Moritz Lazarus

Moritz Lazarus (15 September 1824 – 13 April 1903) was a German-Jewish philosopher and psychologist. Born in Filehne, Grand Duchy of Posen, he was a prominent opponent of antisemitism. Lazarus's philosophy centered on the idea that truth should be sought through psychological investigation rather than metaphysical abstractions. He emphasized the importance of studying society as a whole, analyzing its customs, conventions, and evolution, a field he termed "Völkerpsychologie" (folk or comparative psychology). This approach was a development of Herbartian theory and a critique of natural philosophers and positivists. He co-founded the "Zeitschrift für Völkerpsychologie und Sprachwissenschaft" with Heymann Steinthal in 1859 and authored key works such as "Das Leben der Seele" (1855–1857). Lazarus held professorships at the University of Berne (1860–1866) and later at the University of Berlin (1873). He was also actively involved in Jewish communal life, serving in leadership roles in various Jewish organizations and synods. He actively campaigned against the rising antisemitism in Germany and wrote extensively on Jewish identity and Judaism, including "Treu und Frei: Reden und Vorträge über Juden und Judenthum" (1887) and "Die Ethik des Judenthums" (1898).