GJPJ Bolland

Bolland

Bust of GJPJ Bolland
(Leiden University)

Gerardus Johannes Petrus Josephus Bolland , GJPJ Bolland for short (born June 9, 1854 in Groningen , † February 11, 1922 in Leiden ) was a Dutch self-taught philosopher and religious scholar.

Bolland was initially a follower of Eduard von Hartmann and then became the most important representative of Hegelian philosophy in the Netherlands at the turn of the century; he worked as a translator, editor and commentator of Hegel's writings. After his death, Dutch Hegelianism organized itself into the Bolland Society for Pure Reason .

Life

Bolland was born into a simple Catholic family. At first he worked as a teacher. In 1896 he became professor of philosophy at the University of Leiden . Bolland was an expert on German idealism , especially the work of Eduard von Hartmann and Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel. In particular, he revived Hegel's work in the Netherlands.

Bolland's research into the beginnings of Christianity attracted attention. In the spirit of the Jesus myth , he followed Bruno Bauer's work, assuming that Christianity developed from pre-Christian cults and currents through syncretism . Here he made reference to Philon of Alexandria . Jesus of Nazareth as a historical person did not exist, however, but developed from the stories of these currents. It was not until the first century that the adherents of early Christianity transformed the mythical figure of Jesus into the legendary figure of Jesus.

Work (selection)

• Hegel. Eene Historical Study (1898)
• Zuivere speech. Een boek voor vrienden der wijsheid (1904)
• De Evangelische Jozua (1907; PDF; 211 kB)

Web links

• Literature by and about GJPJ Bolland in the catalog of the German National Library
• Hermann Detering : GJPJ Bolland (1854–1922) as a radical critic. 2004.