ERDMANN, BENNO. - Philosopher, b. at Glogau (Silesia) on 30 May 1851, d. at Berlin on 7 Jan. 1921. He studied philosophy and science at Berlin and Heidelberg. He taught at the Universities of Kiel, Breslau, Halle, Bonn and Berlin. He was influenced by Bonitz, Helmholtz and Zeller. He is the principal founder of Kantphilologie.
He began his scholarly career with the dissertation, published only in part, Über die Stellung des Dinges an sich in Kant's Ästhetik und Analytik (Berlin 1873), which was followed by a Nachtrag zu Kant's Werken and an extensive monograph on M. Knutson und seine Zeit (Leipzig 1876). According to E., Kant's intention was not to dethrone metaphysics, but to replace the false with the true, or rather to prepare it by means of a propaedeutic (cf. Kants Kritizium in der ersten und zweite Aufl. der Kritik der r. Vernunft, ibid. 1878). E.'s systematic works begin begin with Die Axiome der Geometrie (ibid. 1876) and culminate in the Logische Elementarlehre (Halle 1892), reworked later (1907) so as to appear a complete work worthy of being placed alongside those of Sigwart, Brentano and Lotze. He also occupied himself with psychological studies with the Unrisse zur Psychologie des Denkens (Tübingen 1900, 2nd ed. 1908) and the Reproduktionspsychologie (Berlin 1920).
The fundamental trait of his historical and theoretical research was fidelity to the data. He defended the rights and the function of experience, welcoming the best aspects of positivism and of Kantianism.
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Andrea Ferro