Eduard Zeller

Eduard Gottlob Zeller(German:[ˈtsɛlɐ];22 January 1814,Kleinbottwar– 19 March 1908,Stuttgart) was aGerman philosopherandProtestant theologianof theTübingen School of theology.He was well known for his writings onAncient Greek philosophy,especiallyPre-Socratic Philosophy,^[1]^[2]and most of all for his celebrated, multi-volume historical treatiseThe Philosophy of Greeks in their Historical Development(1844–52).^[3]Zeller was also a central figure in the revival ofneo-Kantianism.^[4]

Life

Eduard Zeller was born at Kleinbottwar inWürttemberg,the son of a government official. He was educated first at theEvangelical Seminaries of Maulbronn and Blaubeurenstarting in 1831, and later at theUniversity of Tübingen(theTübinger Stift), then much under the influence ofHegel.^[5]^[6]He received his doctorate in 1836 with a thesis onPlato'sLaws.In 1840 he wasPrivatdozentoftheologyat Tübingen, in 1847 professor of theology atBerne,and in 1849 professor of theology atMarburg,where he soon shifted to the philosophy faculty as the result of disputes with the Clerical party. He became professor of philosophy at theUniversity of Heidelbergin 1862, moved to Berlin in 1872, and retired around 1895. He remained best known for hisThe Philosophy of Greeks in their Historical Development(1844–52). He continued to expand and improve this work to reflect new research, and the last edition appeared in 1902. It was translated into most European languages and became the standard textbook on Greek philosophy.^[5]

Zeller also published many works on theology and three volumes of philosophical essays. He was also one of the founders of theTheologische Jahrbücher(Theological Yearbooks), a periodical which became well known as the exponent of thehistorical methodofDavid StraussandChristian Baur.He wrote much on the debate about whether theology was a kind of science (Wissenschaft).^[7]Like most of his contemporaries, includingFriedrich Theodor Vischer,he began withHegelianism,but subsequently developed a system of his own. He felt the necessity of going back toKantand critically reconsidering theepistemologicalproblems which, he believed, Kant had only partially resolved.^[4]^[5]

Philosophical work

Nonetheless, his accomplishments in the history of philosophy were far more influential than his contributions as an original thinker. Zeller's conception of the history of Greek thought was influenced by thedialecticalphilosophy of Hegel. Some critics maintain that Zeller was not alive enough to cultural context and to theidiosyncrasiesof individual thinkers.^[5]Some hold that he laid too much stress upon Hegel's notion of "concept",and relied too much on theHegelian antithesisofsubjectandobject,though his history ofGreek philosophywas nonetheless influential and highly regarded. He received the highest recognition, not only from philosophers and learned societies all over the world, but also from theGerman emperorand German people. In 1894 theEmperor Wilhelm IImade him a "Wirklicher Geheimrat"with the title of"Excellenz,"and his bust, along with that ofHelmholtz,was set up at theBrandenburg Gatenear the statues erected to the Emperor and Empress Frederick.^[5]

ThePhilosophie der Griechenhas been translated into English by S. F. Alleyne (2 vols, 1881) in sections: S. F. Alleyne,History of Greek Philosophy to the time of Socrates(1881)Volume 1andVolume 2;O. J. Reichel,Socrates and the Socratic Schools(1868; 2nd ed. 1877; 3rd ed. 1885); S. F. Alleyne and A. Goodwin,Plato and the Older Academy(1876); Benjamin Francis Conn Costelloe and J. H. Muirhead,Aristotle and the Earlier Peripatetics(1897)Volume 1andVolume 2;O. J. Reichel,Stoics, Epicureans and Sceptics(1870 and 1880); S. F. Alleyne,History of Eclecticism in Greek Philosophy(1883).^[5]

Zeller was also, in hisPhilosophie der Griechen,one of the first to use the word 'Superhuman' (übermensch), later central inNietzscheand the propaganda of theNazi Party,in adjectival form as a technical term in philosophy. He said "... thus the happiness in her can be designated superhuman (übermenschliche) while in contrast the happiness flowing from ethical virtues is merely a characteristic human good.'^[8]

Works

ThePhilosophieappeared in an abbreviated form asGrundriss der Geschichte der Griechischen Philosophie(1883; 5th ed. 1898); English transl. by Alleyne and Evelyn Abbott (1886), under the title,Outlines of the History of Greek Philosophy.

