Immanuel Velikovsky

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Immanuel Velikovsky, 1974

Immanuel Velikovsky (originally Russian Иммануил Великовский or Immanuil Welikowski ; born May 29 . Jul / 10. June  1895 greg. In Vitebsk ; † 17th November 1979 in Princeton ) was a physician, psychoanalyst and author of many books speculative. His conclusions about catastrophism are rejected by the experts as untenable.

biography

After graduating from school, Velikovsky studied in Montpellier and Edinburgh from 1914 , resumed his medical studies in Moscow in 1915 and received his license to practice medicine in 1921 . After traveling to Palestine , he then went to Berlin. There he married the violinist Elisheva Kramer from Hamburg in 1923 . Its edition of the Scripta Universitatis atque Bibliothecae Hierosolymitanarum was discontinued after a few volumes. From 1924 to 1933 he studied psychology in Zurich and from 1933 psycho-analysis in Vienna .

After the outbreak of World War II , Velikovsky devoted himself to the myths of Egyptian history in New York City and began with his work Oedipus and Akhenaten . After 1949 he first published the book Worlds in Collision with Macmillan, after it had been rejected by eight other publishers. Due to its dubious methodology, publishing scientists there put pressure on the publisher. Velikovsky found a new publisher in Doubleday that was ready to publish his works. A few years later the book Earth in Turmoil appeared . During the publication of his ideas and the appearance of his books, Velikovsky was a persona non grata in colleges and universities. In later years other platforms and forums followed, where his work was presented and disseminated.

In the last few years of his life, when his work continued to be rejected by scientists, he suffered from diabetes and depression . Although other works appeared during this time (for example The Sea Peoples ), he was unable to finish his other works. On February 25, 1974, Velikovsky was finally given a symposium appearance at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Velikovsky died in Princeton in 1979. His unpublished writings were to be published several times, but could only appear late after disputes between the publisher and the Velikovskys family. Comprehensive writings have been made available on the Internet since 1990, and Princeton University has been managing its legacy writings since 2005.

Velikovsky's works

Velikovsky's works can be divided into two main parts: The more controversially discussed part deals mainly with stories and myths that Velikovsky reads and interprets as descriptions of worldwide catastrophes. This includes parts of the Bible such as the Exodus as well as the Theogony of Hesiod , the Iliad of Homer or the Edda .

Worlds in collision

In 1950 Velikovsky's book Worlds in Collision was published , which presents a catastrophic view of events over the past 5,000 years. He comes to the conviction that due to a cosmic catastrophe the mass of Jupiter was "blown off" and gathered in a Proto- Venus ; this circled as a “ comet ” on an irregular path through the inner solar system . Venus is said to have devastated the earth several times with its “comet's tail” as well as with its gravitation and its electromagnetic effect. The year previously had less than 360 days and changed due to these upheavals in the 2nd millennium BC. To a year with 360 days.

Also the orbit of Mars was disturbed in its orbit by Venus, which went down in myths such as the Iliad as the “battle of the gods” . Mars then came to Earth at least twice in the 7th century BC. And wreaked global havoc. This interaction is said to have changed the year again to a length of 365 days, while the orbits of Mars and Venus stabilized in the subsequent period.

Supplementary works

Velikovsky's books Earth in Aufruhr (1955), in which he presents geological evidence from his point of view, and Mankind in Amnesia (1982, post mortem), which deals with the psychological-social effects he assumed, add to the worlds in collision . Their conclusions are also rejected by science.

Earth in turmoil

In Earth in Turmoil , Velikovsky tries to provide evidence primarily from geology , biology, and other natural sciences , intended to prove a different chronology.

Mammoths , rhinos, hippos, buffalo and hyenas, all of which were found 440 meters above sea level under four-meter-thick clay deposits, as well as finds of whale bones in the middle of the US state of Michigan , are dated by Velikovsky in post-glacial layers. Velikovsky also argues for his hypothesis with tipped lakes, layers of lava several hundred meters thick, a meteorite zone scattered over the entire southeastern United States and beaches that have been pushed back for miles.

