Transcriptions and English translations of Danish philosophical works, primarily from the nineteenth century. All source texts are in the public domain; scans are drawn from the Royal Danish Library. LaTeX sources and PDF files are on GitHub. For scholarly commentary on each text, see the notes page.
Poul Martin Møller (1794–1838)
Poet, philosopher, and Professor of Philosophy at Copenhagen 1831–1838. The most important philosophical figure in the generation immediately preceding Kierkegaard; the Concept of Anxiety is dedicated to his memory.
Tanker over Muligheden af Beviser for Menneskets Udødelighed
1837. Maanedsskrift for Litteratur 17 (1837), pp. 1–72 and 422–453
En Dansk Students Eventyr
1824 / 1843. Efterladte Skrifter, bd. 3, ed. F.C. Olsen, C.A. Reitzel
Written c. 1824; published posthumously 1843. Selections.
Strøtanker
1843. Efterladte Skrifter, bd. 3, ed. F.C. Olsen, C.A. Reitzel
Selections.
Problemet »Udødelighed«to do
Eksistentialismeto do
Dybdepsykologito do
Hvad er Philosophie?
1843. Efterladte Skrifter, bd. 3, ed. F.C. Olsen, C.A. Reitzel
Remainder of lecture courseto do
Qvindelighed
1843. Efterladte Skrifter, bd. 3, ed. F.C. Olsen, C.A. Reitzel
Rasmus Nielsen (1809–1884)
Professor of philosophy at Copenhagen 1841–1884. Developed the central position of the mid-century debate: that faith and knowledge spring from absolutely heterogeneous principles. Target of both Brøchner's philosophical critique and Brandes's cultural polemic.
Mag. S. Kierkegaards "Johannes Climacus" og Dr. H. Martensens "Christelige Dogmatik"
1849. C.A. Reitzel, Copenhagen
Om Theologiens Naturbegreb, med særligt Hensyn til Malebranche
1855. Det Schultziske Officin (Universitetsprogram)
Philosophie og Mathematik
1857. Gyldendal, Copenhagen
Mathematik og Dialektik
1859. Gyldendal, Copenhagen
Grundideernes Logik, vols. I–II
1864–1866. Gyldendal, Copenhagen
Selections (vol. I, §§ on the Objektiveringslov)KB Scanto do Om den Gode Vilje som Magt i Videnskaben
1867. Gyldendal, Copenhagen
Logik og Psychologie
1867. Gyldendal, Copenhagen
Lecture course for the university year 1867–68.
Om Hindringer og Betingelser for det aandelige Liv i Nutiden
1868. Gyldendal, Copenhagen
Religionsphilosophie
1869. Gyldendal, Copenhagen
Ide og Virkelighed
1869. For Ide og Virkelighed 1(1): 1–39
Complete essay (pp. 1–39)Journalto do Et Synspunkt for Darwinismen
1873. For Ide og Virkelighed 8(1): 449–459
Natur og Aand
1873. J.H. Schubothe, Copenhagen
Selections (689 pp. total)KB Scanto do Om Betingelserne for en kraftig Villie
1874. Gyldendal, Copenhagen
Gamle og nye Profeter: Seks Forelæsninger
1878. Gyldendal, Copenhagen
Philosophiske Grundproblemer
1879. Universitetets Festskrift, Copenhagen
Almindelig Videnskabslære i Grundtræk
1880. Gyldendalske Boghandel, Copenhagen
Om det oprindelige Forhold mellem Religion og Videnskab
1881. Schultz, Copenhagen
University festival address, 8 April 1881.
Forelæsninger over »Philosophisk Propædeutik« (1862), Darwin excerpt
1862. Gyldendal, Copenhagen
Pages 326–328: the earliest philosophical engagement with Darwin in the Danish tradition.
Hans Brøchner (1820–1875)
Professor of philosophy at Copenhagen 1857–1875. Post-Hegelian, moved toward a naturalistic humanism under the influence of Feuerbach and Strauss. His critical engagement with Kierkegaard and Nielsen makes him a crucial third voice; Høffding credited Brøchner's lectures as the direct cause of his own conversion away from Nielsen's position.
Om Søren Kierkegaards Virksomhed som religieus Forfatter
1855. Fædrelandet, 1 December 1855
Published anonymously under the mark "-r".
Benedict Spinoza. En Monographie
1857. Gyldendal, Copenhagen
Problemet om Tro og Viden
1868. Philipsen, Copenhagen
Et Svar til Professor R. Nielsen
1868. Philipsen, Copenhagen
Georg Brandes, Levned vol. I (1905), pp. 129–132
1905. Gyldendal, Copenhagen
Primary source for Brøchner's personality and influence.
