Karl Joel (philosopher)

Karl Joël (also Carl, Joel, born March 27, 1864 in Hirschberg / Silesia, † July 23, 1934 in Whales City / Switzerland ) was a German philosopher.

Life

Karl Joël came on March 27, 1864 as the son of a family of rabbis in Hirschberg ( Silesia) to the world. His uncle, David and Manuel Joel, were both well-known researcher of Jewish religion and philosophy. Karl Joël attended high school in Hirschberg, where he received a classical education. At the age of 18 he began his study of philosophy in Wroclaw, where at that time Wilhelm Dilthey taught. After two semesters Joël moved to Leipzig. There he received his doctorate in 1886 with the work to knowledge of the spiritual development and the literary motifs of Plato.

After graduation, he went to the University of Strasbourg and dealt more with the ancient philosophy. In 1893 he completed his habilitation at the University of Basel. He competed five times in vain for a professorship in Germany. His first major work, The real and the xenophontische Socrates took place at the Basel classical philologist Georg Ferdinand Dümmler recognition, possibly meant that Joel was appointed in 1897 to the University of Basel. Joël was there in 1897 associate, full professor in 1902. In 1913 he was elected Rector of the University of Basel. In his Basler time he treated not only ancient philosophy, but also other topics, and his philosophical approach showed a clear tendency to philosophy of life. This resulted in 1912 his main work soul and the world, in which his life 's philosophical approach is most clearly.

After the appearance of soul and world his philosophy showed different trends. His 1917 written signature on the Philosophy of History was under the impression of the First World War. His later works history of ancient philosophy and changes of belief are based on the philosophy of history and found then considerable attention.

The rise of Nazism hit him hard as Jews. In 1934, Joël died of a stroke and was buried in the Jewish cemetery in Basel. He left the bulk of his library at the University of Jerusalem.

Philosophy

In his major work, soul and world Joël submit their organic approach that represents the whole world as an organic structure. The then-new discovery in the field of physics that colors or tones from compositions of oscillations exist, prompting Joel to explain the whole world as an organism. Thus he interpreted the vision as a composition of sensations, thinking as a composition of visual impressions. He sums up the world as a dynamic process and denies both the materialistic and the idealistic approach. In this work he often spent time with new findings such as the theory of evolution, experimental psychology and electrodynamics to his philosophy. The influence of Georg Simmel and Arthur Schopenhauer are clearly visible. He was closely related to the circle of ` Tatwelt 'of Euckenbundes in Jena and has also written on whose behalf the memorial volume to Rudolf Eucken.

Works

• For the knowledge of the spiritual development and literary motifs Plato, 1887.
• The real and the xenophontische Socrates, 1892.
• Philosophers ways in 1901.
• Nietzsche and the romance, 1905.
• Origin of natural philosophy in the spirit of mysticism, 1906.
• The free will. A development in conversations, 1908.
• Soul and the world, try an organic conception, 1912.
• The Philosophy of History, 1917.
• Karl Joël, in: Schmidt, Raymond (ed.), The philosophy of presence in self-portraits, 1921.
• History of Ancient Philosophy, Volume 1, 1921.
• The ethos of Rudolf Eucken, 1927.
• Changes of belief, 2 vols, 1928-34.