HAMANN, JOHANN GEORG

German philosopher of faith and of feeling; b. Königsberg, Aug. 27, 1730; d. Münster in Westphalia, June 21, 1788. Known as the "wise man (Magus) of the North," he was associated with J. G. herder and F. H. jacobi and was a precursor of S. A. kierkegaard. Though a friend of I. kant, Hamann was opposed to the cult of reason of the Aufklärung (see enlightenment, philosophy of). To him it seemed that the intellect merely succeeds in dissecting the universe into many unities, whereas in reality all is held together in a vital unity and even opposites are brought together in a coincidence of opposition. Hamann adopted this idea from G. bruno. It can be traced back from Bruno to nicholas of cusa, but Hamann was no more aware of Cusa than were other philosophers who profited from Cusa's thought. To arrive at this unity, Hamann used a concept of experience different from that of Kant, viz, an experience not based on perception and conceptualization but rather on lived experience and intuition, on faith and devotion. The absolute, in particular, is accessible only to faith. Man must live in God if he would find Him and the truth. Philosophy must not be directed to intellectual knowledge; rather, wisdom must lead one to see what the wise men from the East saw in the star; hence the title "Magus of the North." Hamann's philosophy can be regarded as a reaction against the rationalism of the Enlightenment, his theology as the foundation of the theology of the irrational (F. D. E. schleiermacher, A. ritschl), and his literary efforts as a manifestation of the Sturm und Drang period. Finally, Hamann's thought was rooted in Lutheran religious sentiment, for which reason G. W. F. hegel regarded him as a true Christian philosopher. He was, however, also influenced by D. hume and Lord Shaftesbury. Whether one sees in Hamann a mystic or a pietist depends on one's definitions; he certainly was not a mystic in the sense of Meister eckhart and J. tauler. Perhaps he can be regarded as a proponent of sin mysticism, for he was basically conscious of the "unclean spirit" of man in the sense of the Lutheran doctrine of original sin. While he was aware that man is affected in matters of sex, his teaching does not entail a "philosophy of the Mystical Body of Christ with sex at its center" (J. Nadler). There is merit in his philosophy of language: reason is language; sense and spirit come together in the word; philosophy is the grammar of the meaning-filled word. To understand Hamann one must read his correspondence, as well as his works; studies of his thought are sometimes colored by the enthusiasm of his followers.

Bibliography: Sämtliche Werke: Historisch-kritische Ausgabe, ed. j. nadler, 6 v. (Vienna 1949–57); Briefwechsel, ed. w. ziesemer and a. henkel, 7 v. (Wiesbaden 1955–), 4 v. to date. Literature. f. c. copleston, History of Philosophy (Westminster MD 1946–63) v.6. f. blanke and l. schreiner, J. G. Hamanns Hauptschriften erklärt (Gütersloh 1956–). j. nadler, J. G. Hamann: Der Zeuge des Corpus mysticum (Salzburg 1949). j. c. o'flaherty, Unity and Language: A Study in the Philosophy of J.G. Hamann (Chapel Hill, N.C. 1952). "Hamann in America," Hamann News-Letter (Winston-Salem, N.C. 1962). h. a. salmony, J.G. Hamanns metakritische Philosophie, v.1, Einführung in de metakritische Philosophie (Zollikon 1958). r. g. smith, J. G. Hamann: A Study in Christian Existence, with Selections from His Writings (New York 1960). m. seils, Wirklichkeit und Wort bei J.G. Hamann (Stuttgart 1961). r. knoll, J. G. Hamann und F. H. Jacobi (Heidelberg 1963).

[j. hirschberger]