Western Philosophers 20th Century Philosophy
Otto Weininger
Name The 20th century brought with it upheavals that produced a series of conflicting developments within philosophy over the basis of knowledge and the validity of various absolutes. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 348 × 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (460 × 793 pixel, file size: 36 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Otto Weininger (1880-1903), Austrian philosopher. ...	Otto Weininger
Birth	1880 April 3 (Vienna, Austria) Year 1880 (MDCCCLXXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... is the 93rd day of the year (94th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see Vienna (disambiguation). ...
Death	1903 October 4 (Vienna, Austria) Year 1903 (MCMIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ... is the 277th day of the year (278th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see Vienna (disambiguation). ...
School/tradition	Freethought Freethought is a philosophical viewpoint that holds that beliefs should be formed on the basis of science and logical principles and not be compromised by authority, tradition, or any other dogma. ...
Main interests	Philosophy, logic, psychology, genius, gender, religion For other uses, see Philosophy (disambiguation). ... Logic (from Classical Greek λόγος logos; meaning word, thought, idea, argument, account, reason, or principle) is the study of the principles and criteria of valid inference and demonstration. ... Psychological science redirects here. ... A genius is a person of great intelligence. ... Gender in common usage refers to the sexual distinction between male and female. ...
Notable ideas	All people have elements of both femininity and masculinity, logic and ethics are one, logic is tied to the principle of identity (A=A), the genius is the universal thinker.
Influences	Kant, Beethoven, Wagner, Jesus, Lombroso, Plato, Ibsen, Carlyle, Schopenhauer, Goethe Kant redirects here. ... “Beethoven” redirects here. ... Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner (22 May 1813 – 13 February 1883) was a German composer, conductor, music theorist, and essayist, primarily known for his operas (or music dramas as they were later called). ... This article is about Jesus of Nazareth. ... Cesare Lombroso Cesare Lombroso (Verona, November 6, 1835 - Turin, October 19, 1909) was a historical figure in modern criminology, and the founder of the Italian Positivist School of criminology. ... For other uses, see Plato (disambiguation). ... Ibsen redirects here. ... The most familiar view of Carlyle is as the bearded sage with a penetrating gaze Thomas Carlyle (December 4, 1795 – February 5, 1881) was a Scottish essayist, satirist, and historian, whose work was hugely influential during the Victorian era. ... Arthur Schopenhauer (February 22, 1788 – September 21, 1860) was a German philosopher who believed that the will to live is the fundamental reality and that this will, being a constant striving, is insatiable and ultimately yields only suffering. ... Goethe redirects here. ...
Influenced	Wittgenstein, Kraus, Kafka, Stein, Musil, Schoenberg, Joyce, Strindberg, Trakl, Canetti, Bernhard, Evola, von Liebenfels Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein (IPA: ) (April 26, 1889 in Vienna, Austria – April 29, 1951 in Cambridge, England) was an Austrian philosopher who contributed several ground-breaking ideas to philosophy, primarily in the foundations of logic, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of language, and the philosophy of mind. ... Karl Kraus (April 28, 1874 - June 12, 1936) was an eminent Austrian writer and journalist, known as a satirist, essayist, aphorist, playwright and poet. ... Kafka redirects here. ... Gertrude Stein (February 3, 1874 – July 27, 1946) was an American writer who became a catalyst in the development of modern art and literature. ... Robert Musil (November 6, 1880, Klagenfurt, Austria – April 15, 1942, Geneva, Switzerland) was an Austrian writer. ... Arnold Schoenberg, Los Angeles, 1948 Arnold Schoenberg (the anglicized form of Schönberg — Schoenberg changed the spelling officially when he left Germany and re-converted to Judaism in 1933; September 13, 1874 – July 13, 1951) was an Austrian and later American composer. ... This article is about the writer and poet. ...   (January 22, 1849 â€“ May 14, 1912) was a Swedish writer, playwright, and painter. ... Georg Trakl A poem by Trakl inscribed on a plaque in Mirabell Garden, Salzburg. ... Elias Canetti, Nobel Laureate in Literature Canettis tomb-stone in Zürich, Switzerland Elias Canetti (Rousse, Bulgaria, 25 July 1905 – 14 August 1994, Zurich) was a Bulgaria-born novelist of Sephardi Jewish ancestry who wrote in German and won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1981. ... Thomas Bernhard (February 9, 1931, Heerlen - February 12, 1989, Ohlsdorf) was an Austrian playwright and novelist. ... Julius Evola born Giulio Cesare Andrea Evola, aka Baron Evola (May 19, 1898-June 11, 1974), was an Italian esotericist and occult author, who wrote extensively on Hermeticism, the metaphysics of sex, Tantra, Buddhism, Taoism, mountaineering, the Holy Grail, militarism, aristocracy, on matters political, philosophical, historical, racial, religious, as well... Lanz von Liebenfels Adolf Josef Lanz (aka Jörg Lanz), who called himself Lanz von Liebenfels (July 19, 1874 - April 22, 1954) was a former monk and the founder of the right-wing magazine Ostara, in which he published anti-semitic and folkish theories. ...

