EUCKEN, RUDOLF CHRISTOPH German philosopher, was born on Jan. 5, 1846, at Aurich in East Friesland. He studied at Gottingen under Lotze, and at Berlin under Tren delenburg, whose ethical tendencies and historical treatment of philosophy attracted him. From 1871 to 1874 Eucken taught philosophy at Basle and from 1874 to 192o held the chair of philosophy at Jena. In 1908 he was awarded the Nobel prize for literature. He died on Sept. 15, 1926.
Eucken's early works deal with the philosophy of Aristotle, but his later ones are mainly concerned with ethical and religious problems. Rejecting naturalism on the ground that the feeling of ought is inexplicable if man is only a derivative of natural processes, and distrusting pure intellectualism, he maintains that man is the meeting place of nature and of spirit, and that it is his duty and privilege to overcome his non-spiritual nature by incessant active striving after the spiritual life which involves all faculties, especially will and intuition. Historical religion is often merely a means of consolation and may become contracted, but true culture advances both form and energy and seeks a total coherency.
Eucken's chief works are:—Die Methode der aristotelischen Forsch ung (1872) • Die Grundbegriffe der Gegenwart (1878 ; Eng. trans. 188o) ; Geschichte der philos. Terminologie (1879) ; Die Einheit des Geisteslebens (1888) ; Die Lebensanschauungen der grossen Denker (189o; Eng. trans. W. Hough and Boyce Gibson, The Problem of Human 1909) ; Der Wahrheitsgehalt der Religion (19o1) ; Thomas von Aquino and Kant (19o1) ; Gesammelte Aufsiitze (19o3) ; Philoso phie der Geschichte (1907) ; Der Kampf um einen geistigen Lebens inhalt (1896) ; Grundlinien einer neuen Lebensanschauung (1907, Eng. trs., 1911) ; Einfiihrung in die Philosophic der Geisteslebens (1908; Eng. trans., The Life of the Spirit, F. L. Pogson, 1909) ; Der Sinn and Wert des Lebens (1908 ; Eng. trans., 1909) ; Hauptprobleme der Religions-philosophie der Gegenwart (1907) ; Konnen wir noch Christen sein (1911, Eng. trs., 1914) ; Erkennen and Leben (1912, Eng. trs., 1913) ; Collected Essays (ed. translated 1914) ; Der Trager des deutschen Idealismus (1915) ; Mensch and Welt (1918) ; Was bleibt unser Halt (1918) and Lebens Erinnerungen (1921, Eng. trs. 192I) . See W. R. Boyce Gibson, Eucken's Philosophy of Life (1906) and God with Us (19o9) ; H. Pohlmann, R. Euckens Theologie (19o3) ; 0. Siebert, Euckens Welt- and Lebensanschauung (1904) ; K. Kesseler, Euckens Bedeutung fiir das moderne Christentum (1912) ; W. Tudor Jones, The Philosophy of Eucken (1914) ; M. Booth, Eucken: His Philosophy and Influence (1913) ; J. Budde, Welt- and Menschheits fragen in der Phil. Euckens (1021) . See Uberweg, Grund. der Gesch. der Phil., Pt. 4 (1923) for full bibliography.