George Henry Lewes

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George Henry Lewes (born April 18, 1817 in London , † November 28, 1878 ibid) was an English writer , literary critic and philosopher .

George Henry Lewes

family

George Henry Lewes - illegitimate child of the poet John Lee and Elisabeth Ashweek - was a grandson of the actor Charles Lee Lewes. His mother married a former captain in 1823. In 1841, George Henry Lewes and Agnes Jervis married, with three children. In 1851 Lewes met the Victorian author Mary Ann Evans (pseudonym George Eliot). Since 1854 the couple lived in a partnership with the consent of their wife Agnes Lewes.

Life

Because of the frequent changes of residence, Lewes went to school in London, Jersey , Brittany and Greenwich . After unsuccessful attempts at a commercial or medical career, Lewes considered an acting career. Between 1841 and 1850 he actually made a few appearances. Afterwards he devoted himself to literature, science and philosophy.

Lewes had been a member of an association since 1836 whose members dealt with philosophical topics. Here he drafted a study of the philosophy of the Scottish School . In 1838 he went to Germany with the intention of studying philosophy. Instead, he familiarized himself with German literature, especially with the work of Goethe . In 1839 Lewes returned to England, where he worked on various magazines and made a name for himself as a dramaturge, biographer and natural philosopher. Between 1849 and 1854 he himself edited the literary magazine "Leader".

The biographical work “The Life of Goethe” (1855), published in 1857 in a German translation by Julius Frese , is to be regarded as the high point of Lewes' literary work . His penchant for the natural sciences was expressed in various publications in which he dealt with the life of marine animals or with the history of the biological sciences since Aristotle . From 1865 Lewes was editor of Fortnightly Reviews , but only kept this post for two years before he could devote himself to his philosophical studies. Their main result was the five volume work Problems of Life and Mind .

Works

  • The Life and Works of Goethe. Sketches of His Age and Contemporaries, from Published and Unpublished Sources . 2 volumes. David Nutt, London 1855.
  • Sea-side Studies at Ilfracombe , Tenby, the Scilly Isles, & Jersey . Blackwood, London 1858.
    • German edition: Nature studies on the sea beach. Coastal images from Devonshire, the Isles of Scilly and Jersey. Translated by Julius Frese (Bremen). Duncker, Berlin 1859.
  • A section from a history of the sciences, along with analyzes of the scientific writings of Aristotle. Translated by Julius Victor Carus . Brockhaus, Leipzig 1865.
  • History of philosophy from Thales to Comte. 2 volumes. Oppenheim, Berlin 1871 a. 1876.
  • Problems of Life and Mind . 5 volumes. Houghton, Mifflin / Trübner, Boston / London 1873–79.
  • About actors and acting. Translated by Emil Lehmann. Duncker, Leipzig 1878.
  • The principles of success in literature. Translated by Georg Kuhr. Moldenhauer, Leipzig 1889.
  • The physiology of common life , German: The physiology of everyday life

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personal data
SURNAME Lewes, George Henry
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English writer, literary critic and philosopher
DATE OF BIRTH April 18, 1817
PLACE OF BIRTH London
DATE OF DEATH November 28, 1878
Place of death London