Otto Weininger (April 3, 1880 – October 4, 1903) was an Austrian philosopher. In 1903, he published the book Geschlecht und Charakter (Sex and Character) which gained popularity after Weininger's suicide at the age of 23. Today, the book is often dismissed as misogynistic, homophobic and anti-Semitic by some academic circles^[1]; however, it continues to be held up as a great work of lasting genius and spiritual wisdom by others, most notably the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein. ^[2] is the 93rd day of the year (94th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1880 (MDCCCLXXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... is the 277th day of the year (278th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1903 (MCMIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ... A philosopher is a person who thinks deeply regarding people, society, the world, and/or the universe. ... This box:      Misogyny (IPA: ) is hatred or strong prejudice against women; an antonym of philogyny. ... The Eternal Jew: 1937 German poster. ... Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein (IPA: ) (April 26, 1889 in Vienna, Austria – April 29, 1951 in Cambridge, England) was an Austrian philosopher who contributed several ground-breaking ideas to philosophy, primarily in the foundations of logic, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of language, and the philosophy of mind. ...

Life

Otto Weininger was born the son of the Jewish goldsmith Leopold Weininger and his wife Adelheid. Weininger was a gifted student. Upon graduating from secondary school in July 1898 he registered at the University of Vienna. He studied mainly philosophy and psychology but also the natural sciences and medicine. He was fluent in many languages.^{[citation needed]} The word Jew ( Hebrew: יהודי) is used in a wide number of ways, but generally refers to a follower of the Jewish faith, a child of a Jewish mother, or someone of Jewish descent with a connection to Jewish culture or ethnicity and often a combination... The University of Vienna (German: ) is a public university located in Vienna, Austria. ...

In the autumn of 1901 Weininger tried to find a publisher for his work "Eros and the Psyche" - which he submitted as his thesis in 1902. He met Sigmund Freud who, however, did not recommend the text to a publisher. His professors accepted the thesis and Weininger received his Ph.D. degree. Shortly thereafter he became proudly and enthusiastically a Protestant. Sigmund Freud (IPA: ), born Sigismund Schlomo Freud (May 6, 1856 – September 23, 1939), was an Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist who founded the psychoanalytic school of psychology. ... Protestantism is a general grouping of denominations within Christianity. ...

After travelling around Europe for some time he returned to Vienna. At the time he began to suffer fits of depression. For other uses, see Vienna (disambiguation). ...

In June 1903, after months of concentrated work, the Vienna publishers Braumüller & Co published his book "Sex and Character - a fundamental investigation" - an attempt "to place sex relations in a new and decisive light".

While the book was not received negatively, it did not create the stir he expected.

On October 3, he took a room in the house in Schwarzspanierstraße 15 where Beethoven died. The next morning Weininger was found lying fully dressed on the floor, unconscious, with a wound in the left part of his chest. He was rushed to hospital, where he died, at the age of twenty-three. Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptized December 17, 1770 – March 26, 1827) was a German composer of Classical music, the predominant musical figure in the transitional period between the Classical and Romantic eras. ...

Sex and Character

In his book Sex and Character, Weininger argues that all people are composed of a mixture of the male and the female substance, and attempts to support his view scientifically. The male aspect is active, productive, conscious and moral/logical, while the female aspect is passive, unproductive, unconscious and amoral/alogical. Weininger argues that emancipation should be reserved for the "masculine woman", e.g. some lesbians, and that the female life is consumed with the sexual function: both with the act, as a prostitute, and the product, as a mother. Woman is a "matchmaker". By contrast, the duty of the male, or the masculine aspect of personality, is to strive to become a genius, and to forego sexuality for an abstract love of the absolute, God, which he finds within himself. See also Morality and Ethics. ... This page refers to human matchmakers, for modern matchmaking which tends to substitute information technology or game-like rules for the experts finesse see dating system. ... The Absolute is the totality of things; all that is, whether it has been discovered or not. ...

A significant part of his book is about the nature of genius. Weininger argues that there is no such thing as a person who has a genius for, say, mathematics, or music, but there is only the universal genius, in whom everything exists and makes sense. He reasons that such genius is probably present in all people to some degree. This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ...

In a separate chapter, Weininger, himself a Jew who had converted to Christianity in 1902, analyzes the archetypical Jew as feminine, and thus profoundly irreligious, without true individuality (soul), and without a sense of good and evil. Christianity is described as "the highest expression of the highest faith", while Judaism is called "the extreme of cowardliness". Weininger decries the decay of modern times, and attributes much of it to feminine, and thus Jewish, influences. By Weininger's reckoning everyone shows some femininity, and what he calls "Jewishness". Individualism is a term used to describe a moral, political, or social outlook that stresses human independence and the importance of individual self-reliance and liberty. ... Bouguereaus LInnocence (Innocence). Both the child and the lamb represent fragility and peacefulness, as seen in religious art. ...

