Friedrich Daniel Ernst Schleiermacher (1768-1834) was a German philosopher and a Protestant theologian. He is known as the father of modern hermeneutics, which is the science of interpretation of the Bible. Schleiermacher claimed that religion was based upon feeling and intuition, not rational thought and proof. He said that to the religious man, God is a living reality and experience. According to Schleiermacher, when man isolates himself from the universe and other people is when sin occurs. This leads man to live selfishly and then realize that he is miserable, which proves his oneness with God.
He was born in Beslau, Germany and was the son of a reformed clergyman. When he was 15 he was sent to a Moravian Brethren boarding school, and while there he started to question his faith and began to reject orthodox Christianity. In 1787 he attended the University of Halle and he studied theology. During this period Schleiermacher criticized, studied, and rejected many of Kant's philosophies. After school he became a private tutor for the family of Count Dohna-Schlobitten, which lead to the development of his love of family and social life. In 1790 he became a minister, and moved to Berlin in 1796 to work as a hospital chaplain. While living in Berlin he was influenced by German Romanticism, which allowed him to place a larger emphasis on emotion and imagination, rather than knowledge and reason.
Friedrich Schleiermacher
Friedrich Daniel Ernst Schleiermacher (1768-1834) was a German philosopher and a Protestant theologian. He is known as the father of modern hermeneutics, which is the science of interpretation of the Bible. Schleiermacher claimed that religion was based upon feeling and intuition, not rational thought and proof. He said that to the religious man, God is a living reality and experience. According to Schleiermacher, when man isolates himself from the universe and other people is when sin occurs. This leads man to live selfishly and then realize that he is miserable, which proves his oneness with God.
He was born in Beslau, Germany and was the son of a reformed clergyman. When he was 15 he was sent to a Moravian Brethren boarding school, and while there he started to question his faith and began to reject orthodox Christianity. In 1787 he attended the University of Halle and he studied theology. During this period Schleiermacher criticized, studied, and rejected many of Kant's philosophies. After school he became a private tutor for the family of Count Dohna-Schlobitten, which lead to the development of his love of family and social life. In 1790 he became a minister, and moved to Berlin in 1796 to work as a hospital chaplain. While living in Berlin he was influenced by German Romanticism, which allowed him to place a larger emphasis on emotion and imagination, rather than knowledge and reason.
References
Portrait of Friedrich Schleiermacher