Mankind in amnesia

In the book Humanity in Memory Loss, Velikovsky examines the possible individual and social effects that experiencing the catastrophes he postulated had and still has on the psyche. Similar to Sigmund Freud , he sees a repression mechanism at work, but in contrast to Freud, more socially and with regard to social aspects.

Age in chaos

Velikovsky reconstructed ancient Egyptian history on the assumption that there was a temporal correspondence between the Israelites' exodus from Egypt and the catastrophe at the end of the Middle Kingdom , which is described in the Ipuwer papyrus . As a result, he created a chronology in several volumes over a period of 1200 years. Velikovsky sees further evidence of the simultaneous exodus at the end of the Middle Kingdom in the papyrus of the Hermitage in Saint Petersburg and the inscriptions on a shrine by al-Arish .

The Hyksos with the biblical Amalekites , the Queen of Sheba with the Egyptian Queen Hatshepsut and the Biblical Shishak with Thutmose III. identified. The results of the Ras Shamra archaeological site , the chronological tables of Crete in the Minoan period and that of Greece in the Mycenaean period , which are said to contain errors, also served him for the synchronization . By doing this, he resolved the difficulties of the previous interpretation of the Bible and at the same time equated the Hurrian language with the Carian language .

The Amarna letters from the late 18th dynasty are dated by him to the time of Ahab , based on events in the kingdoms of Israel and Judah .

The reports of the Battle of Kadesh processed Velikovsky to believe that with the city of Kadesh the place Carchemish bank of the Euphrates is meant the west. On the basis of text comparisons he suspects that Nebuchadnezzar and Ramses II should have been contemporaries. Velikovsky saw the empire of the Hittites only as a duplication of the empire of the Chaldeans , with which he established the chronological classification of the Babylonian exile in connection with the exodus.

Velikovsky deals with earlier research in Egyptology , the tiles of Tell el-Jehudijeh and the nearby necropolis. Further written certificates, e.g. B. The Great Papyrus Harris and Diodor's Reports are reevaluated by him. Ramses III. is identified by Velikovsky as Nektanebos I , the Sea Peoples are Greek mercenaries and the Philistines are actually Persians ; Here, too, he refers to his own research that he carried out on the basis of archaeological findings and text comparisons.

The kings of the 20th dynasty are said to be doubles of the kings of the 29th and 30th dynasties and the kings of the 21st dynasty are compared with priests and governors of Darius II .

reception

Velikovsky repeatedly tried to attract scientists to support experiments. So he turned z. B. in April 1946 with a letter to Harlow Shapley , as well as to the philosopher Horace M. Kallen . In the summer of 1946 he also directed inquiries to the astronomers Rupert Wildt and Walter S. Adams . Above all in the context of the emerging space program , he believed that he would be given opportunities which, however, were usually denied him.

Scientists consider Velikovsky's method of interpreting legends and using them to create astronomical models without a mathematical basis as unscientific. Astronomers and physicists consider his speculations about the solar system to be untenable. Measurements of electromagnetic effects in the solar system are not of the order of magnitude required by Velikovsky's model. Venus has also been in a state of thermodynamic equilibrium for at least millions or billions of years . Hydrocarbons are only present in tiny traces in the atmosphere of Venus, the main component being carbon dioxide . In contrast to the composition of comets, hydrogen is only present in small amounts, mainly as water, sulfuric acid or sulphurous acid .

Even biologists and geologists see no reason to change the previous scientific basis with regard to Velikovsky's theses. Likewise, the historians reject Velikovsky's historical speculations and state that he selectively cites from his sources what fits his hypotheses and withholds the contradictions. The arguments with which Velikovsky supported his hypotheses come from very many fields and their combination and evidential value are incomprehensible.

Velikovsky's influence

After the republication of Velikovsky's main work “Worlds in Collision” (Umschau Verlag, Frankfurt a. M.) and the publication of an article on Velikovsky's theses by the sociologist Gunnar Heinsohn in the journal “Freibeuter”, one began in Germany as well more in-depth debate among amateur researchers. In 1982 Christoph Marx and Heinsohn founded the Society for the Reconstruction of Human and Natural History (GRMNG) . The club disbanded in 1988, however.

literature

  • Michael Gordin : The Pseudoscience Wars: Immanuel Velikovsky and the Birth of the Modern Fringe . Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2012.
  • CJ Ransomware: The Age of Velikovsky. Doubleday, 1978, English, ISBN 0-385-28036-X .
  • Stephen Jay Gould : Velikovsky in Collision. In: Ever since Darwin: Relations in Natural History - Reflections in Natural History. WW Norton & Co Ltd Reissue, 1992, English, ISBN 0-393-30818-9 .
  • Pensee: Velikovsky Reconsidered. Buccaneer Books, 1994, English, ISBN 1-56849-530-7 .

