Eduard von Hartmann 1842 – 1906
Eduard von Hartmann was a German philosopher whose Philosophy of the Unconscious, published in 1869, became one of the most widely read philosophical books of the late nineteenth century. Drawing on Schopenhauer, Hegel, and the new natural sciences, he developed a metaphysics in which the absolute principle of being is an unconscious unity of will and reason that drives the evolution of nature and history. His pessimistic conclusion that the wisest course is the eventual extinction of conscious willing made him a target of energetic criticism and an important influence on Nietzsche, Hartmann's younger contemporary, and on the broader currents of fin-de-siecle thought.
Key facts
- Nationality
- German
- Era
- Modern
- Movements
- Continental
Selected quotes
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Attributed to Eduard von Hartmann:
“The unconscious is the deepest principle of the universe.”
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Attributed to Eduard von Hartmann:
“Will and reason together constitute the absolute.”
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Attributed to Eduard von Hartmann:
“Consciousness is a stage in the evolution of the unconscious.”
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Attributed to Eduard von Hartmann:
“Pessimism is the only honest response to the structure of existence.”
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Attributed to Eduard von Hartmann:
“The progress of culture deepens rather than relieves the unhappiness of conscious life.”