Rudolf Hermann Lotze
born May 21, 1817, Bautzen, Saxony [Germany]
died July 1, 1881, Berlin
German philosopher who bridged the gap between classical
German philosophy and 20th-century idealism and founded Theistic
Idealism.
While studying for doctorates in medicine and philosophy at
the University of Leipzig (1834–38), he began interpreting
physical processes as essentially mechanistic. After a short
medical practice, he concentrated his efforts on philosophy by
teaching at Leipzig (1842–44) and becoming professor of
philosophy at the universities of Göttingen (1844–80) and Berlin
(1881).
He first became known as a physiologist in his polemic
against vitalism. Although he regarded physical and psychic
sciences equally, he espoused a natural order to the creation of
the universe as determined by a supreme being. His religious
philosophy affected modern thought by emphasizing the problem of
delineating value from existence. The foundation for his
theories is documented in Logik (1843), Mikrokosmos, 3 vol.
(1856–64), and Metaphysik (1879).