Literature on the methodology of Immanuel Velikovsky

  • Gerald Bakker, Len Clark: Explanation - An introduction to the Philosophy of Science -. Mountain View, Mayfield 1988, ISBN 0-87484-838-5 .
  • Donald W. Goldsmith: Scientists Confront Velikovsky. Cornell University Press, 1978, ISBN 0-8014-0961-6 .
  • Horst Friedrich : Velikovsky, Spanuth and the sea peoples discussion. 2nd Edition. Mediengruppe König, 2007, ISBN 3-939856-06-1 .

Velikovsky's books and writings

  • Worlds in Collision .
    • German translation by Fritz W. Gutbrod: Worlds in collision. When the sun stood still Stuttgart: Kohlhammer, 1951. Numerous new editions, Julia White Publishing, 2005, ISBN 3-934402-91-7
  • Oedipus and Akhnaton .
    • German translation by Ilse Fuhr and Albert Fuhr: Oedipus and Akhenaten. Myth and History . Zurich: Europa-Verlag, 1966. New edition: Julia White Publishing, 2018, ISBN 3-934402-95-X .
  • From the Exodus to King Akhnaton
    • German translation by Ilse Fuhr: From Exodus to King Akhenaten ( Age in Chaos , Vol. 1). Frankfurt am Main: Umschau-Verlag, 1981. New edition: Julia White Publishing, 2008, ISBN 3-934402-92-5 .
  • Ramses II and His Time.
    • German translation by Christoph Marx: Ramses II. And his time ( Age in Chaos , Vol. 2). Frankfurt am Main: Umschau-Verlag, 1979. New editions: The second life of the pharaohs. Ramses II and the mysteries of ancient Egypt . Frankfurt am Main / Berlin: Ullstein, 1995; ISBN 978-3-548-35504-7 . Ramses II and his time . Julia White Publishing, 2010, ISBN 3-934402-93-3 .
  • Peoples of the Sea
    • German translation by Wolfram Wagmuth and Christoph Marx: Die Seevölker ( Age in Chaos , Vol. 3). Frankfurt am Main: Umschau-Verlag, 1978. New editions: Dynasties in Chaos. Unraveling ancient secrets . Frankfurt am Main / Berlin: Ullstein, 1995; ISBN 978-3-548-35517-7 . The sea people . Julia White Publishing, 2010, ISBN 3-934402-94-1 .
  • Earth in Upheaval
  • Mankind in Amnesia
    • German translation by Friedrich W. Gutbrod: The collective forgetting. Repressed catastrophes of mankind . Frankfurt am Main: Umschau-Verlag, 1985; ISBN 978-3-524-69045-2 . New edition: Mankind in amnesia. Julia White Publishing, 2008, ISBN 3-934402-96-8 .
  • Stargazers and Gravediggers .
    • German translation by Trisha Byrne and Thomas Hoffmann: Stargazers and Gravedigger: Memoirs on Worlds in Collision. Julia White Publishing, 2012, ISBN 978-3-934402-97-3 .
  • The Dark Age of Greece. (unfinished), RM Publ., 1997, ISBN 965-90066-1-6 .

Web links

Notes and individual references

  1. ↑ a black granite stone with hieroglyphics, discovered in the 1960s, today in the museum of Ismailia (Egypt)
  2. ↑ E. Naville found in the ruins of a palace of Ramses III. Faience tiles with Greek letters
personal data
SURNAME Velikovsky, Immanuel
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Russian-American doctor, psychoanalyst and critic of chronology
DATE OF BIRTH June 10, 1895
PLACE OF BIRTH Vitebsk
DATE OF DEATH 17th November 1979
Place of death Princeton , New Jersey