Paul Rée

Paul Ludwig Carl Heinrich Rée was a German author, physician, and philosopher, born on November 21, 1849, in Bartelshagen, Prussia. He is primarily remembered for his intellectual friendship with Friedrich Nietzsche, and much of the perception of Rée's work comes from Nietzsche's and Lou Salomé's accounts. Rée's background as the son of a wealthy landowner allowed him to pursue studies in philosophy and law at the University of Leipzig. Influenced by thinkers like Darwin and Schopenhauer, Rée explored human nature through aphorisms and philosophical exegesis, a style he termed "psychological observations." His doctoral dissertation, completed by 1875, focused on Aristotle's concept of the "noble." His book *The Origin of the Moral Sensations*, largely written in Sorrento in 1877, sought to explain the development of altruistic feelings and their designation as moral. Rée proposed that altruism is an innate drive strengthened by selection over time, influenced by evolutionary theories. He also rejected the concept of free will, arguing it underpins the development of the feeling of justice. Rée favored naturalistic explanations for morality, drawing on Darwin and Lamarck, and proposed that acquired habits, like altruistic behavior, could be passed down as innate characteristics. Nietzsche, while acknowledging Rée's work, offered significant critiques, particularly in *On the Genealogy of Morals*. The close friendship between Rée and Nietzsche dissolved in the fall of 1882 due to complexities involving Lou Salomé. Following this, Rée pursued a career as a physician. He died on October 28, 1901, in Celerina, Switzerland, under circumstances that remain unclear, with possibilities of accident or suicide being discussed. Rée's philosophical contributions, though sometimes overshadowed by his associations, represent an important naturalistic approach to ethics and psychology in the 19th century.