Moritz Lazarus

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Moritz Lazarus (Atelier Siebe Brothers, Leipzig around 1870)

Moritz Lazarus , born as Moses Lazarus (born September 15, 1824 in Filehne , Province of Posen , † April 13, 1903 in Meran ) was a German psychologist . Together with his brother Heymann Steinthal he is one of the founders of social psychology at Herbartscher basis.

Life

Moritz Lazarus was the son of Aaron Levin Lazarus († February 26, 1874), a student of Akiba Eger . Together with his brother Leyser, Lazarus attended the school of the Jewish community in Filehne. From 1841 to 1844 he completed a commercial apprenticeship in Poznan and then a German high school until 1846. Lazarus then studied philosophy, history and philology at the University of Berlin . Moritz Lazarus received his doctorate in 1850; and in the same year he and Sarah Lebenheim married.

Also in 1850, Lazarus decided on psychology and a year later published an essay on the concept and the possibility of a people's psychology as a science . Moritz Lazarus published the first volume in 1856 and the second volume of his work The Life of the Soul in monographs on its phenomena and laws in the Heinrich Schindler publishing house . From the second edition, a third volume appeared in 1882.

On the basis of this work, which was widely regarded at the time, Lazarus was appointed honorary professor at the University of Bern in 1860 . He was the first professor of Jewish origin in the philosophy faculty. In 1862 Lazarus was appointed full professor of psychology and national psychology in Bern, and from 1864 he was rector and dean of the philosophical faculty. After his return to Berlin in March 1866, a year later he accepted a call to the Prussian War Academy there as a lecturer in the history of philosophy. He held this office until 1872, when the philosophy department was wound up. From 1873, Lazarus taught philosophy, psychology, ethnic psychology and education at the philosophical faculty of the Berlin University, but only in the makeshift construction of a "full honorary professorship". He was refused a full professorship at German universities in several attempts. At least in the case of Kiel University, an anti-Jewish background can be proven.

Moritz Lazarus and Nahida Ruth Lazarus-Remy around 1895

After the death of his first wife Sarah Lebenheim, Moritz Lazarus and the writer Nahida Ruth Remy married in 1895 . His second wife had converted to the Jewish faith through Lazarus' influence .

Lazarus was a great lover of literature and music. His friends included the pianist Clara Schumann , with whom he had intensive correspondence from 1866 to 1895, and the writers Berthold Auerbach and Paul Heyse. He was in contact with Theodor Fontane and Friedrich Rückert and was a member of literary circles such as the Rütli or the Tunnel over the Spree. He was a board member of the Writers' Association and co-founder of the Schiller Foundation .

Services

Moritz Lazarus is regarded as a pioneer for the rights of Judaism and was himself a prominent representative of the social advancement of German Jews in the second half of the 19th century. With the rise of bourgeois and academic modern anti-Semitism directed against emancipation, Lazarus was one of the first to respond to Heinrich von Treitschke's anti-Semitic attack with speeches, books and Jewish self-organization .

Together with Heymann Steinthal , Lazarus founded the Zeitschrift für Völkerpsychologie und Sprachwissenschaft in 1860 , both of which were published until 1891. In 1891 the name was changed to the Journal of the Society for Folklore . Lazarus' contributions to the psychology of nations were influential in sociology, cultural philosophy, social psychology and cultural anthropology. The sociologist Georg Simmel described himself as a student of the national psychologist Lazarus, who had decisively influenced his scientific perspective. Via Franz Boas , who had also studied with Lazarus, the influence extended to American anthropology.

Leipzig, Brühl 13, "Zur Grünen Tanne", house owner Moritz Lazarus from 1872 to 1892 (based on a postcard from 1899)

Under the chairmanship of Lazarus, the first Israelite Synod was held in Leipzig in 1869, which brought together rabbis, scholars and leading laypeople from sixty congregations in Germany, Austria and other countries in Europe and America. This synod dealt with the reform efforts in Judaism and for the first time approved some new forms of Jewish religious practice such as the use of the organ in the synagogue.