Om det Religiøse i dets Enhed med det Humane
1869. Philipsen, Copenhagen
Bidrag til Opfattelsen af Philosophiens historiske Udvikling
1869. Philipsen, Copenhagen
Erindringer om Søren Kierkegaard
1877. Det nittende Aarhundrede; book form ed. Steen Johansen, 1953
Written 1871–72; published posthumously 1877.
Georg Brandes (1842–1927)
Critic and intellectual, later principal organizer of the Modern Breakthrough. As a young philosophy student under Sibbern and Nielsen, he wrote his first major work as a direct attack on Nielsen's dualism.
Dualismen i vor nyeste Philosophie
1866. Gyldendal, Copenhagen
Levned, Bind I (1905), selected passages
1905. Gyldendal, Copenhagen
Passages on Brøchner and Nielsen. Source: georgbrandes.dk.
Samlede Skrifter, Trettende Bind
1899. Gyldendal, Copenhagen
Gathers Nielsen controversy writings. OCR text at Project Runeberg.
Striden om Tro og Viden (pp. 1–42)to do
Dualismen i vor nyeste Filosofi (pp. 43–84)to do
Om den gode Vilje som Magt i Videnskaben (pp. 85–92)to do
Nielsen og Grundtvig (pp. 93–97)to do
R. Nielsens Lære om Tro og Viden (pp. 106–109)to do
Harald Høffding (1843–1931)
Nielsen's student and eventual successor as the dominant figure in Danish philosophy. His intellectual development is the key to the whole debate: in 1866 he explicitly defended Nielsen's position, then within a year — under Brøchner's influence — changed his mind completely, spending the next three decades working out what that conversion implied.
Studentnoter fra Rasmus Nielsens kursus om Grundideernes Logik
c. 1864–1866. Manuscript
Høffding's handwritten notes from Nielsen's lectures on Grundideernes Logik.
Complete manuscriptcoming soon
Philosophie og Theologie: en historisk-kritisk Afhandling
1866. Copenhagen
Filosofien og Darwinismen
1874. For Ide og Virkelighed
Psykologi i Omrids paa Grundlag af Erfaring
1882. Philipsen, Copenhagen (2nd ed. 1885)
English translation: Outlines of Psychology (1891).
Realisme i Videnskab og Tro
1882 / 1884. In Mindre Arbejder (1899)
Delivered as lecture 2 September 1882; published revised 1884.
Forholdet mellem Tro og Viden i dets historiske Udvikling
1885. In Mindre Arbejder (1899)
Søren Kierkegaard som Filosof
1892. P.G. Philipsens Forlag, Copenhagen
Kontinuiteten i Kants filosofiske Udviklingsgang
1893. Det Kongelige Danske Videnskabernes Selskabs Skrifter, 6. Række, Historisk og Filosofisk Afdeling, 4(2)
Religionsfilosofi
1901. Gyldendal, Copenhagen
English translation: The Philosophy of Religion (1906).
Filosofiske Problemer
1902. Copenhagen
English version: The Problems of Philosophy (1905), preface by William James.
Vort Hjem
1903. Introduction to Emma Gad, Vort Hjem
Om Begrebet Analogi og dets filosofiske Betydning
1905. In Mindre Arbejder II
Published simultaneously in English in Mind (1905).
Den menneskelige Tanke, dens Former og dens Opgaver
1910. Copenhagen
Selections (epistemological chapters)Runebergto do Personlighedsprincippet i Filosofien
1911. Det Kongelige Danske Videnskabernes Selskab, 2013 (Danish trans.)
Six lectures, Helsingfors spring 1911. First published in Swedish; Danish trans. Mogens Blegvad.
Complete work (Danish trans., 67 pp.)PDFto do Totalitet som Kategori: en erkendelsesteoretisk Undersøgelse
1917. Copenhagen
Relation som Kategori: en erkendelsesteoretisk Undersøgelse
1921. Bianco Lunos Bogtrykkeri, Copenhagen
Published in Filosofiske Meddelelser I, 3. Contains engagement with Einstein's relativity.
Relation som Kategori (1921), Høffding's annotated copy
1921. Manuscript marginalia
Pascal et Kierkegaard
1923. Revue de Métaphysique et de Morale 30(2): 221–246
Written in French. Systematic comparison in four parts.
Complete article (26 pp.)JSTORto do Begrebet Analogi
1923. Copenhagen
Erkendelsesteori og Livsopfattelse
1925. Det Kongelige Danske Videnskabernes Selskab, Copenhagen
Erindringer
1928. Gyldendalske Boghandel, Copenhagen
Autobiography, published in his 85th year.
IV. 1883–1894 (pp. 121–174)Runebergto do VI. 1904–1914 (pp. 224–265)Runebergto do Brevveksling med Niels Bohr
Manuscript correspondence
Complete correspondencecoming soon
Brevveksling med Émile Meyerson
Manuscript correspondence
Location of manuscripts to be established.
Complete correspondenceplaceholder
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