Hermann Alexander Graf Keyserling (July 20, 1880–April 26, 1946) was a wealthy philosopher from the aristocratic Baltic German

Baltic German

The Baltic Germans were mostly ethnically German inhabitants of the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, which today form the countries of Estonia and Latvia. The Baltic German population never made up more than 10% of the total. They formed the social, commercial, political and cultural élite in...

 Keyserlingk

Keyserlingk

Keyserlingk is an old noble family from Westphalia. It is first mentioned with Hermann Keselinch on 16 November 1300. The direct line began with Albert Keserlink , mayor at Herford....

 family. He married Goedela von Bismarck-Schönhausen, granddaughter of Otto von Bismarck

Otto von Bismarck

Otto Eduard Leopold, Prince of Bismarck, Duke of Lauenburg , simply known as Otto von Bismarck, was a Prussian-German statesman whose actions unified Germany, made it a major player in world affairs, and created a balance of power that kept Europe at peace after 1871.As Minister President of...

. His son Arnold Keyserling

Arnold Keyserling

Count Arnold Alexander Keyserling was a German philosopher and theologian. He is the son of Hermann Graf Keyserling and great-grandson of Otto von Bismarck.- External links :...

 was a renowned philosopher as well.

Life

He was born in Könno, Pernau County

Pärnu County

Pärnu County , or Pärnumaa , is one of 15 counties of Estonia. It is situated in south-western part of the country, on the coast of Gulf of Riga, and borders Lääne and Rapla counties to the north, Järva and Viljandi counties to the east, and Latvia to the south...

, then in the Russian Empire

Russian Empire

The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...

, now in Estonia

Estonia

Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...

. After his education at the universities of Dorpat

University of Tartu

The University of Tartu is a classical university in the city of Tartu, Estonia. University of Tartu is the national university of Estonia; it is the biggest and highest-ranked university in Estonia...

 (Tartu), Heidelberg

Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg

The Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg is a public research university located in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Founded in 1386, it is the oldest university in Germany and was the third university established in the Holy Roman Empire. Heidelberg has been a coeducational institution...

, and Vienna

University of Vienna

The University of Vienna is a public university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world...

, he took a trip around the world. He interested himself in natural science

Natural science

The natural sciences are branches of science that seek to elucidate the rules that govern the natural world by using empirical and scientific methods...

 and in philosophy

Philosophy

Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...

, and before World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 he was known both as a student of geology

Geology

Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...

 and as a popular essayist. The Russian Revolution

Russian Revolution of 1917

The Russian Revolution is the collective term for a series of revolutions in Russia in 1917, which destroyed the Tsarist autocracy and led to the creation of the Soviet Union. The Tsar was deposed and replaced by a provisional government in the first revolution of February 1917...

 deprived him of his estate in Livonia

Livonia

Livonia is a historic region along the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea. It was once the land of the Finnic Livonians inhabiting the principal ancient Livonian County Metsepole with its center at Turaida...

, and with the remains of his fortune he founded the Gesellschaft für Freie Philosophie (Society for Free Philosophy) at Darmstadt

Darmstadt

Darmstadt is a city in the Bundesland of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Rhine Main Area.The sandy soils in the Darmstadt area, ill-suited for agriculture in times before industrial fertilisation, prevented any larger settlement from developing, until the city became the seat...

. The mission of this school was to bring about the intellectual reorientation of Germany.

Although not a doctrinaire pacifist, Keyserling believed that the old German policy of militarism

Militarism

Militarism is defined as: the belief or desire of a government or people that a country should maintain a strong military capability and be prepared to use it aggressively to defend or promote national interests....

 was dead for all time and that Germany's only hope lay in the adoption of international, democratic principles. His best known work is the Reisetagebuch eines Philosophen ("Travel-journal of a Philosopher"). The book also describes his travels in Asia, America and Southern Europe.

He died at Innsbruck

Innsbruck

- Main sights :- Buildings :*Golden Roof*Kaiserliche Hofburg *Hofkirche with the cenotaph of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor*Altes Landhaus...

, Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

.

Works

• Reisetagebuch eines Philosophen
• Das Buch vom Ursprung
• Schöpferische Erkenntnis
• Südamerikanische Meditationen
• Einführung in die Schule der Weisheit
• Philosophie als Kunst
• Das Buch vom persönlichen Leben
• Betrachtungen der Stille und Besinnlichkeit
• Reise durch die Zeit (Memoiren)

Literature

• Dyserinck, Hugo: Graf Hermann Keyserling und Frankreich, Ein Kapitel deutsch-französischer Geistesbeziehungen im 20. Jahrhundert; Bouvier, Bonn 1970; ISBN 3-416-00667-4
• Gahlings, Ute: Hermann Graf Keyserling, ein Lebensbild; Justus-von-Liebig-Verlag, Darmstadt 1996; ISBN 3-87390-116-1
• Keyserling-Archiv Innsbruck-Mühlau (Hrsg.): Graf Hermann Keyserling, ein Gedächtnisbuch; Rohrer, Innsbruck 1948
• Kaminsky, Amy: ' Victoria Ocampo and the Keyserling Effect' in Argentina, stories for a nation. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2008 p. 70-98.

External links

• ULB Darmstadt at elib.tu-darmstadt.de
• Count Hermann Keyserling at www.schoolofwisdom.com
• Schule der Weisheit at www.schuledesrades.org (German online Books)
• THE WEBSITE OF Stammbaum der Grafen und Barone Keyserlingk at www.keyserlingk.info