Ernst Troeltsch

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ernst Troeltsch

Ernst Peter Wilhelm Troeltsch (born February 17, 1865 in Haunstetten , † February 1, 1923 in Berlin ) was a German Protestant theologian , cultural philosopher and liberal politician .

Life

Troeltsch was born on February 17, 1865 as the eldest son of a family of doctors in Haunstetten - today a district of Augsburg . He attended the Augsburg high school near St. Anna , where he stood out as the best in his class through very good academic performance. He studied in Augsburg , Erlangen , Berlin and Göttingen . It was there in 1891 that he worked as a private lecturer. In Erlangen he joined the student association Uttenruthia in the winter semester of 1884/85 , which belonged to the umbrella organization Schwarzburgbund (SB) .

In 1892 Troeltsch became a full professor for systematic theology in Bonn . In 1894 he moved to Heidelberg University in the same position . Josef Hromádka was one of his students in Heidelberg . From 1909 to 1914 he was a member of the First Chamber of the Baden Estates Assembly . In 1912 he was appointed a corresponding member of the Prussian Academy of Sciences . During the Heidelberg years he had a close working group with Max Weber . From 1915 Troeltsch held a professorship for religious, social and historical philosophy and Christian religious history at the Philosophical Faculty of the University of Berlin .

Grave in the Invalidenfriedhof in Berlin; Restitution stone from 1991

During the First World War , Troeltsch was initially one of the advocates of the ideas of 1914 . In 1917 Troeltsch was instrumental in founding the People's League for Freedom and Fatherland , which was supposed to counterbalance the extremist German Fatherland Party . From 1919 to 1921 he was a member of the Prussian Constitutional Assembly for the DDP and at the same time, alongside Rudolf Wildermann, Undersecretary of State and, from July 1, 1920, Parliamentary State Secretary in the Prussian Ministry of Science, Art and Education . Troeltsch was buried in the Invalidenfriedhof (field B) in Berlin.

theology

Troeltsch is considered the systematist of the school of religious history . In this context, his work on the nature and validity of Christianity, on the relationship between historicism and theology and between state and church are significant . A treatise published in 1902 (again in 1912) under the title The Absolutity of Christianity and the History of Religions had a great impact . Troeltsch's concern was the future of the European culture, which was decisively shaped by Christianity, and of modernity , which he believed were dependent on one another. His concern was to preserve the substance of Christianity, which he wanted to reconcile with the intellectual form of modernity.

In his essay Christianity and the History of Religions from 1897 Troeltsch reacts on the one hand to the questioning of Christian theology through materialism and natural science. In this regard, he states that “the spirit is an independent force that cannot be derived from nature,” from which history arises “in interaction with the demands of sensual reality”. Troeltsch thus joins the historiography of development and the history of ideas . Since the mind is categorically differentiated from nature as an independently effective force, there would be no contradiction between science and religion.

On the other hand, Troeltsch responds to the challenges that the global history of religion poses for Christianity. Through the discovery and description of other religions, especially the Indian religion, according to Troeltsch, the impression arises that religions are "only waves that roar up and down [...], endlessly different and without endurance." give all religions a “core”, “an experience that cannot be further analyzed”. This religious experience arises on the one hand through external stimuli (in nature and history), on the other hand through internal stimuli (in the conscience and heart). The central idea of ​​all religions emerges in their development and is not to be found in an “abstraction of religion”, but only in a “particularly strong and purely distinct concrete religiosity”. Religious institutions like the church play no role for Troeltsch, who tries to overcome denominational Christianity. On the contrary: In all religions a "tendency towards purely internal general validity", towards "spiritualization, internalization, moralization and individualization and [...] the development of an ever deeper belief in redemption" can be observed. However, the realization of these basic ideas takes place in the different religions at different levels. In Christianity alone, the detachment from nature towards spiritualization, the detachment of everything particular towards purely internal general validity "has become historical power".

According to Michael Bergunder , Troeltsch's essay can be classified in global history in the series of reactions with which representatives of the world religions Buddhism, (Protestant) Christianity, Hinduism and Islam responded to the challenges of scientific materialism and the general history of religion from the middle of the 19th century - mostly by Religion is generally defined by criteria of inwardness and universality and one's own tradition is presented to others as a complete fulfillment of these criteria.

