever-increasing degree, and in thefinal unity Man is merged in God. Krause's theory of the world and of humanity is therefore universal and idealistic.[8]
Krause was an advocate ofanimal rights and has been cited as the first philosopher to argue for animal rights in the context of aphilosophy of law. In his bookDas System der Rechtsphilosophie (published posthumously in 1874), he argued that non-human animals should hold a right not to be subjected to pain as well as a right to general physical well-being.[14] Krause rejected Fichte'santhropocentricpremisses. He held the view that animals are persons whose rights must be protected by law.[15]
The comparatively small area of Krause's influence was due partly to him being overshadowed by Schelling and Hegel, and partly to two difficulties present in his written works. The spirit of his thought ismystical and by no means easy to follow, and this problem is accentuated, even for German readers, by his use of artificial and/or invented terminology. He makes use of Germanized foreign terms which were frequently unintelligible.[8]
His principal works are (beside those quoted above):Entwurf des Systems der Philosophie (1804),System der Sittenlehre (1810), andDas Urbild der Menschheit (1811).
Johann Gottlieb Fichte'sscience of knowledge (Wissenschaftslehre) morphs intoGrundwissenschaft in Krause; the term is later taken up byJohannes Rehmke.[16]
At his death Krause left behind a mass of unpublished notes, some of which have been collected and published by his disciples K. D. A. Röder,[17] J. H. Ahrens,[18] F. W. T. Schliephake,[19] H. K. von Leonhardi[20] (Krause's son-in-law), Guillaume Tiberghien,[21] and others.[8]
Krausism became particularly influential in Spain in the 19th century, where Krause's ideas were introduced and promoted by Julián Sanz del Río[22] (1814-1869), an academic based in Madrid. Krause's philosophy flourished in Spain (where it was known as "Krausismo") because it contains elements which were very appealing - at the time - to a diverse class of people. Krausism in Spain was popular and successful, more as a broad cultural movement rather than as a specialised form of cosmo-theology. As a cultural movement, it emphasisedscientific rationalism, combined with Christian spirituality, a liberal commitment to individual freedom, and opposition to privilege and arbitrary power.[23] Spanish intellectuals influenced by Krause includeFrancisco Giner de los Ríos (1839-1915) andGumersindo de Azcárate (1840-1917). In addition, Krause's influence extended to Latin America, where his work made an impact onHipólito Yrigoyen (1852-1933),José Batlle y Ordóñez (1856-1929) andJuan José Arévalo (1904-1990).[24]Richard Gott has argued that Krause influencedJosé Martí (1853-1895),Fidel Castro (1926-2016) (through Martí and other Cuban thinkers), andChe Guevara (1928-1967) (through the influence of Yrigoyen).[25]
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Krause, Karl Christian Friedrich".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 15 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 924. This article in turn cites:
