Editing Constantin Brunner

{{Short description|German Jewish philosopher}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{Infobox philosopher
| region      = [[Western philosophy]]
| era         = [[Modern philosophy]]
| image       = Constantin Brunner.jpg
| caption     =
| name        = Constantin Brunner
| birth_date  = {{birth date|df=yes|1862|8|27}}
| birth_place = [[Altona, Hamburg|Altona]], [[Hamburg]], [[German Confederation]]
| death_date  = {{death date and age|df=yes|1937|8|27|1862|8|27}}
| death_place = [[The Hague]], [[Netherlands]]
| school_tradition =
| main_interests   =
| influences =
| influenced =
| notable_ideas = the three faculties<br>of thought<br>(the practical,<br>the intellectual,<br>the analogical)
}}
'''Constantin Brunner''' (1862–1937) was the [[pen-name]] of the [[Germany|German]] [[Jew]]ish philosopher '''Arjeh Yehuda Wertheimer''' (called Leo). He was born in [[Altona, Hamburg|Altona]] (near [[Hamburg]]) on 27 August 1862. He came from a prominent Jewish family that had lived in the vicinity of Hamburg for generations; his grandfather, [[Akiba Israel Wertheimer|Akiba Wertheimer]], was chief [[Rabbi]] of Altona and [[Schleswig-Holstein]]. Brunner studied philosophy under a number of prominent scholars, but never completed his doctorate. He established himself as a literary critic, and enjoyed a wide celebrity. In the 1890s, he withdrew from public life to devote himself to writing.  He lived in Germany until 1933, when, with the rise to power of the [[Nazi party]], he moved to [[The Hague]], where he died on 27 August 1937.

==Doctrine==

Central to Brunner's theory is the characterization of three different modes of mental activity:

<div style="float:right; margin:0 0 1em 1em; text-align:center;">[[File:Brunner Doctrine schema.jpg|Schema of Brunner's doctrine]]</div>

# '''Practical reason''', which every human possesses, and which serves one's normal needs
# '''Spiritual/intellectual (''geistig'') thought''', which rises above the relative truth residing in experience and in science, and strives toward a perception of the one eternal and absolute essence.
# '''"Superstition"'''—pseudo-contemplation, which is the mode of contemplation of most ordinary men. Unfounded belief is a distortion of the spiritual faculty. While practical reason recognizes that the "relative" is only "relative," superstition elevates what is relative to the status of the absolute.

Each of the three modes of thought consists of three specific aspects. In the practical understanding, the aspects are feeling, knowing and willing. In spiritual life, these are modified to become art, philosophy and mysticism (love). Superstition, however, distorts these aspects of spiritual life, transforming them into religion, metaphysics and moralism.

Brunner's intention is to contrast popular thought with spiritual/intellectual thought. His work ''Die Lehre von den Geistigen und vom Volke''<ref>{{Cite book|author=Brunner, Constantin|year=1908|title=Die Lehre von den Geistigen und vom Volke|language=German|location=Berlin|publisher=Karl Schnabel Verlag|oclc=769898291|url=http://catalog.hathitrust.org/api/volumes/oclc/38926502.html}}</ref> is a survey of the whole of human intellectual history seen from the point of view of this doctrine.

Brunner's ultimate objective was to prepare the way for the establishment of a community centered on the life of the mind, which would in turn open the way to the expansion of democracy.

==Brunner and Judaism==

The opposition between the spiritual and the religious is a major theme in Brunner's work. He contends that [[Judaism]] is essentially anti-religious, stating in ''Our Christ'' that "Judaism as a spiritual doctrine is the opposite of religion and a protest against it", and culminates his argument with his own translation of the [[Shema Yisrael|Shema]]: "Hear O Israel, Being is our god, Being is one". He juxtaposes priestly/pharisaic/rabbinic to prophetic Judaism, stating that the latter represents the true mystical essence in opposition to the former which distorts that essence.

==Brunner and Christianity==

For Brunner, [[Jesus]] was both a [[mysticism|mystic]] and a [[genius]], whereas Christian religion is largely a distortion of his thought. {{Why?|date=May 2011}}

==Brunner and Israel==

Throughout his life, Brunner was [[anti-Zionism|anti-Zionist]]. However, there is evidence that, toward the end of his life in light of events in Europe, he was reconsidering his opposition to the founding of the state of Israel (see ''Assimilation und Nationalismus: ein Briefwechsel mit Constantin Brunner'' / Willy Aron).