Troeltsch understood religion as "an inner contact with the deity". With this definition he was able to postulate Christianity as the highest religion, since "among all religions it alone [completes] the tendency towards salvation, just as in connection with it alone it has accomplished the tendency towards purely inward general validity."

Troeltsch represented the consistent methodical separation of exegesis and systematic theology, which he justified with different rationality standards in both areas. He calls for a theology of the history of religion, recognizing the consequences of historical methods.

effect

The connection with Troeltsch was of particular importance for the development of Protestant theology in the late 20th century. His concept of a self-historicizing theology forms the starting point for different models to describe the relationship between Christianity and modernity. Absolutist standpoints based on an authoritarian concept of revelation , as they were represented in Germany long after 1945 in the late effects of dialectical and Lutheran theology ( Paul Althaus , Werner Elert and others), cannot be formulated from Troeltsch's Christianity theory. Instead, it is about determining the role of Christian religiosity in the diversity of religious as well as non-religious and quasi-religious world views per se. But Troeltsch also made important contributions to the theological conception of faith and piety , to the relationship between individual and communal religiosity ( church ) and the peculiarity of theological reflection itself.

The Ernst Troeltsch Society is dedicated to the scientific maintenance of Troeltsch's work . Since 1995, the University of Munich and the Bavarian Academy of Sciences , of which he has been a corresponding member since 1914, have been working on a critical complete edition of his works. The edition was partially funded by the German Research Foundation and also financed by the federal and state governments through the academy program.

Others

In Berlin there is an Ernst Troeltsch honorary professorship at the Humboldt University.

Works

Single issues
  • The importance of Protestantism for the creation of the modern world. Schutterwald / Baden 1997, ISBN 3-928640-28-3 .
  • Atheism, theology and Christianity. Three essays. Schutterwald / Baden 2000, ISBN 3-928640-57-7 .
  • Luther and the modern world. Schutterwald / Baden 2000, ISBN 3-928640-63-1 .
  • Protestant Christianity and the Church in Modern Times. Teubner, Berlin 1906.
  • My books. In: The German Philosophy of the Present. Vol. 2 (1921), pp. 161-173.
  • Reason and Revelation in Johann Gerhard and Melanchthon. Huth, Göttingen 1891.
  • The miscarriage of a republic. Spektator in Berlin 1918 to 1922 , compiled and provided with an afterword by Johann Hinrich Claussen , Eichborn, Frankfurt am Main 1994 (= The Other Library ), ISBN 978-3-8218-4109-0 .
Work editions
  1. The social teachings of the Christian churches and groups. ISBN 3-511-06211-X .
  2. On the religious situation. Philosophy of Religion and Ethics. ISBN 3-511-06212-8 .
  3. Historicism and its problems. ISBN 3-511-06213-6 .
  4. Essays on intellectual history and sociology of religion. ISBN 3-511-06214-4 .

literature

Essays
Monographs
  • Steffen Bruendel : Volksgemeinschaft or Volksstaat. The "Ideas of 1914" and the reorganization of Germany in the First World War. Akademie Verlag, Berlin 2003, ISBN 3-05-003745-8 .
  • Tae-Kwan Choi: The importance of the question of the absoluteness of Christianity in Ernst Troeltsch's view of Christianity's claim to truth in religious pluralism (= Forum Religionsphilosophie. Vol. 21). Lit, Münster 2010, ISBN 978-3-643-10641-4 .
  • Hans-Georg Drescher: Ernst Troeltsch. Life and work. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1991, ISBN 3-525-55418-4 .
  • Martin Harant: Religion, Culture, Theology. A study of their relationship determination in the works of Ernst Troeltsch and Paul Tillich in comparison. Lang, Frankfurt am Main 2009, ISBN 978-3-631-59284-7 (also: Dissertation, University of Marburg, 2008).
  • Friedrich Wilhelm Graf (Ed.): “Overcoming history through history”. Ernst Troeltsch in Berlin (= Troeltsch studies. NF, vol. 1). Gütersloher Verlagshaus, Gütersloh 2006, ISBN 3-579-05429-5 .
  • Peter Hoeres : The war of the philosophers. German and British philosophy in the First World War. Schöningh, Paderborn etc. 2004, ISBN 3-506-71731-6 .
  • Walther Köhler : Ernst Troeltsch. Tuebingen 1941.
  • Hartmut Kreß (ed.): Theological faculties at state universities in the perspective of Ernst Troeltsch, Adolf von Harnack and Hans von Schubert (= Theological Study Texts. Vol. 16). Spenner, Waltrop 2004, ISBN 3-933688-98-1 .
  • Shinichi Sato: The historical perspectives of Ernst Troeltsch (= writings of the Hans Ehrenberg Society. Vol. 13). Spenner, Waltrop 2007, ISBN 978-3-89991-068-1 .
  • Wolfgang Schluchter , Friedrich Wilhelm Graf (ed.): Ascetic Protestantism and the "spirit" of modern capitalism. Max Weber and Ernst Troeltsch. Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen 2005, ISBN 3-16-148546-7 .

