Carl Stumpf (1848–1936)

Abstract

Among Brentano’s more important students Carl Stumpf was not only one of the longest-living, to be outlived for a year only by Masaryk and for two by Husserl. He could pride himself also on having been Brentano’s “most ancient disciple”.¹ Brentano’s teaching at the University of Würzburg almost coincided, in fact, with the beginning of Stumpf s study there. Carl Stumpf was in his second term when Brentano on 14 July 1866 defended a series of theses for the purpose of his habilitation and subsequently became a Privatdozent. From Winter 1866/67 onward Stumpf attended Brentano’s lecture courses on the history of philosophy, metaphysics and logic,² and it was “the rigorous exactness of their train of thought” that made him quickly turn to philosophy.³ Already around Christmas 1866 he was on close terms with Brentano. Since a Privatdozent could not supervise a doctoral dissertation, Brentano sent Stumpf for three semesters (Summer 1867 to Summer 1868) to Göttingen where he took his degree under Hermann Rudolph Lotze. In Winter 1868/69 he went back to Würzburg where he again attended Brentano’s lectures up to Summer 1870.