Memberships

  • Since 1856: Berlin Literary Association Rütli
  • Since 1872: Society of Friends ; Deputy Chairman from 1875 to 1886
  • 1867 to 1892: Member of the Representative Assembly of the Jewish Community in Berlin
  • 1882 to 1894: Vice-President of the German-Israelite Congregation Association co-founded by Lazarus in 1869
  • 1867 to 1874: President of the Prussian (Berlin) branch of the Alliance Israélite Universelle

Publications

  • The moral authority of Prussia in Germany , Carl Schultze's Buchdruckerei, Berlin 1850
  • About the concept and the possibility of a national psychology as a science. In: Robert Eduard Prutz (Ed.): Deutsches Museum. Journal of Literature, Art, and Public Life , 1851
  • The life of the soul in monographs on its phenomena and laws. 3 volumes.
    • Volume 1: Schindler, Berlin 1856
    • Volume 2: Schindler, Berlin 1857
    • Volume 3: Dümmler, Berlin 1881/2. Ed.
  • With Heymann Steinthal: Journal for Ethnic Psychology and Linguistics . 20 volumes. Dümmler, Berlin a. a. 1860-1890.
  • About the origin of morals . Inaugural lecture, held on March 23, 1860 in the auditorium of the University of Bern, Ferdinand Dümmler / Zeitschrift für Völkerpsychologie und Sprachwissenschaft, Berlin 1860
  • About the ideas in the story. Rector's speech on November 14, 1863 in Bern. Dümmler, Berlin 1865
  • A psychological look into our time. Lecture at the Singakademie , given on January 20, 1872. Dümmler, Berlin 1872
  • Ideal questions, dealt with in speeches and lectures , A. Hofmann, Berlin 1878
  • What does national mean? a lecture given on December 2, 1879, Dümmler, Berlin 1880
  • Our point of view. Two speeches to his fellow religionists , given on December 1st and 16th, 1880. Stuhr, Berlin 1881
  • About the charms of the game . Dümmler, Berlin 1883
  • To the German Jews , Walther and Apolant, Berlin 1887
  • Faithful and free. Collected speeches and lectures on Jews and Judaism , CF Winter, Leipzig 1887
  • The prophet Jeremias . Schottländer , Breslau 1894
  • The ethics of Judaism. Vol. 1, Kaufmann, Frankfurt am Main 1898
  • The ethics of Judaism. Vol. 2, edited by Jakob Winter u. August wishes . Kaufmann, Frankfurt am Main 1911
  • Life memories. Reimer, Berlin 1906
  • The renewal of Judaism. An appeal , Georg Reimer, Berlin 1909
  • About conversations. Edited by Klaus Christian Köhnke . Lecture at the Singakademie, given on February 24, 1876. Henssel, Berlin 1986 ISBN 3-87329-536-9
  • Basics of ethnic psychology and cultural studies. Edited by Klaus Christian Köhnke. Meiner, Hamburg 2003, ISBN 978-3-7873-1632-8

literature

Web links

Commons : Moritz Lazarus  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Dtv lexicon: Lemma Moritz Lazarus . Munich 2006.
  2. ^ Mathias Berek: Moritz Lazarus. German-Jewish idealism in the 19th century . Göttingen 2020, p. 157-233 .
  3. ^ Mathias Berek: Moritz Lazarus. German-Jewish idealism in the 19th century . Göttingen 2020, p. 397-398 .
  4. ^ Mathias Berek: Moritz Lazarus. German-Jewish idealism in the 19th century . Göttingen 2020, p. 169-172, 395-402 .
  5. ^ Georg Simmel: Articles and treatises 1894 to 1900 . In: Dahme, Heinz-Jürgen. (Ed.): Georg Simmel Complete Edition . 1st edition. tape 5 . Suhrkamp, ​​Frankfurt am Main 1992, ISBN 3-518-28405-3 , pp. 586 .
  6. ^ Ivan Kalmar: The "Völkerpsychologie" of Lazarus and Steinthal and the Modern Concept of Culture . In: Journal of the History of Ideas . tape 48 , 1987, pp. 671-690 .
  7. ^ Mathias Berek: Moritz Lazarus. German-Jewish idealism in the 19th century . Göttingen 2020, p. 169-172, 313-383 .
personal data
SURNAME Lazarus, Moritz
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Lazarus, Moses (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German psychologist
DATE OF BIRTH September 15, 1824
PLACE OF BIRTH Filehne , Poznan Province
DATE OF DEATH April 13, 1903
Place of death Meran