Agnes Marie Constanze von Hartmann[1] (née Taubert; 7 January 1844 – 8 May 1877) was a German philosopher and writer. She was married to the philosopher Eduard von Hartmann and was a passionate advocate for his work, Philosophy of the Unconscious (1869). She authored two notable books, under the name A. Taubert, that both critiqued and defended his ideas: Philosophie gegen naturwissenschaftliche Ueberhebung ("Philosophy Against the Overreach of Natural Sciences"; 1872) and Der Pessimismus und seine Gegner ("Pessimism and Its Opponents"; 1873). These works played a significant role in the intellectual debates surrounding the pessimism controversy in Germany.
Agnes Taubert | |
|---|---|
| Born | Agnes Marie Constanze Taubert 7 January 1844 |
| Died | 8 May 1877 (aged 33) |
| Nationality | German |
| Other names | A. Taubert |
| Notable work | Pessimism and Its Opponents (1873) |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 1 |
| Era | 19th-century philosophy |
| Region | Western philosophy |
| School | Post-Schopenhauerian pessimism |
Biography
editAgnes Marie Constanze Taubert[1] was born on 7 January 1844, in Stralsund, Kingdom of Prussia.[2] She was the daughter of an artillery colonel,[3] who was friends with the father of the philosopher Eduard von Hartmann.[4] In 1872, Taubert married Von Hartmann in Berlin-Charlottenburg and had a child with him.[5]
Taubert was a staunch supporter of her husband's work, Philosophy of the Unconscious (1869), and wrote two books—both critiquing and defending his ideas—under the pen name A. Taubert.[6][7] By publishing under a pen name, she was not recognized as a woman philosopher and was instead engaged with as if she were a man.[8]
Taubert's works, Philosophie gegen naturwissenschaftliche Ueberhebung ("Philosophy Against the Overreach of Natural Sciences"; 1872) and Der pessimismus und seine gegner ("Pessimism and Its Opponents"; 1873), significantly influenced the pessimism controversy in Germany.[9] In her work, she defines the central problem of philosophical pessimism as "a matter of measuring the eudaimonological value of life in order to determine whether existence is preferable to non-existence or not."[10] Like her husband, Taubert argued that this question could be answered through empirical observation.[10]
Taubert died in Berlin, on 8 May 1877,[2] of "an attack of a rheumatism of the joints",[9] which was described as "extremely painful".[11]
Legacy
editTaubert has been described as "one of the first women to have a prominent role in a public intellectual debate in Germany".[7] She has been compared to Olga Plümacher and Amalie J. Hathaway, two contemporary women philosophers who also contributed to the pessimism controversy.[12][13] Taubert has also been described, along with Olga Plümacher, as a forgotten philosopher of the late 19th century.[9]
A chapter on Taubert and Plümacher, written by Frederick C. Beiser, was included in the 2024 book, Oxford Handbook of Nineteenth-Century Women Philosophers in the German Tradition.[14]
Works
edit- Philosophie gegen naturwissenschaftliche ueberhebung: Eine zurechtweisung des dr. med. Geo Stiebeling und seiner angeblichen widerlegung der Hartmann schen lehre vom unbewussten in der leiblichkeit [Philosophy Against the Overreach of Natural Sciences: A Rebuttal to Dr. Geo Stiebeling and His Alleged Refutation of Hartmann’s Doctrine of the Unconscious in Corporality] (in German). Berlin: Duncker. 1872. OCLC 555590478.
- Der pessimismus und seine gegner [Pessimism and Its Opponents] (in German). Berlin: Carl Duncker's verlag (C. Heymons). 1873. OCLC 16408190.
References
edit- ^ a b "Taubert, Agnes". Deutsche Nationalbibliothek. Retrieved 2024-11-26.
- ^ a b "Taubert, Agnes (1844-1877)". Center for the History of Women Philosophers and Scientists. Retrieved 2024-01-30.
- ^ Hall, Granville Stanley (1912). Founders of Modern Psychology. New York; London: Appleton. p. 184.
- ^ Tsanoff, Radoslav A. (1931). The Nature of Evil. New York: The Macmillan Company. p. 344.
- ^ Gothaisches genealogisches Taschenbuch der briefadeligen Häuser [Gothaisches genealogical pocket book of the post-aristocratic houses] (in German). Gotha: J. Perthes. 1907. p. 270.
- ^ Cusack, Andrew (2021). Johannes Scherr: Mediating Culture in the German Nineteenth Century. Boydell & Brewer. p. 137. ISBN 978-1-64014-057-8.
- ^ a b Beiser, Frederick C. (2016). "The Pessimism Controversy, 1870–1890". Weltschmerz: Pessimism in German Philosophy, 1860–1900. Oxford University Press. p. 168. doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198768715.001.0001. ISBN 9780198768715.
- ^ Beiser, Frederick C. (2024-03-21), Gjesdal, Kristin; Nassar, Dalia (eds.), "Two Female Pessimists", The Oxford Handbook of Nineteenth-Century Women Philosophers in the German Tradition (1 ed.), Oxford University Press, pp. 471–492, doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190066239.013.30, ISBN 978-0-19-006623-9, retrieved 2024-10-18
- ^ a b c Beiser, Frederick C. (2016). "Two Forgotten Women Philosophers". After Hegel: German Philosophy, 1840–1900. Princeton University Press. p. 217. doi:10.23943/princeton/9780691163093.001.0001. ISBN 978-0-691-17371-9.
- ^ a b Dahlkvist, Tobias (2007). Nietzsche and the Philosophy of Pessimism: Schopenhauer, Hartmann, Leopardi (PDF) (PhD thesis). Uppsala University. p. 78.
- ^ Hartmann, Edward von (1895). The Sexes Compared and Other Essays. Translated by Kenner, A. London: Swan Sonnenschein & Co. p. v.
- ^ Roehr, Sabine (2015-10-27). "After Hegel: German Philosophy 1840–1900 by Frederick C. Beiser (review)". Journal of the History of Philosophy. 53 (4): 790–791. doi:10.1353/hph.2015.0073. ISSN 1538-4586. S2CID 170193435.
- ^ Bensick, Carol (2018-04-12). "An Unknown American Contribution to the German Pessimism Controversy: Amalie J. Hathaway's 'Schopenhauer'". Blog of the APA. Retrieved 2021-02-06.
- ^ Beiser, Frederick C. (2024-03-21), Gjesdal, Kristin; Nassar, Dalia (eds.), "Two Female Pessimists", The Oxford Handbook of Nineteenth-Century Women Philosophers in the German Tradition (1 ed.), Oxford University Press, pp. 471–492, doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190066239.013.30, ISBN 978-0-19-006623-9, retrieved 2024-10-18
Further reading
edit- Dahlkvist, Tobias (2007). Nietzsche and the Philosophy of Pessimism (PDF) (Thesis). Uppsala University. pp. 77–79