Region Western Philosophy Era Age of Enlightenment | Main interests History of philosophy Main interest Philosophy | |
Born 3 March 1765 Aken School Post-Kantian transcendental idealismJena RomanticismNaturphilosophie Notable ideas Humanity strives after one determined universal goal Similar Johann Gottlieb Fichte, Immanuel Kant, Karl Leonhard Reinhold | ||
August Ludwig Hülsen (pseudonym: Hegekern; March 3, 1765 – September 24, 1809) was a philosopher, writer and pedagogue of early German romanticism. His thought has played a role in the development of German idealism.
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Life
Hülsen was born in Aken. As a private tutor, active in Görtzke bei Ziesar, he was able to meet Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué, an important writer of German romanticism. In 1794 he enrolled for the University of Kiel and attended the lectures of Karl Leonhard Reinhold, a leading interpreter of Kant's philosophy. In 1795 Hülsen shifted to the University of Jena, where J. G. Fichte had succeeded Reinhold as a teacher. During this time he was also associated with the Gesellschaft der freien Männer.
Around 1799 Hülsen attempted to establish his own Socratic school, but the project failed. During the same period Hülsen had picked up his literary work in collaboration with the Jena romantics. He later distanced himself from this circle; instead of writing scholarly treatises Hülsen wanted to promote a more “popular” spiritual culture.
In 1803 von Berger and some other ex-members of the Gesellschaft invited Hülsen to their agricultural community in Holstein. He simultaneously ended his correspondence with the circle of Friedrich Schlegel. Hülsen was strongly opposed to their growing sympathy for the medieval past, which he considered reactionary. In 1804 Hülsen received a farm from his friends in the small village of Wagersrott. Henrik Steffens visited him here and reported that Hülsen and Berger had become interested in Naturphilosophie and that the both of them had conducted several experiments.
In 1809 Hülsen moved with his family to Stechow near Rathenow, and he died there on September 24.
Thought
His Preisschrift illustrates the intention to develop the systematic implications of Fichtean philosophy. Hülsen's philosophy of history concerns a progression of the history of philosophy; he believed that humanity strives after one determined universal goal (bestimmten Zweck). He preceded Georg Hegel's vision on this matter. Fichte was pleased with Hülsen's achievement and acknowledged his Preisschrift as a text that could facilitate the reading of his own Wissenschaftslehre.
After finishing his Preisschrift Hülsen published other philosophical treatises in a number of journals. Through these expositions on various subjects Hülsen transforms his Fichtean philosophy of history into a romantic philosophy. Other students of Fichte are characterized by the same evolution, such as Schelling and Novalis. Hülsen's writings become more mystical and esthetical. Poetry and philosophy are unified into religion. Traces of this transformation can be found in his Natur-Betrachtungen.