Web links

Commons : Ernst Troeltsch  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The great evangelical thought leader . In: Augsburger Allgemeine , accessed on June 11, 2019.
  2. ^ Dorothea Neumärker: Josef L. Hromádka. Theology and Politics in the Context of Current Events . Chr. Kaiser Verlag, Munich 1974, ISBN 3-459-00907-1 , p. 38.
  3. ^ Digital collection of Baden state parliament protocols at the Badische Landesbibliothek. List of members of both chambers .
  4. ↑ Gerhard Schulze (edit.): The protocols of the Prussian State Ministry 1817–1934 / 38. Volume 11 / I: November 14, 1918 to March 31, 1925. (= Acta Borussica, New Series . Ed. By the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences), Hildesheim 2004, p. 184, document no. 136/1 ( PDF ; 2.6 MB ).
  5. ^ Ernst Troeltsch: Christianity and the history of religion . In: Ernst Troeltsch (Ed.): Collected writings . On the religious situation, philosophy of religion and ethics, No. 2 . Mohr, Tübingen 1913, ISBN 3-511-06212-8 , pp. 328-363, here: p. 333 .
  6. ^ Troeltsch: Christianity and the history of religion . Tübingen 1913, p. 335 .
  7. ^ Ernst Troeltsch: Christianity and the history of religion . Tübingen 1913, p. 339 .
  8. ^ Ernst Troeltsch: Christianity and the history of religion . Tübingen 1913, p. 346 .
  9. ^ Ernst Troeltsch: Christianity and the history of religion . Tübingen 1913, p. 341 .
  10. ^ Ernst Troeltsch: Christianity and the history of religion . Tübingen 1913, p. 355 .
  11. ^ Ernst Troeltsch: Christianity and the history of religion . Tübingen 1913, p. 353 .
  12. ^ Ernst Troeltsch: Christianity and the history of religion . Tübingen 1913, p. 357; see. 351; 355-358 .
  13. ↑ Michael Bergunder : "Religion" and "Science" within a Global Religious History . In: Aries - Journal for the study of Western Esotericism . No. 16 , 2016, p. 86–141, here: p. 86 f .; 95 f .; 100 .
  14. ↑ Ernst Troeltsch: Christentum und Religionsgeschichte , in: ders .: GS 2, pp. 328–363, here p. 343.
  15. ^ Ernst Troeltsch: Christentum und Religionsgeschichte , in: ders .: GS 2, p. 328–363, here: p. 355.
  16. ↑ Ernst Troeltsch: About historical and dogmatic method in theology , p. 738.
  17. ↑ See The work on the Ernst Troeltsch Complete Edition, website of the Faculty of Protestant Theology ( Memento from September 24, 2015 in the Internet Archive ), accessed June 23, 2015.
  18. ↑ See www.akademienunion.de, search for Troeltsch .
  19. ↑ See also the normative data of the complete edition in the DNB at http://d-nb.info/953920054 .
  20. ↑ Moritz Wiederaenders: main level - Ernst Troeltsch-honorary professorship. Retrieved May 9, 2018 .
personal data
SURNAME Troeltsch, Ernst
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Troeltsch, Ernst Peter Wilhelm (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German Protestant theologian, cultural philosopher and liberal politician
DATE OF BIRTH February 17, 1865
PLACE OF BIRTH Haunstetten
DATE OF DEATH February 1, 1923
Place of death Berlin