==Brunner and the history of philosophy==

According to Brunner, the authentic philosophy presented by [[Spinoza]] has its antithesis in [[scholasticism]] which reaches its highest expression in [[Immanuel Kant]]. Thus Spinoza and Kant represent opposite poles in the dialectical idealism by which Brunner organizes the whole of intellectual history.

==Brunner and science==

Brunner maintains that the foundation of all science is the doctrine of universal all-motion{{Clarify|date=May 2011}}. His elaboration of this doctrine has had a decisive effect on a number of medical practitioners{{Citation needed|date=May 2011}} and researchers.{{Citation needed|date=May 2011}}

==Brunner and evolution==

Brunner's position is that the fixity of the genus is a scientific principle that needs to be preserved if meaningful work is to be undertaken with biological systems. He argued that because the theory of evolution undermined the notion of genus, it would be detrimental to practical scientific endeavor.

==Influence and relevance==

In ''Confessions of a European Intellectual'', [[Franz Schoenberner]] describes Brunner as "one of the more important figures" in Europe.  Brunner corresponded with [[Walther Rathenau]], [[Martin Buber]], [[Gustav Landauer]] and [[Lou Andreas-Salomé]]. [[Albert Einstein]] read Brunner but, while appreciating his critical insight and sharing his devotion to [[Baruch Spinoza|Spinoza]], rejected his philosophy, particularly where it stood opposed to [[Immanuel Kant]].<ref>Einstein to W. Aron, 14 January 1943. Einstein Archive, reel 33-296 Einstein-Aron correspondence, [[Albert Einstein Archives]], Hebrew University, Jerusalem</ref>

Brunner attracted a large and devoted following among the Jewish youth in Czernowitz. The best known of his disciples in this group is the poet, [[Rose Ausländer]].

With the Second World War, Brunner's books were burned and his devotees scattered. His German disciple Magdalena Kasch managed to save the bulk of Brunner's writing from destruction by the Nazis. In 1948, she, with the help of some of Brunner's other surviving friends, founded the "Internationaal Constantin Brunner Institut" (ICBI) in the Hague.  However, there has been no major revival of interest in his work, despite the efforts of artists [[Yehudi Menuhin]] and [[André Breton]] who regarded him as a role model.

==Brunner in English==

Brunner's works available in English include

*''Science, Spirit, Superstition'', which is a compilation of material from his other books. There are extracts from many of Brunner's works, including large sections from ''Die Lehre von den Geistigen und vom Volk'', covering the doctrine and history of science. There are also important sections from ''Materialismus und Idealismus'', a dialogue presentation of Brunner's understanding of philosophy and its history. It includes his writing on a variety of subjects.
*''Our Christ''. A translation, with an introduction and editorial notes.
*''The Tyranny of Hate: The Roots of Antisemitism'', an abridgement of one of Brunner's works on antisemitism.

There is relatively abundant secondary literature available in English, notably ''To live is to think : the thought of twentieth-century German philosopher Constantin Brunner'' by Hans Goetz (1995).

==Brunner in French==

Several works by Brunner are available in French. ''L'amour'' is the first part of Brunner's work on sexual relationships. ''Spinoza contre Kant'' contains Brunner's sketch of the history of modern philosophy. ''Le malheur de notre peuple allemand et nos " Völkisch "'' (orig. 1924) warns against the dangers of Nazism. The Sorbonne has an archive of several French translations of Brunner's work by Henri Lurié. There is abundant secondary material in French as well, notably a recent work by Martin Rodan entitled ''Notre culture européenne, cette inconnue'' (Peter Lang, 2009).

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{wikiquote}}
*[http://www.jolimai.org/?p=229  Short biography]{{dead link|date=August 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20140625034910/http://www.constantinbrunner.net/English/Start.html International Constantin Brunner Institute]
*[http://www.constantinbrunner.info Constantin Brunner Info]
*[http://digital.cjh.org/webclient/DeliveryManager?pid=1526023&custom_att_2=simple_viewer The Papers of Constantin Brunner] Digitized Archival Collection in [http://www.lbi.org/digibaeck DigiBaeck], Leo Baeck Institute, NY.

===Works online===
*[https://archive.org/details/SpinozaContraKant ''Spinoza contra Kant''] (English).
*[https://archive.org/details/derjudenhassundd00brunuoft ''Der Judenhass und die Juden''] (German).

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brunner, Constantin}}
[[Category:1862 births]]
[[Category:1937 deaths]]
[[Category:19th-century German philosophers]]
[[Category:20th-century German Jews]]
[[Category:20th-century German philosophers]]
[[Category:Jewish German anti-Zionists]]
[[Category:German male writers]]
[[Category:Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to the Netherlands]]
[[Category:Jewish philosophers]]
[[Category:Spinoza scholars]]