Hans Adolf Eduard Driesch was a German philosopher and biologist who studied at universities in Freiburg, Jena, and Munich. He conducted research on sea urchin embryos and developed the theory of entelechy. He later became a professor and lectured on science and philosophy in various countries, and also studied parapsychology. He died in 1941.
Hans Adolf Eduard Driesch, a German philosopher and biologist, was born in the town of Bad Kreuznach on October 28, 1867. In 1886, Driesch began his medical studies at the University of Freiburg. There, he studied with August Weismann. The next year, 1887, the burgeoning scientist attended the University of Jena. At the University of Jena, his teachers included Christian Ernst Stahl, Ernst Haeckel and Oscar Hertwig. A year later, in 1888, Driesch continued his studies at the University of Munich, where he concentrated his attention on chemistry and physics. In 1889 he received his doctorate.
After completing his doctoral studies, Hans Adolf Eduard Driesch traveled extensively on research trips, reaching as far as India. His work is characterized by a dual and combined interest in both philosophy and science. In 1894 he published Analytische Theorie der organischen Entwicklung which translates into Analytical theory of organic development.
Between 1891 and 1900, Hans Driesch resided in Naples, Italy, working on his research and developing his theories at the Marine Biological Station. He worked specifically with sea urchin embryos. He discovered that these embryos, once divided, would still produce complete sea urchins. However, the hedgehogs made from these split embryos were generally a little smaller than usual. Through much study and research, Driesch came to adopt a theory of entelechy.
His work earned him the chair of natural theology at the University of Aberdeen. In 1906 and 1908, the scientist-philosopher delivered the Gifford Lectures at the University of Aberdeen. During these lectures, Driesch gave for the first time a comprehensive presentation of the ideas he had developed, which he related to the Science and Philosophy of the Organism. He continued his academic and philosophical career, becoming a professor at the Faculty of Natural Sciences, based in Heidelberg. He continued to publish works on his theories of science and philosophy.
Subsequently, he also lectured in Cologne, Leipzig, Nanjing, Beijing, Buenos Aires and the University of Wisconsin. Eventually he became interested in parapsychology, studying and publishing works on telepathy, telekinesis and clairvoyance. Driesch and his wife Margarete Relfferschneidt had two children. He died on April 16, 1941.
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