Gotthilf Heinrich von Schubert

Schubert, Gotthilf Heinrich von (Hohenstein, Saxony, 1780-1860, Laufzorn, Bavaria), abandoned the study of theology at Leipzig University and turned to medicine and the natural sciences, moving later to Jena. He practised medicine successively in Altenburg, Freiberg, and Dresden, was for a few years headmaster of a grammar school in Nuremberg, but in 1819 was appointed to the chair of natural sciences at Erlangen University. In 1827 he moved to Munich University, becoming a member of the Munich Academy. He was ennobled in 1853.

While at Jena, Schubert was influenced by the Nature philosophy of Schelling and reacted strongly against a purely materialistic approach to the sciences. He expressed this in his early work, Ansichten von der Nachtseite der Naturwissenschaften (1808). His interest in anthropology and in literature was stimulated by J. G. Herder, with whose son Emil Herder he became acquainted as a student. His work Die Symbolik des Traumes (1814) investigates subconscious phenomena and their relationship to reality. It expresses attitudes nurtured by the Romantics (see Romantik) and is based on the conviction that there is a distinction between dreams expressing anxiety and serving a premonitory function and dream experience as a communication of the soul with God; on this level the subconscious workings of the mind can lead to an understanding of the presence of God in Nature and in life, and so to a supreme awareness of the wholeness of existence. Schubert appended to the third edition of this work in 1840 posthumous papers of J. F. Oberlin under the heading Nachlaß eines Visionärs, des J. Fr. Oberlin, gewesenen Pfarrers im Steinthale. In later life he retreated somewhat from this mysticism (much influenced by J. Böhme). Schubert's other important works include Geschichte der Seele (2 vols., 1830) and its sequel Die Krankheiten und Störungen der menschlichen Seele (1845), Altes und Neues aus dem Gebiet der innern Seelenkunde (5 vols., 1817-44), and Biographien und Erzählungen (3 vols., 1847-8). His Allgemeine Naturgeschichte (1826) appeared in revised form as Die Geschichte der Natur (3 vols., 1835-7, reissued 1961).

Schubert's travels in the mid-1830s are recorded in Reise in das Morgenland (3 vols., 1838-9); Der Erwerb aus einem vergangenen und die Erwartungen von einem zukünftigen Leben (3 vols., 1854-6) is autobiographical. Vermischte Schriften (2 vols.) appeared 1856-60.

Gotthilf Heinrich von Schubert

Gotthilf Heinrich von Schubert (26 April 1780, Hohenstein-Ernstthal — 30 June 1860, Laufzorn, a village in Oberhaching) was a German physician and naturalist.

He began his studies with theology, but turned to medicine and established himself as a doctor in Altenburg, Thuringia. He soon gave up his practice however and devoted himself to research in Dresden.

He gave renowned lectures on fringe science (animal magnetism, clairvoyance and dream), and in 1819 he occupied the chair in natural history in Erlangen where he studied botany (botanical abbreviation: Schub.^[1]), forestry, mineralogy and geognosy. In 1827 he moved for the last time, to Munich, where he was appointed professor; it was here that the highly popular and friendly Schubert found an embittered opponent in Lorenz Oken.

Schubert aimed to create a religiously-grounded interpretation of the cosmos. His masterpiece, Symbolism of Dreams (1814) was one of the most famous books of its time, exercising influence over E. T. A. Hoffmann and even Sigmund Freud and C. G. Jung. Schubert advocated an ecumenical "awakened Christianity" which found evidence for God both in Nature and in the human soul. Synthesising the Bible with the philosophy of Schelling, he was a major figure in the "later Enlightenment". In his History of the Soul (1830), Schubert again attempted to fuse the philosophy of Herder and Schelling with the Christian tradition.

Sources

1. ^ Gotthilf Heinrich von Schubert at the International Plant Names Index (ipni.org)

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