Keplerbund
The Keplerbund to promote the knowledge of nature was founded in 1907 by the biologist Eberhard Dennert in Frankfurt am Main and has been based in Godesberg since 1908 . The Keplerbund was dedicated to fighting Darwin's theory of evolution and materialistic monism , as prominently represented by Ernst Haeckel . It is regarded as the answer of Christian (Protestant) oriented scientists to the intensive public relations work of the German Monist Association founded by Ernst Haeckel in 1906 . Arnold Braß in particular emerged as a sharp critic of Haeckel .
The Keplerbund demanded a worldview based on scientific knowledge of the world, which should, however, be interpreted religiously. The goal was to build a scientifically based, Christian-oriented worldview. The fight of the Keplerbund also included the rejection of the Biogenetic Basic Law as part of the rejection of the theory of evolution .
On November 25, 1907, the constituent assembly took place in Frankfurt am Main . The founding appeal said: The Keplerbund stands on the basis of the freedom of science and recognizes as the only tendency the foundation and the service of truth. In doing so, he is convinced that truth carries within itself the harmony of scientific facts with philosophical knowledge and religious experience. In this way the Keplerbund deliberately differs from the monism caught up in materialistic dogma and combats the atheistic propaganda it emanates, which wrongly invokes the results of natural science. The Keplerbund began its work on April 1, 1908 in Godesberg , the former residence of Eberhard Dennert, who had previously taught at the Evangelical Pedagogy there , where he was based in Rheinallee 26 .
The Keplerbund worked with magazines Our World and Der Naturfreund (since 1924, edited by M. Müller) and books in its own natural science publishing house , through congresses and courses. A museum for folk natural history was set up in the House of the Federation in Godesberg.
The Keplerbund had its heyday until the outbreak of the First World War . The Keplerbund had about 3000 members.
In 1920 Eberhard Dennert handed over the scientific management to the natural philosopher and eugenicist Bernhard Bavink . The seat of the federal government was moved to Detmold on February 15, 1920 . A key figure in the Kepler League here was Wilhelm Teudt , who played an essential role in the nationalist movement in Lippe and who came out with theories on Germanic prehistory.
In 1941 the magazine Our World was banned and the Keplerbund was dissolved.
literature
- Andreas W. Daum : Science popularization in the 19th century. Civil culture, scientific education and the German public, 1848–1914 . 2nd, additional edition, Oldenbourg, Munich 2002, ISBN 978-3-486-56551-5 , pp. 220-225.
- Friedrich Wilhelm Bautz : Dennert, Eberhard. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 1, Bautz, Hamm 1975. 2nd, unchanged edition Hamm 1990, ISBN 3-88309-013-1 , Sp. 1260-1262.
- Ulrich Dankmeier: Science and Christianity in conflict: the construction of competing world views under the influence of the scientific paradigm by the German Monist Association and the Kepler Association at the beginning of the 20th century. Frankfurt am Main 2007, DNB 1000726541 .
- H. Hohlwein : Keplerbund. In: Religion Past and Present. Volume 3, 3rd edition. JCB Mohr, Tübingen 1959.
- Olaf Selle: Anti-Darwinism and Biologism. Natural science, worldview and politics in the work of Eberhard Dennert (1861–1942). Matthiesen, Husum 1986, ISBN 3-7868-4054-7 . 21. (= medical-historical dissertation with Rolf Winau , Berlin)
According to Selle, the Keplerbund had 8,000 (not: 3,000) members in 1914, which is more than the Monistenbund.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Uwe Hossfeld: History of biological anthropology in Germany: from the beginnings to the post-war period . (= Science Culture around 1900 , Volume 2) Franz Steiner Verlag, 2005, ISBN 978-3515085632 , p. 249/250.