Helene von Druskowitz
1856-1918
Philosophy of Education, Feminism,
Social & Political Philosophy

Helene von Druskowitz ( Helena Maria Druschkovich ) was the second woman to obtain a doctorate in Philosophy from Zurich University. She is was a music critic, philosopher and writer.She often published under a male pseudonym because of the sexism of her time.

Chronology

• 1856 - Helene von Druskowtiz was born on May 2 in Hietzing, Austia. Little is known of her childhood.
• 1874 - She moved to Zurich where she studied.
• 1878 - She completed her artitur (The examinatins given in some European countries at the end of 12 years of schooling.)- She continued her education studying philosophy, archeology, German literature, modern languages and Orientalism. She was the first woman from Austria to earn a doctorate in philosophy. He dissertation was on Byron's Don Juan
• She held a number of academic appointments inVienna, Zurich, Munich and Basel
• She also traveled widely (North Africa, France, Italy and Spain).
• 1881 she met Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach who had a lively literary circle that Helene von Druskowitz ( Helena Maria Druschkovich ) joined.
• 1884 She met Friedrich Nietzsche through a different literary circle. The two became friends and she was one of the very few people Nietzche gave a copy of his book, Thus Spake Zarathustra . Soon after their friendship cooled and eventually ended.
• 1885 - She published a work Three English Writers, Joanna Baillie, Elizabeth Barrett-Browning and George Eliot
• 1886 - Her brother died
• 1887 - She begins a relationship with Teeresa Maltern, an opera singer.
• 1888 Death of her mother
• 1891 She and Maltern separate. Helen enters a psychiatrichospital for treatment of alcoholism which had begun about 4 years earlier.
• 1905 She continued to write and publish until 1905. she was one of the founders of Der heilige Kampf (The Holy Struggle) and Der Federuf (The Call to Feud). She also criticizedreligion, sexism and the philosophy of Nietzsche.
• 1918 May 31. Helene von Druskowitz ( Helena Maria Druschkovich ) died.

Bibliography

• 1882 Sultan und Prinz
• 1883-4 Der Präsident vom Zitherclub
• 1884 Percy Bysshe Shelley
• 1885 Drei englische Dichterinnen (Three English Writers)
• 1886 Moderne Versuche eines Religionsersatzes
• 1887 Wie ist Verantwortung und Zurechnung ohne Annahme der Willensfreiheit möglich?
• 1888 Zur neuen Lehre. Betrachtungen
• 1889 Zur Begründung einer neuen Weltanschauung (Zur neuen Lehre)
• 1889 Eugen Dühring. Eine Studie zu seiner Würdigung; (1889) Aspasia
• 1890 Die Pädagogin
• 1903 Philosophischer Rundfragebogen

References:

I am deeply indebted to Wikipedia for information about this philosopher. You can read their articles at Helene von Druskowitz  ( Helena Maria Druschkovich )

This page was last updated 26 November, 2014.