Gustav Ratzenhofer

Gustav Ratzenhofer (born July 4, 1842 in Vienna , † October 8, 1904 on the Atlantic ) was an Austrian field marshal lieutenant , philosopher and best known as a sociologist . He also wrote under the pseudonym Gustav Renehr .

Life

Ratzenhofer was a trained watchmaker and joined the Austrian army in 1859 after his master watchmaker examination, in which he made a steep career: lieutenant (1864), member of the general staff (1872), director of the army archive (1878), finally president from August 1898 of the military high court . In this capacity he was appointed Lieutenant Field Marshal on November 1, 1898. In mid-October 1901, Ratzenhofer retired and devoted himself entirely to his self-study in philosophy and sociology , where he was strongly influenced by his active contacts with Ludwig Gumplowicz .

He died in 1904 after studying in the USA while crossing from New York to Bremen.

In 1959, the Ratzenhofergasse in Vienna- Floridsdorf (21st district) was named after him.

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Ratzenhofer understood sociology based on Herbert Spencer , Charles Darwin and Auguste Comte as part of a comprehensive philosophy that he called "positive monism ". He represented an evolutionary model of society development.

According to Ratzenhofer, all social action is driven by the “primal force” (innate interests). "Bread envy " and " blood love " have dominated social events since time immemorial. The primitive society is subject to the "law of absolute hostility". Conflicts and subjugation then change the “conqueror state” to a “cultural state” and end in civilization , in which a peaceful balance of interests enables a creative and free life.

Ratzenhofer tried to explain all the regularities of human coexistence with scientific methods and emphasized the unity of "world law". His work is considered an important contribution to the sociological theory of interest and evolution . In the USA in particular, he was received as one of the founding fathers of political sociology .

Fonts (selection)

• Nature and purpose of politics. 3 volumes, 1893.
• Sociological Knowledge, Positive Philosophy of Social Life. 1898. Digitized at Munich digitization center
• The positive monism and the unified principle of all phenomena. 1899.
• Positive ethics. The realization of what ought to be morally. 1901.
• The criticism of the intellect. Positive epistemology. 1902.
• Sociology. Positive doctrine of human interrelationships. 1907, published by his son.

Secondary literature

• A. Grausgruber: Ratzenhofer, Gustav. in: Wilhelm Bernsdorf , Horst Knospe (Hrsg.): Internationales Soziologenlexikon. Vol. 1, Enke, Stuttgart 1988, p. 347.
• Dirk Kaesler :  Ratzenhofer, Gustav. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 21, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 2003, ISBN 3-428-11202-4 , p. 188 f. ( Digitized version ).
• Florian Oberhuber: The “dual original nature of state authority”. Modern state, sociological authority and the political pluralism of Gustav Ratzenhofer (1842-1904). in: Sociologia Internationalis. Vol. 40, 2002, H. 1, pp. 85-115.
• Florian Oberhuber: The problem of the political in the Habsburg monarchy. Studies in the history of ideas on Gustav Ratzenhofer. 1842-1904. Diss. Vienna 2002.
• Florian Oberhuber: From general cultural history to sociologically founded political science: Gustav Ratzenhofer (1842–1904). In: Karl Acham (Hrsg.): History of the Austrian human sciences. Vol. 6.2: Philosophy and Religion. God, to be and to be. Passagen Verlag, Vienna 2006.
• Christoph Tepperberg :  Ratzenhofer Gustav. In: Austrian Biographical Lexicon 1815–1950 (ÖBL). Volume 8, Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Vienna 1983, ISBN 3-7001-0187-2 , p. 434 f. (Direct links on p. 434 , p. 435 ).

Web links

• Literature by and about Gustav Ratzenhofer in the catalog of the German National Library
• Works by and about Gustav Ratzenhofer  in the German Digital Library
• Entry on Gustav Ratzenhofer in the Austria Forum  (in the AEIOU Austria Lexicon )