author
Rudolf Eisler
1873–1926
An Austrian philosopher and tireless reference writer, he helped make big philosophical ideas easier to find and follow. His dictionaries, histories, and introductions were designed to bring complex thought within reach of ordinary readers and students.
1 Audiobook
Das Wirken der Seele: Ideen zu einer organischen Psychologie
by Rudolf Eisler
About the author
Born in Vienna on January 7, 1873, Rudolf Eisler studied philosophy in Vienna, Prague, and Leipzig, where he earned his doctorate. He was strongly influenced by Wilhelm Wundt, and his work also engaged with thinkers such as Kant, Hermann Cohen, and Edmund Husserl.
Eisler is best remembered for his wide-ranging philosophical reference works, especially his dictionaries of philosophical terms and his biographical and historical writings on philosophers. Alongside more specialized studies, he wrote introductions and surveys that aimed to organize difficult ideas clearly, which helped spread philosophical knowledge beyond a narrow academic circle.
He lived and worked mainly in Vienna as an independent scholar and editor rather than as a university professor. Rudolf Eisler died there in December 1926, leaving behind a body of work valued less for grand system-building than for its clarity, range, and usefulness.