Felix Krueger

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Felix Krueger (born August 10, 1874 in Posen , † February 25, 1948 in Basel ) was a German psychologist and philosopher and professor at the University of Leipzig . He was also the best-known representative of the Leipzig holistic psychology.

Life

Krueger, the son of a factory owner, passed his Abitur at the Friedrich-Wilhelms-Gymnasium in Posen. From 1893 to 1899 he studied philosophy, economics, physics and history in Strasbourg , Munich and Berlin. During his studies he became a member of the Germania Berlin choir in 1893 . In 1897 he completed his doctorate in philosophy at the University of Munich with the topic: The concept of the absolutely valuable as a basic concept of moral philosophy . From 1901 to 1902 he was an assistant at the Kiel Physiological Institute and from 1902 to 1906 assistant to Wilhelm Wundt in Leipzig. In 1903 he completed his habilitation in philosophy at the University of Leipzig with the topic: Consciousness of Consonance. A psychological analysis . With his music psychology study, he became more widely known scientifically.

From 1903 to 1906 Krueger was private lecturer in philosophy at the Philosophical Faculty of the University of Leipzig, from 1906 to 1908 professor at the University of Buenos Aires , from where he undertook extensive journeys by boat and on horseback in South America, from 1909 to 1910 professor of philosophy at the Philosophical Faculty at the University of Leipzig and from 1910 to 1917 professor at the University of Halle . In 1912/13 Krueger taught for a semester on the Kaiser Wilhelm Professorship at Columbia University New York. From August 1914 to 1917 he did voluntary military service as a lieutenant in the Prussian field artillery regiment 75 and in the 54th field artillery regiment. a. in Verdun , Galicia and Romania . In 1917 Krueger succeeded Wilhelm Wundt at the world-famous Institute for Experimental Psychology in Leipzig. From 1917 to 1938 he worked as a professor of philosophy and psychology at the Philosophical Faculty of the University of Leipzig and was dean of the philological and historical department in 1925/26. In 1928 he received from the Technical University of Dresden the honorary doctorate . Krueger was a member of the Saxon Academy of Sciences in Leipzig and chairman of the German Philosophical Society since 1927. In 1929 he was one of the founding members of Alfred Rosenberg's " Kampfbund für deutsche Kultur ". In the election year 1932 he called in the Völkischer Beobachter to elect the NSDAP.

In 1932 he was elected a member of the Leopoldina . From 1934 to 1936 he was President of the German Society for Psychology .

On November 11, 1933, the German nationalist Krueger propagated the professors' commitment to Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist state at German universities and colleges , a call for the “ Reichstag election ”. From April 1935 to 1936 he was rector of the University of Leipzig. Although spiritually close to National Socialism , he did not join the NSDAP . In the summer semester of 1936, Krueger was banned from teaching at the instigation of the Leipzig student body . His resignation from the office of rector was forced because he had called the Dutch philosopher Baruch de Spinoza a "noble Jew" in lectures , as did Hertz, Mendelssohn and P. Heyse. In 1937 Krueger was classified as a " mixed race " by the Reich Office for Family Research because of a supposedly Jewish grandparent . Krueger obtained a review and in 1940 was able to have the allegations withdrawn, so that his deletion from the university's personnel directory was reversed. In 1938 he retired early, officially at his own request on the grounds of health problems, but practically due to massive political pressure. He first lived in Potsdam , and from spring 1945 in Switzerland.

Work and meaning

Krueger was a major exponent of holistic and structural psychology ( Leipzig School ). The draft of his scientific concept was already in 1915 in the text About Developmental Psychology. To look up their factual and historical necessity . The holistic psychology of Krueger differs from other psychological directions such as the critical personalism of William Stern ("No figure without a designer"). His theory of feeling was hardly based on experiments but rather on empathy. He was very interested in the social and scientific upgrading of the concept of the soul and was influenced by the philosophy of life . The central working concept of this school was that of wholeness , which was practically the basis for most research subjects. Krueger explains in 1926: “ Wholeness is finally the highest principle of all development. “In a contribution to the 50th anniversary of the Institute for Experimental Psychology in Leipzig in 1925, Hans Volkelt , head of the Department of Developmental Psychology, describes its involvement as follows:

“The significant research direction of the institute is holistic in two senses. First, wholeness is recognized here as the supreme and at the same time the innermost design principle of all life in general and all psychic life in particular. ... In addition, there is another aspect of research in Leipzig, which is closely related to what has just been said: all psychological description, dissection and explanation of such a primordial whole does not occur by tracing back to material or partial mental elements, but by abstracting subordinate complex qualities the original whole. "

