Friedrich Kettner

Friedrich Kettner , born Schulem Katz , officially since 1910 Friedrich Katz (born January 24, 1886 in Czernowitz , Austria-Hungary , † March 1957 in the USA ) was an Austrian-American teacher, philosophical author and poet. After his immigration to the USA he called himself Frederick Kettner . The name Kettner was chosen for him by Lotte Brunner, the stepdaughter of the philosopher Constantin Brunner . Kettner plays a special role in the history of the impact of Brunner's philosophy. He is the founder of the so-called " Ethical Seminar " in Chernivtsi, a life-reforming , practical-philosophically oriented seminar in which the poet Rose Ausländer also took part.

Life

Youth and studies in Vienna and Chernivtsi

Kettner studied in Vienna and received his doctorate in 1919 in Chernivtsi, where he also worked as a teacher.

In 1911 he turned to the philosopher Constantin Brunner regarding the Brunner work "Spinoza against Kant and the matter of spiritual truth" (1909, 1910). He also visited it personally and then began to read Brunner's basic work "The Doctrine of the Spiritual and the People" (1908, 1927). During a recent private visit, Brunner made him enthusiastic about his new work "Der Judenhaß und die Juden" (written in 1913, published in 1918, 1919, 1974).

The "Ethical Seminar" in Chernivtsi

Constantin Brunner (1862–1937), whose philosophy played a central role in Kettner's seminar.

When Kettner sent his own philosophical work to Brunner in the following years, Brunner reacted very negatively because of the "emptiness" and "indeterminate generality" of the essays. The poems sent to Brunner in 1915 were also referred to as "trash". Kettner did not turn to Brunner again until 1920 after he had founded an "ethical seminar" in Czernowitz a year earlier, in which he gave lectures to a group of young people and set up study groups independent of state educational institutions. The topics of the seminar were: Brunner, Spinoza , Plato and the Bible . With this seminar, Kettner pursued a practical interest rather than a theoretical one: He tried to establish Constantin Brunner's ideal community of so-called "intellectuals" as a community of "intellectual Spinozists".

Kettner was particularly well received by the intellectually oriented of the Jewish youth movement Haschomer Hazair . The political post-war situation, the anti-Semitic pogroms in Eastern Europe, which put young Zionists in a practical search for meaning, as well as Kettner's inspiring manner had a positive effect on the interest . Even the first meeting of the seminar was overcrowded. Brunner was not familiar with Kettner's lectures, but judged the ethics seminar ambiguously after he had been skeptical about Kettner's abilities for a long time. However, Brunner found the approach of the association for serious work and individual support good.

When Kettner planned to establish "planting sites" for the seminar, he received no support from Brunner, as Brunner was of the opinion that Kettner could not have any effect in Western Europe.

In 1922 Kettner published a receptionist book on Brunner with the title "About Constantin Brunner's work 'Der Judenhaß und die Juden'", in which he also mentioned Spinoza and said that Spinoza had created the "textbook of truth" which was written by the Jews must be internalized and followed in order to free oneself from anti-Semitism.

Kettner called his own teaching, which is based on Brunner and Spinoza, "biosophy". For this he promoted both his students and Brunner. According to the Brunner researcher Jürgen Stenzel , this teaching is "a practical procedure through which the insight into the truth is to be implemented more sustainably in everyday life than was the case with Brunner." Accordingly, an "integratio" extends beyond "spiritual" thinking, which is included in the "Ethicum", i. H. an ethical community, should give birth to an ethically thinking, new person. Kettner said his seminar work, which is based on the three pillars of freedom of speech, freedom of knowledge and freedom of life, leads to "freedom of community".

However, the seminar soon fell into disrepair and Kettner saw himself as a misunderstood genius. While one of the students soon sought personal contact with Brunner and intensively continued the studies of Brunner and Spinoza, others distanced themselves from both Kettner and Brunner and their students. A few still stuck to Kettner and made it possible for him to immigrate to the USA.