Among his other works are:

Platonische Studien(1839)
Die Apostelgeschichte kritisch untersucht(1854; English translation J Dare, 1875–76:Volume 1andVolume 2)
Entwickelung des Monotheismus bei den Griechen(1862)
Strauss und Renan(1864); (English translation1866)
Geschichte der christlichen Kirche(1898)
Geschichte der deutschen Philosophie seit Leibniz(1873, ed. 1875)
Staat und Kirche(1873)
Strauss in seinen Leben und Schriften1874; (English translation1874)
Über Bedeutung und Aufgabe der Erkenntnisstheorie(1862)
Über teleologische und mechanische Naturerklärung(1876)
Vorträge und Abhandlungen(1865–84)
Religion und Philosophie bei den Römern(1866, ed. 1871)
Philosophische Aufsätze(1887).

References

^Simon Goldhill(2006-09-28).Rethinking Revolutions Through Ancient Greece.Cambridge University Press. p. 221.ISBN 978-0-521-86212-7.
^John Palmer (2009-10-29).Parmenides and Presocratic Philosophy.OUP Oxford. p. 23.ISBN 978-0-19-160999-2.
^Die Philosophie der Griechen in ihrer geschichtlichen Entwicklung
^^a ^bFrederick C. Beiser (2014-11-27).The Genesis of Neo-Kantianism, 1796–1880.OUP Oxford. p. 225.ISBN 978-0-19-103099-4.
^^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^fChisholm 1911.
^Patricia Curd (2008-10-27).The Oxford Handbook of Presocratic Philosophy.Oxford University Press, USA. p. 14.ISBN 978-0-19-514687-5.
^Johannes Zachhuber (2013).Theology as Science in Nineteenth Century Germany: From F. C. Baur to Ernst Troeltsch.Oxford University Press. pp. 96–123.ISBN 978-0-19-964191-8.
^"...so kann die Glückseligkeit, welche in ihr besteht, auch als eineübermenschliche,die Glückseligkeit der ethischen Tugend dagegen als das eigenthümlich menschliche Gut bezeichnet werden."

This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Chisholm, Hugh,ed. (1911). "Zeller, Eduard".Encyclopædia Britannica.Vol. 28 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 966.

External links

Media related toEduard Zellerat Wikimedia Commons
Zeller's works on Archive.org

[1] Simon Goldhill(2006-09-28).Rethinking Revolutions Through Ancient Greece.Cambridge University Press. p. 221.ISBN 978-0-521-86212-7.

[2] John Palmer (2009-10-29).Parmenides and Presocratic Philosophy.OUP Oxford. p. 23.ISBN 978-0-19-160999-2.

[3] Die Philosophie der Griechen in ihrer geschichtlichen Entwicklung

[kant-4] Frederick C. Beiser (2014-11-27).The Genesis of Neo-Kantianism, 1796–1880.OUP Oxford. p. 225.ISBN 978-0-19-103099-4.

[FOOTNOTEChisholm1911-5] Chisholm 1911.

[6] Patricia Curd (2008-10-27).The Oxford Handbook of Presocratic Philosophy.Oxford University Press, USA. p. 14.ISBN 978-0-19-514687-5.

[7] Johannes Zachhuber (2013).Theology as Science in Nineteenth Century Germany: From F. C. Baur to Ernst Troeltsch.Oxford University Press. pp. 96–123.ISBN 978-0-19-964191-8.

[8] "...so kann die Glückseligkeit, welche in ihr besteht, auch als eineübermenschliche,die Glückseligkeit der ethischen Tugend dagegen als das eigenthümlich menschliche Gut bezeichnet werden."

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Life

Philosophical work

Works

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