The ideological and political use of the concept of wholeness was clearly promoted by Krueger, so that Leipzig holistic psychology is now seen as a pillar of the intellectual foundation of National Socialism. In his opening speech at the XIII. Congress of the German Society for Psychology in 1933 emphasized Wilhelm Hartnacke , the Saxon Minister for National Education, unequivocally:

“Science is included in the wholeness of our being, and at no point must it come into conflict with the welfare of the holistic state, let alone be hostile. Science that opposes the interests of the holistic state is to be rejected as anti-popular. "

Regardless of a clear closeness to the system, Krueger and his staff adhered to limits to National Socialism for primarily ethical reasons, which Geuter explicitly acknowledges:

“Krueger also largely stayed away from anti-Semitism and racism. Holistic psychology as a conceptual system was not a National Socialist theory. It did not know the over- or under-value of races, it did not propagate the war to solve the race problem, it was written for the seclusion of the institutes and not for the marches on the street. "

Today, the works of Felix Krueger experience a hesitant reassessment in connection with psychotherapeutic practice, for a long time after 1945 without any significant echo in psychology. In particular, his comments on the theory of feeling and his emphasis on holism are in this context quite attractive concepts of healing work on and with people.

In addition, Krueger shows himself in his work not only as a theoretician of wholeness and feelings, but sometimes reveals a surprising breadth of scientific interests. So refers Otto Klemm (1930) on early studies from the years 1899-1901, which were broken off and remained unpublished. Krueger had carried out tests on himself and two students for 18 months to test the effects of rowing, cycling and swimming overnight. The combination method according to Ebbinghaus and Kraepelin's addition test regularly showed positive effects in the sense of a "mentally refreshing after-effect" of the physical exercises. Krueger also investigated the effects of “milling”, ice skating and horse riding. In 1923 he handed over the hypotheses for experimental testing to his PhD student J. Meiring (dissertation 1924).

Institute for Experimental Psychology / Psychological Institute

The Leipzig Institute for Experimental Psychology , which had existed since 1879, had achieved world fame through Wilhelm Wundt (1832–1920). In 1917 Krueger took over its management and fundamentally reshaped the research topics, although Wundt's differentiated methodology continued to exist. On July 10, 1925, the facility was renamed the Psychological Institute at Krueger's instigation . In a list, Thiermann names all long-term employees at the institute from 1917, when Krueger's directorate began:

  1. Karlfried Graf Dürckheim , 1927–1932, partly working as an unpaid assistant, later he switched to the diplomatic service
  2. Werner Fischel , 1941–1945
  3. Otto Klemm , 1917–1939, from 1937 to 1939 he was acting head of the Psychological Institute at the University of Leipzig (until his death in 1939)
  4. A. Kirschmann, 1917–1930, is leaving for reasons of age
  5. J. Rudert 1929–1937, (in the meantime army psychologist), 1941–1942, acting director from 1942
  6. Friedrich Sander , Wundt's last assistant, 1919–1929; then associate professor in Giessen, from 1933 professor in Jena
  7. K.-M. Schneider, from 1934 volunteer assistant, in addition to his work as director of the Leipzig zoological garden, employee at the Psychological Institute
  8. A. Vetter, 1934–1939, then worked at the Reich Institute for Psychotherapy in Berlin
  9. Hans Volkelt , 1921–1939, (1933–1934 acting head of the Pedagogical Institute in Leipzig), from 1939 director of the Pedagogical-Psychological Institute at Leipzig University
  10. E. Wartegg , 1933–1938, then worked in career counseling
  11. Albert Wellek , 1938–1942, appointed to Halle in 1942, appointed to Breslau in 1943 (joint administration of both chairs)

After Krueger's departure in 1938, massive power struggles began at the institute. Otto Klemm's suicide in 1939 further exacerbated the tense personnel situation. A British bombing raid on December 4, 1943 destroyed large parts of Leipzig's city center and around two thirds of the university's institutes, lecture halls and laboratories. The buildings of the Psychological Institute and the Psychophysical Seminar in Universitätsstrasse 7-9 (Paulinum) and the Psychological-Pedagogical Institute ( Fridericianum ) in Schillerstrasse 7 suffered total write-offs.