In America

From 1923 onwards, Kettner began a sensational career as a Spinozar recipient in the USA. He temporarily took over the Brunner group founded by Walter Bernard and Rose Ausländer in New York City . Until 1926 Kettner tried to win Brunner for his cause and get authorization from him, but in vain. As previously threatened, Kettner published a pamphlet against Brunner, a settlement with him and a description of his view of the events in the "Ethical Seminar". The pamphlet was published in Vienna in 1929 under the title "The first Spinoza community or the anti-egoist. An ethical drama - and a foreword to Constantin Brunner".

In 1928 Kettner founded the "Spinoza Lovers" community, and in 1929 the "Roerich Spinoza Center".

In 1930 he published the magazine "Spinoza in America", which was called "The Spinoza Quarterley" from 1932 and "The Biosophical Review" from 1933.

In Buenos Aires he founded the "Instituto Biosofico Argentino", in Chicago the "Biosophical Institute", in New York the "School for Biosophical Peace Research within Man", as well as several other institutes and the "Biosophy Press".

In 1932 he published his main work "Spinoza, the biosopher". A few more books on personal and political peace followed. This also included collections of poetry, e.g. B. "Back to the Nameless One" (1934) or "Life and Spirit (biosophical poems)" (1948).

In 1939, Kettner appeared with other celebrities in a documentary on the subject of democracy and peace entitled "World Leaders on Peace and Democracy". In addition to Kettner, Edvard Beneš , Nicholas Murray Butler , Arthur H. Compton , Albert Einstein , Cordell Hull , Harold L. Ickes , Thomas Mann , Robert A. Taft and Harold Urey were represented in the film. The film was produced by Lawrence Dorfman , President of the American Institute of Motion Pictures .

Works

• About Constantin Brunner's work "Der Judenhaß und die Juden" . Vienna 1922.
• The first Spinoza community or the anti-egoist. An ethical drama - and a foreword to Constantin Brunner. Vienna 1929.
• Spinoza, the biosopher. New York 1932.
• The need for a secretary of peace . New York 1937.
• Biosophy and character education . New York 1937.
• Back to the nameless one. Biosophical poems. New York 1939.
• The synthesis of science and religion. New York 1939.
• Leonardo da Vinci. The biosopher. New York 1940.
• Winning the war and a lasting peace. New York 1942.
• The four freedoms. A basis for a better world. New York 1943.
• Spiritual purpose in life. New York 1945.
• Character or chaos. New York 1946.
• The struggle for spiritual essence. New York 1947.
• Life and spirit. Biosophical poems. New York 1948.
• The need for a thousand year plan. New York 1949.
• Biosophy and spiritual democracy. A basis for world peace. New York 1954.
• The religion of friendship. (without year)

literature

• Armin Costa: The Ethical Seminar in Chernivtsi and Constantin Brunner. In: Words as strong as the breath of the earth. Contributions to the life and work of the Jewish poet Rose Ausländer (1901 - 1988). Trier 1994, pp. 39-49.
• Israel Eisenstein: Dr. Kettner's "Ethical Seminar" in Chernivtsi. In: The Voice. Bulletin for the Bukovinians. (Tel Aviv) No. 354 (August 1979), p. 3.
• Eli Rottner: The Ethical Seminar in Chernivtsi. The cradle of the International Constantin Brunner Circle. Dortmund 1973.
• Matthias Springborn: The "ethical seminar" of the teacher Friedrich Kettner in Czernowitz from 1919-23. In: Literary Studies Yearbook of the Rose-Ausländer-Gesellschaft eV , 2015, ed. by Helmut Braun, Weilerswist 2017 (series of publications by the Rose-Ausländer-Gesellschaft eV, vol. 23), pp. 7-102.
• Jürgen Stenzel: Philosophy as Antimetaphysics. To Constantin Brunner's picture of Spinoza. Wurzburg 2002.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Matthias Springborn: The "ethical seminar" of the teacher Friedrich Kettner in Czernowitz from 1919-23. In: Literary Studies Yearbook of the Rose-Ausländer-Gesellschaft eV , 2015, ed. by Helmut Braun, Weilerswist 2017 (series of publications by the Rose-Ausländer-Gesellschaft eV, vol. 23), p. 15.
2. ↑ World War 2 Draft Registration Card 1942 for Frederick Kettner
3. ^ IMDb - The Internet Movie Database