Weininger shot himself in the house in Vienna where Beethoven had died, the man he considered one of the greatest geniuses of all. This made him a cause célèbre, inspired several imitation suicides, and turned his book into a success. The book received glowing reviews by August Strindberg, who wrote that it had "probably solved the hardest of all problems", the "woman problem". “Beethoven” redirects here. ... Look up cause célèbre in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...   (January 22, 1849 â€“ May 14, 1912) was a Swedish writer, playwright, and painter. ... The woman question is a phrase usually used in connection with a social change in the later half of the nineteenth century which questioned the fundamental roles of women in counties such as the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and Russia. ...

Influence on Wittgenstein

Ludwig Wittgenstein read the book as a schoolboy and was deeply impressed by it, later listing it as one of his influences and recommending it to friends (Ray Monk: Ludwig Wittgenstein, The Duty of Genius, 1990). However, Wittgenstein's deep admiration of Weininger's thought was coupled with a fundamental disagreement with his position. Wittgenstein writes to G.E. Moore: "It isn't necessary or rather not possible to agree with him but the greatness lies in that with which we disagree. It is his enormous mistake which is great." The themes of the decay of modern civilization and the duty to perfect one's genius occur repeatedly in Wittgenstein's later writings. Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein (IPA: ) (April 26, 1889 in Vienna, Austria – April 29, 1951 in Cambridge, England) was an Austrian philosopher who contributed several ground-breaking ideas to philosophy, primarily in the foundations of logic, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of language, and the philosophy of mind. ...

Weininger and the Nazis

Isolated parts of Weininger's writings were used by Nazi propaganda, despite the fact that Weininger actively argued against the ideas of race that came to be identified with the Nazis. On the other hand, Weininger's views on race cannot be reduced to a simplistic egalitarian liberalism: "A genius has perhaps scarcely ever appeared amongst the negroes, and the standard of their morality is almost universally so low that it is beginning to be acknowledged in America that their emancipation was an act of imprudence" (Sex and Character, New York: G.P. Putnam, 1906, p. 302). "Greatness is absent from the nature of the woman and the Jew, the greatness of morality, or the greatness of evil. In the Aryan man, the good and bad principles of Kant’s religious philosophy are ever present, ever in strife. In the Jew and the woman, good and evil are not distinct from one another ... It would not be difficult to make a case for the view that the Jew is more saturated with femininity than the Aryan, to such an extent that the most manly Jew is more feminine than the least manly Aryan." (ibid., p. 189). Nazism in history Nazi ideology Nazism and race Outside Germany Related subjects Lists Politics Portal         Nazism or National Socialism (German: Nationalsozialismus), refers primarily to the ideology and practices of the Nazi Party (National Socialist German Workers Party, German: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP) under Adolf Hitler. ... For other uses, see Propaganda (disambiguation). ... Negro means the color black in both Spanish and Portuguese languages, being derived from the Latin word niger of the same meaning. ... The Aryan race is a concept in European culture that was influential in the period of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. ...

Adolf Hitler is reported to have said something to the effect of "There was only one decent Jew, and he killed himself."^[3] Nevertheless, Weininger's books were denounced by the Nazis, most probably because Weininger encouraged women to think for themselves, and to determine their own future, which went directly against the Nazi idea of the role of women in society.^{[citation needed]}. Hitler redirects here. ...

Weininger's Works

• Weininger, Otto. Selection of works available for download [1]
• Weininger, Otto. Geschlecht und Charakter: Eine prinzipielle Untersuchung, Vienna, Leipzig 1903, translation online - original version in German
• Weininger, Otto. Collected Aphorisms, Notebook and Letters to a Friend, Edited and translated by Kevin Solway and Martin Dudaniec, 2002, translation online
• Weininger, Otto. Sex and Character: An Investigation Of Fundamental Principles. Ladislaus Löb (trans.) Indiana University Press, 2005. ISBN 0-253-34471-9
• Weininger, Otto. A Translation of Weininger’s Über die letzten Dinge (1904/1907)/On Last Things. Steven Burns (trans.) Edwin Mellen Press, 2001. ISBN 0-7734-7400-5

Further reading

• Nancy Harrowitz, Barbara Hyams (eds). Jews and Gender: Responses to Otto Weininger. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1995 ISBN 1-56639-249-7 Table of Contents & Chapter 1 [2]
• Abrahamsen, David. The Mind and Death of a Genius. New York: Columbia University Press, 1946.
• Sengoopta, Chandak. Otto Weininger: Sex, Science, and Self in Imperial Vienna University of Chicago Press, 2000 ISBN 0-226-74867-7
• Stern, David G. and Béla Szabados (eds). Wittgenstein Reads Weininger. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2004. ISBN 0-521-53260-4

The headquarters of the Cambridge University Press, in Trumpington Street, Cambridge. ...

External links

• Otto Weininger on the Internet
• Weininger Photos and Gravesite
• Testimony by Weininger's friend Artur Gerber
• Sex & character Cornell University Library Historical Monographs Collection. {Reprinted by} Cornell University Library Digital Collections

References