LOTZE, lo'tse, RunoLe HERMANN (1817-81). A German philosopher. He was born at Bautzen in Saxony, and educated at Leipzig. where in 1839 lie took doctor's degrees in medicine and philosophy, and became a privat-doeent in both subjects. In IS-II? he was made professor ex traordinary in the university, and two years later succeeded Herbart in the professorship at Gottingen. Here he did all his subsequent work. In ISSI he was called to Berlin, but delivered lectures there only part of a semester before his death on July 1, ISSI. Among his more im portant works are: Metaphysik (1541) ; Logik (I S43) ; llikrokosmus (1S56-0-1) ; and Geschichte der .lesthetik in Deutschland (186S). Of his projected definitive System der Philosophic only two parts were completed before his death—the Laqik (187-1: 2d ed. ISSI) and the Meta ph gsik (1879) : an English translation of both has ap peared (Oxford. 1884: reprinted 18,87-8s'). After his death also appeared notes from his lectures on the important disciplines of philosophy I Eng. trans., ed. G. T. Ladd. 6 vols.. Boston. 1884-87). Lotze was one of the most influential philoso phers of the latter half of the nineteenth century. His main significance is to be found in his at tempt to reconcile mechanism and teleology: i.e. to show that a scientific explanation of phe nomena by efficient causation does not exclude purpose. Mechanism, instead of being antago nist i• to teleology, was considered a necessary ele ment in any true system of teleology; for it is only an aspect of the interrelation of things, and interrelation is essential to a world in which purpose may be realized. Relations do not obtain between independent thing.; they are states of
things; they are as much attributes of things as sensible qualities are. Things. therefore. ar.- n, t independent, but are essentially related. What these things are in their inner nature can be eon ceived only by analogy. Spirit is the only form of inner being that we know ; hence following out this analogy he gets a system of monad, (see LEutxtaz), which must all be thought to be grounded in a supreme absolute personality or 1;0(1. In his philosophy, especially of the abso lute. Lotze is influenced as much by the pressure of his feelings and emotions as by the ilnian is of logie, and his idealism is ethical rather than intellectual. In psychology, his most noteworthy contribution was the local-sign theory, according to which the distinctive. non-spatial sense-attri butes, which vary according to the locality of the sense-organs stimulated, arc the original element out of whieh our spare-eonscionstiess is Consult: Lindsay. Lotze," in Mind ( 1876 ) ; Santayna, "Lotze's Moral I deal ism." in Iliad IlS90); Eastwood. "Lotze's Antithesis Between Thought and Things," in Mind (1s92 i ; Jimes. A Critical Account of the Philosophy of Lotze, the Doctrine of Thought (New York, 1895 ) ; Hartmann, Lot:es Philosophic I Leip zig, ISSS) ; Moore. The Ethical ispcct of Lotz,'s Metaphysics (New York, 1)01) ; Robins, Some Problems of Lotze's Theory of knotrledgc 1900) ; E. Pfleiderer. Lotzes philosophisa. anschauang :tack chum Grit ndznycn 12,1 Boston. 1884) ; Vorhrodt, Prinzinicn der Ohl,: and Religionsbhi1osophie Lotze's 1891).