Ludwig Büchner | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Friedrich Karl Christian Ludwig Büchner (1824-03-29)29 March 1824 |
| Died | 30 April 1899(1899-04-30) (aged 75) Darmstadt, Grand Duchy of Hesse,German Empire |
| Nationality | German |
| Political party | German Free-minded Party |
| Relatives | Georg Büchner (brother) Luise Büchner (sister) |
| Education | |
| Education | University of Giessen University of Strasbourg University of Würzburg University of Vienna |
| Thesis | Beiträge zur Hall'schen Lehre von einem excitomotorischen Nervensystem (Contributions to the Hallerian Theory of an Excitomotor Nervous System) (1848) |
| Philosophical work | |
| Era | 19th-century philosophy |
| Region | Western philosophy |
| School | German materialism[1] |
| Institutions | University of Tübingen |
| Main interests | Philosophy of science |
| Notable ideas | Nature is purely physical |
Friedrich Karl Christian Ludwig Büchner (/ˈbjuːknər/;German:[ˈbyːçnɐ]; 29 March 1824 – 30 April 1899) was a Germanphilosopher,physiologist andphysician who became one of the exponents of 19th-centuryscientific materialism.
Büchner was born atDarmstadt on 29 March 1824. From 1842 to 1848 he studiedphysics,chemistry,botany,mineralogy,philosophy andmedicine at theUniversity of Giessen, where he graduated in 1848 with a dissertation entitledBeiträge zur Hall'schen Lehre von einem excitomotorischen Nervensystem (Contributions to theHallerian Theory of an Excitomotor Nervous System). Afterwards, he continued his studies at theUniversity of Strasbourg, theUniversity of Würzburg (where he studiedpathology with the greatRudolf Virchow) and theUniversity of Vienna. In 1852 he became lecturer inmedicine at theUniversity of Tübingen, where he published his magnum opusKraft und Stoff: Empirisch-naturphilosophische Studien (Force and Matter: Empiricophilosophical Studies, 1855).[2] Büchner was one of the founding members of theFreies Deutsches Hochstift (Free German Foundation).[3]
According toFriedrich Albert Lange (Geschichte des Materialismus, 1866),Kraft und Stoff was imbued with a fanatical enthusiasm for humanity. Büchner sought to demonstrate the indestructibility ofmatter, and the finality of physicalforce. Thescientific materialism of this work, which contemporaries often lumped together with the publications of other 'materialists' likeKarl Vogt andJacob Moleschott,[4] caused so much opposition that he was compelled to give up his post at Tübingen, and he retired toDarmstadt. He practiced as a physician and contributed regularly to pathological, physiological and popular magazines.[5]
He continued his philosophical work in defense of materialism, and publishedNatur und Geist (Nature and Spirit, 1857),Aus Natur und Wissenschaft (From Nature and Science, vol. I., 1862; vol. II., 1884),Der Fortschritt in Natur und Geschichte im Lichte der Darwinschen Theorie (Progress in Nature and History in the Light of theDarwinian Theory, 1884),Tatsachen und Theorien aus dem naturwissenschaftlichen Leben der Gegenwart (Facts and Theories in the Scientific Life of Present, 1887),Fremdes und Eigenes aus dem geistligen Leben der Gegenwart (Strangers and Selves in the Spiritual Life of the Present, 1890),Darwinismus und Socialismus (Darwinism and Socialism, 1894),Im Dienste der Wahrheit (In the Service of Truth, 1899).[5]
Ludwig Büchner's materialism was the founding ground for thefreethinkers' movement in Germany. In 1881 he founded inFrankfurt the "German Freethinkers League" ("Deutsche Freidenkerbund"). Being politically active, Büchner was a member of the second chamber of the Landstände of theGrand Duchy of Hesse as a representative of theGerman Free-minded Party from 1884 to 1890.[6]
He died at Darmstadt on 30 April 1899.[7]
In estimating Büchner's philosophy it must be remembered that he was primarily aphysiologist, not ametaphysician. Matter and force (orenergy) are, he maintained,infinite; theconservation of force follows from theimperishability of matter, the ultimate basis of all science.[5]
Büchner is not always clear in his theory of the relation between matter and force. At one time he refuses to explain it, but generally he assumes that all natural and spiritual forces are indwelling in matter. Just as asteam engine, he says inKraft und Stoff (7th ed., p. 130), producesmotion, so the intricateorganic complex of force-bearing substance in an animal organism produces a total sum of certain effects, which, when bound together in a unity, are called by usmind,soul,thought. Here he postulates force and mind as emanating from original matter, a materialisticmonism. But in other parts of his works he suggests that mind and matter are two different aspects of that which is the basis of all things, a monism which is not necessarily materialistic.[5]
Büchner was much less concerned to establish a scientific metaphysics than to protest against the romanticidealism of his predecessors and thetheologicalinterpretations of the universe.Nature according to him is purely physical; it hasno purpose, no will, no laws imposed by extraneousauthority, nosupernaturalethical sanction.[5]
Büchner endorsedCharles Darwin'stheory of evolution within a decade of its first issuance, writing the bookMan in the Past, Present and Future in 1869 about what he felt were Darwinism's implications. He believed that this included humanity moving into a kinder state of being, where a primitivestruggle for life would no longer apply or at least be replaced with purely intellectual struggles, and war would end. To achieve this, Büchner advocated government social programs which would aid greater equality, including thecollective ownership of land andwomen's rights (however he did not extend this to them receivingsuffrage, deeming that premature at the time).[8]
Büchner, together withEdward Aveling, had attended the congress of the "International Federation of Freethinkers" held in London from 25 to 27 September 1881, the following day they visited Darwin on 28 September. Aveling published a full account of his visit in the National Reformer in 1882.[9]
Ludwig Büchner was born in the family of Ernst Karl Büchner, a senior medical councilor and court doctor in the Grand Duchy of Hesse. Ludwig was the younger brother ofGeorg Büchner, a famous revolutionaryplaywright, andLuise Büchner, a women's rights advocate; and the uncle ofErnst Büchner, inventor of theBüchner flask.[10]
Attribution
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Büchner, Friedrich Karl Christian Ludwig".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 4 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 719.