In the course catalog for the winter semester 1944/45 only Johannes Rudert and Werner Fischel were listed as lecturers. The number of employees was reported on December 1, 1944 in a report with three people, “J. Rudert (planned associate professor director of the Institute for Psychology, severely disabled 60% under the circumstances), A. Rensch (administration of a research assistant position) and E. Hertel (research assistant) ”. According to Fischel, an orderly training operation was no longer possible at this point due to the air raids. From around February 1945 only Rudert represented the institute. On April 18, the 69th Infantry Division of the 1st US Army took Leipzig (see also the history of the city of Leipzig ).

Selected writings of Krueger

  • The concept of the absolutely valuable as a basic concept of moral philosophy . Teubner, Leipzig 1898, (published dissertation, Phil. Diss. Munich).
  • Difference tones and consonance . In: Archives for the whole of psychology . 1903, Volume 1, pp. 207-275 and 1904, Volume 2, pp. 1-80.
  • Relations between experimental phonetics and psychology . Barth, Leipzig 1907, special print from: Report on the 2nd Congress for Experimental Psychology in Würzburg 1906, pp. 58–122.
  • About developmental psychology, its factual and historical necessity . In: Work on Developmental Psychology , Volume 1, Issue 1. Engelmann, Leipzig 1915.
  • The concept of structure in psychology . Fischer, Jena 1924, reprint from: Report on the 8th Congress for Experimental Psychology in Leipzig 1923.
  • Physical exercise and the German spirit . In: Festschrift for the inauguration of the gymnasium, playground and sports field at Leipzig University , 6./7. June 1925, pp. 5-7.
  • For the introduction. About psychological wholeness. In: New Psychological Studies (Felix Krueger, Ed .: Complex Qualities, Gestalten and Emotions), Volume 1, Issue 1, Beck, Munich 1926, pp. 5–121.
  • The essence of feelings. Draft a systematic theory . Akademische Verlagsgesellschaft, Leipzig 1928, special print from: Archive for the entire psychology, 65th volume, 1928.
  • Eugen Heuss (Ed.): Felix Krueger. On the philosophy and psychology of wholeness. Writings from the years 1918–1940 . Springer-Verlag, Berlin a. a. 1953.

