Karl (Carl) Christian Friedrich Krause (German: [ˈkʁaʊzə]; 6 May 1781 – 27 September 1832) was a German philosopher whose doctrines became known as Krausism. Krausism, when considered in its totality as a complete, stand-alone philosophical system, had only a small following in Germany, France, and Belgium, in contradistinction to certain other philosophical systems (such as Hegelianism) that had a much larger following in Europe at that time. However, Krausism became very popular and influential in Restoration Spain not as a complete, comprehensive philosophical system per se, but as a broad cultural movement. In Spain, Krausism was known as "Krausismo", and Krausists were known as "Krausistas". Outside of Spain, the Spanish Krausist cultural movement was referred to as Spanish Krausism.
Early life Krause was born in Eisenberg (in present-day Thuringia). His parents were Johann Friedrich Gotthard Krause (1 January 1747 – 17 February 1825) and Christiana Friederica Böhme (1755 – 21 December 1784). Karl's father Johann was a teacher at the lyceum in Eisenberg, and in 1795 became a Lutheran pastor and hymn collector in Nobitz.
Studies at the University of Jena, 1797–1802 Educated at first in Eisenberg, in 1797 Karl enrolled in the nearby University of Jena, where he studied philosophy under Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling, Johann Gottlieb Fichte, Christian Gottfried Schütz, Heinrich Karl Abraham Eichstädt, and August Wilhelm von Schlegel. He also attended lectures by theologians Johann Jakob Griesbach, Heinrich Eberhard Gottlob Paulus, Karl David Ilgen, and Johann Adolf Jacobi, and lectures by professors in various departments of science and mathematics, including A. J. G. K. Batsch, F. F. Bretschneider, J. F. A. Göttling, J. C. F. Graumüller, J. G. Lenz, J. F. C. [von] Loder, K. D. M. Stahl, L. J. D. Suckow, and J. H. Voigt. Krause received the degree of Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Jena on 6 October 1801, and became a Privatdozent (unsalaried lecturer) in 1802.
Marriage and children With characteristic imprudence, on 19 July 1802 Krause married Sophie Amalie Concordia Fuchs (born 1780), without dowry. Amalie was a daughter of Augustin Christian Fuchs (1748-1812) and Christiane Friederike Herrmann. Karl and Amalie had 14 children in all, 12 of whom survived their parents. The children included: Sophie (Sophia) Christiane Friederike Krause (1803 – December 1873), Karl Erasmus Friedrich Krause (20 September 1805 – 29 November 1861), August Julius Gotthard Krause (b. 1809), Maria Sidonia (Sidonie) Krause (14 August 1810 – 26 August 1875), Otto Krause (1812-1872), Henriette Auguste Karoline Emma Krause (b. 1814), Heinrich Karl Gottlieb Krause (b. 1817), Wilhelm August Ernst Heinrich Krause, Friedrich, Ludwig, Hugo, and Maria Krause (b. 1823).
Teacher In 1804, a lack of pupils compelled Krause to move to Rudolstadt, and later to Dresden, where he gave private lessons in music. In Dresden, he privately taught Indian philosophy to Arthur Schopenhauer. In 1805, his ideal of a universal world-society led him to join the Freemasons, whose principles seemed to tend in the direction he desired. In Dresden, he published two books on Freemasonry, Höhere Vergeistigung der echt überlieferten Grundsymbole der Freimaurerei: in zwölf Logenvorträgen (1811) and Die drei ältesten Kunsterkunden der Freimaurerbrüderschaft (1819), but his opinions attracted opposition from the Masons. From 1809, Krause held a teaching position the Ingenieur-Akademie Dresden. Krause lived for a time (1813–1815) in Berlin and became a Privatdozent there, but was unable to obtain a professorship at the University of Berlin. From 1823 to 1830, he was Privatdozent at the University of Göttingen. In 1831, he moved to Munich, where he died of apoplexy at the very moment when the influence of Franz von Baader had at last obtained a position for him. Krause is buried in the Alter Südfriedhof in Munich, Germany.
Identitätsphilosophie, panentheism, and other aspects of Krausism Krause's philosophy, as a whole, is an example of what historians of philosophy refer to as Identitätsphilosophie (philosophy of identity). An Identitätsphilosophie is a philosophical system that posits the fundamental identity of spirit and nature. In Krause's philosophical system, the parts of the system which, technically, constitute its "panentheism", are only parts of a much broader whole. Therefore, although Krause's philosophy is accurately described as being "panentheistic", Krausism as a whole is better categorized as an Identitätsphilosophie which features panentheism as one of its primary fundamental components. Krause endeavoured to reconcile the ideas of a God known by faith or conscience and the world as known to sense. According to Krause, God — intuitively known by conscience — is not a personality (which implies limitations), but an all-inclusive essence (Wesen), which contains the universe within itself. Krause used the term panentheism (Panentheismus in German) in an attempt to accurately describe and encapsulate — in a single technical term — diverse aspects of his philosophical system which were cosmo-theological (simultaneously cosmological and theological) in nature. When considered from a theological perspective, panentheism can be viewed, broadly, as a synthesis of various elements derived from both monotheism and pantheism.
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