literature

  • Ulfried Geuter: The Destruction of Scientific Reason. Felix Krueger and the Leipzig School of Holistic Psychology. In: Psychology Today . April 1980, pp. 35-43.
  • Werner Thiermann: On the history of the Leipzig psychological institute 1875-1945. Unpublished dissertation, Leipzig 1981.
  • Udo Undeutsch:  Krueger, Felix. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 13, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1982, ISBN 3-428-00194-X , p. 99 f. ( Digitized version ).
  • Ulfried Geuter: The whole and the community - Scientific and political thinking in the holistic psychology of Felix Krueger . In: Carl Friedrich Graumann (Ed.): Psychology in National Socialism . Springer-Verlag, Berlin 1985, ISBN 3-540-13833-1 , pp. 55-87.
  • Ernst Plaum : On the “unscientific nature” of Felix Krueger . In: Psychologie und Geschichte, 7 (1/1995), 3-29.
  • Steffi Hammer: Felix Krueger. In: Helmut E. Lück , Rudolf Miller: Illustrated history of psychology. Beltz, Weinheim 1999, ISBN 3-8289-4963-0 , pp. 103-105.
  • Michael Grüttner : Felix Krueger . In: Biographical Lexicon on National Socialist Science Policy . Synchron, Heidelberg 2004, ISBN 978-3-935025-68-3 , p. 100.
  • Ronald Lambrecht: Felix Krueger 1874-1948. In: Political layoffs in the Nazi era, forty-four biographical sketches by professors at the University of Leipzig . Evangelische Verlagsanstalt, Leipzig 2006, ISBN 978-3-374-02397-4 , pp. 121–123.
  • Mark Galliker, Margot Klein, Sibylle Rykart: Felix Krueger. In: Milestones in Psychology. The history of psychology according to persons, work and effect (= Kröner's pocket edition . Volume 334). Kröner, Stuttgart 2007, ISBN 978-3-520-33401-5 , pp. 304-308.
  • Walter Friedrich: The first psychology institute in the world. The Leipzig University Psychology 1879–1980. Rosa Luxemburg Foundation Saxony V., Leipzig 2009. ISBN 978-3-89819-326-9 .
  • Susanne Guski-Canvas: Scientific research on the genesis of psychology in Germany from the end of the 19th century to the middle of the 20th century. LIT, Berlin 2010, ISBN 978-3-8258-1913-2 .
  • David Hamann: Felix Krueger. In: Michael Fahlbusch , Ingo Haar , Alexander Pinwinkler (Hrsg.): Handbuch der Völkischen Wissenschaften. Actors, networks, research programs. With the assistance of David Hamann. 2nd completely revised and expanded edition. Vol. 1, De Gruyter Oldenbourg, Berlin 2017, ISBN 978-3-11-042989-3 , pp. 380-386.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Paul Meißner (Ed.): Alt-Herren-Directory of the German Singers. Leipzig 1934, p. 165.
  2. ↑ Honorary doctoral students of the TH / TU Dresden. Technical University of Dresden, accessed on February 7, 2015 .
  3. ↑ George Leaman: Heidegger in context: general overview of the Nazi engagement of the university philosophers (= Ideological powers in German fascism. Volume 5). Argument, Hamburg 1993, ISBN 3-88619-205-9 , p. 56.
  4. ↑ George Leaman: Heidegger in context: general overview of the Nazi engagement of the university philosophers (= Ideological powers in German fascism. Volume 5). Argument, Hamburg 1993, ISBN 3-88619-205-9 , p. 99.
  5. ↑ Geuter: The whole and the community , pp. 81–83.
  6. ↑ Lambrecht: Felix Krueger 1874–1948 , pp. 121–123.
  7. ^ Grüttner: Felix Krueger , p. 100.
  8. ^ Albert Wellek: German Psychology and National Socialism. In: Psychologie und Praxis: Journal for Work and Organizational Psychology . Volume 4, 1960, p. 179.
  9. ^ University archive Leipzig: Personal files Felix Krueger . Signature PA 664 b, film no.1272, sheet 102.
  10. ^ Hammer: Felix Krueger , pp. 103-105.
  11. ↑ Geuter: The whole and the community , pp. 77–81.
  12. ^ Guski canvas: Scientific research on the genesis of psychology in Germany from the end of the 19th century to the middle of the 20th century , pp. 251-252.
  13. ^ Krueger: About developmental psychology. , Leipzig 1915.
  14. ^ Krueger: For the introduction. On psychological wholeness , p. 123.
  15. ↑ According to today's reading, 1879 is the year Wundt founded the Institute for Experimental Psychology . Krueger put the event as the year 1875, probably for tactical considerations.
  16. ↑ Hans Volkelt: About the research direction of the Psychological Institute of the University of Leipzig. On his fiftieth anniversary on November 21, 1925. In: Arthur Hofmann (Ed.): Literary reports from the field of philosophy . Issue 6. Kurt Stenger, Erfurt 1925, pp. 15-16.
  17. ↑ Otto Klemm (Ed.): Report on the XIII. Congress of the German Society for Psychology in Leipzig from October 16 to 19, 1933. Gustav Fischer, Jena 1934, p. 3.
  18. ↑ Geuter: The destruction of scientific reason. Felix Krueger and the Leipzig School of Holistic Psychology , p. 42.
  19. ^ Mark Galliker, Margot Klein, Sibylle Rykart: Krueger , p. 308.
  20. ↑ The "milling" was a morning exercise with terry towel according to the Dane Müller (Janssen, 1997).
  21. ↑ Otto Klemm: Thoughts on physical exercises . In: New Psychological Studies . Volume 5, 2nd issue, 1930, p. 148.
  22. ↑ Jan-Peters Janssen: German sport psychology in the course of three epochs. From the Wilhelmine epoch to divided Germany. In: Psychology and Sport . 1997 (4) 1, p. 13.
  23. ↑ Eberhard Loosch: Otto Klemm (1884–1939) and the Psychological Institute in Leipzig . LIT, Berlin 2008. ISBN 978-3-8258-0981-2 , pp. 24-26.
  24. ↑ Werner Thiermann: On the history of the Leipzig psychological institute 1875–1945 , pp. 129–130.
  25. ↑ listed by Heinz Füßler (1961): Leipziger Universitätsbauten. VEB Bibliographisches Institut, Leipzig 1961, p. 29.
  26. ↑ Werner Thiermann: On the history of the Leipzig psychological institute 1875-1945 , p. 128.
personal data
SURNAME Krueger, Felix
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German psychologist
DATE OF BIRTH August 10, 1874
PLACE OF BIRTH Poses
DATE OF DEATH February 25, 1948
Place of death Basel