Christoph Wilhelm Hufeland

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Christoph Wilhelm Friedrich Hufeland (12 August 1762 – 25 August 1836) was a German physician, naturopath and writer. Considered one of the most eminent practical physicians of his time in Germany, he authored numerous works displaying extensive reading and a cultivated critical faculty.

Biography

Hufeland was born at Langensalza, Saxony (now Thuringia) and educated at Weimar, where his father held the office of court physician to the grand duchess. In 1780 he entered the University of Jena, and in the following year went on to Göttingen, where in 1783 he graduated in medicine.

After assisting his father for some years at Weimar, he was called in 1793 to the chair of medicine at Jena, receiving at the same time the positions of court physician and professor of pathology at Weimar. During this time, he began a substantive correspondence with Immanuel Kant. In 1798 Frederick William III of Prussia granted him the position director of the medical college and generally of state medical affairs at the Charité, in Berlin. He filled the chair of pathology and therapeutics in the University of Berlin, founded in 1809, and in 1810 became councillor of state. In 1823, he was elected a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.

In time he became as famous as Goethe, Herder, Schiller, and Wieland in his homeland.

Hufeland was a close friend of Samuel Hahnemann and published his original writings in his journal in 1796.<ref name="Mehdipour">Mehdipour, Parvin. (2017). Cancer Genetics and Psychotherapy. Springer. p. 942. Template:ISBN</ref> He also "joined the Illuminati order at this time, having been introduced to freemasonry in Göttingen in 1783."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He also seems to have professed an interest in Chinese Alchemy and methods of extending longevity.<ref>G J Gruman, A History of Ideas about Prolongation of Life, Springer Publishing, 2005, p.158</ref>

The most widely known of his many writings is the treatise entitled Makrobiotik oder Die Kunst, das menschliche Leben zu verlängern (1796), which was translated into many languages, including in Serbian by Jovan Stejić in Vienna in 1828. Of his practical works, the System of Practical Medicine (System der praktischen Heilkunde, 1818–1828) is the most elaborate. From 1795 to 1835, he published a Journal der praktischen Arznei und Wundarzneikunde. His autobiography was published in 1863.

Hufeland died on 25 August 1836, in Berlin.

Grave of Christoph Wilhelm Hufeland in the Dorotheenstadt cemetery in Berlin

Naturopathy

Hufeland was an early supporter of naturopathic medicine who posited the existence of a vitalistic "life force", which he believed could be maintained through behavioral and dietary practices.<ref name="Mehdipour"/><ref>Raso, Jack. (1993). Mystical Diets: Paranormal, Spiritual, and Occult Nutrition Practices. Prometheus Books. p. 30. Template:ISBN</ref><ref>Wellmon, Chad. (2010). Becoming Human: Romantic Anthropology and the Embodiment of Freedom. Pennsylvania State University. p. 49. Template:ISBN</ref> Hufeland was influenced by Hippocrates and promoted what he termed "natural therapeutics" (naturtherapeutik).<ref name="Mehdipour"/><ref name="Weinrich">Weinrich, Harald. (2008). On Borrowed Time: The Art and Economy of Living with Deadlines. University of Chicago Press. pp. 30–33. Template:ISBN</ref> He supported the use of homeopathy.<ref name="Mehdipour"/>

The term macrobiotics was used by Hufeland in his book Macrobiotics: The Art of Prolonging Life, that was translated into English in 1797.<ref>Kushi et al. (2001). The Macrobiotic Diet in Cancer. The Journal of Nutrition 131 (11): 3056S–3064S.</ref><ref>Heelas, Paul. (2008). Spiritualities of Life: New Age Romanticism and Consumptive Capitalism. Wiley. p. 43. Template:ISBN</ref><ref>Bergdolt, Klaus. (2008). Wellbeing: A Cultural History of Healthy Living. Polity Press. pp. 253–254. Template:ISBN</ref> The book endorsed a program for good health and prolonging life. Hufeland recommended a vegetarian diet.<ref name="Weinrich"/><ref>Williams, Howard. (1883). The Ethics of Diet: A Catena of Authorities Deprecatory of the Practice of Flesh-Eating. London: F. Pitman. p. 184.</ref> Goethe and his wife took interest in the book.<ref name="Weinrich"/> His German disciples gave his dieting and health ideas the name of the Hufelandist movement.<ref>Freeman, Joseph T. (1979). Aging: Its History and Literature. Human Science Press. p. 71. Template:ISBN</ref><ref>Boyle, Joan M; Morriss, James E. (1987). The Mirror of Time: Images of Aging and Dying. Greenwood Press. p. 108. Template:ISBN</ref>

George Ohsawa, founder of the macrobiotic diet based on yin and yang foods, was influenced by Hufeland.<ref>Friedhelm Kirchfeld, Wade Boyle. (1994). Nature Doctors: Pioneers in Naturopathic Medicine. Medicina Biológica. p. 7. Template:ISBN</ref>

Marriage and issue

He first married Juliane Amelung (1771–1845) and married for the second time to Elisabeth Helene Troschel (1777–1862). From his first marriage he had:

Bibliography

Works

Studies

  • Helmut Busse: Christoph Wilhelm Hufeland, Blaeschke Verlag, St. Michael, Austria, 1982
  • Klaus Pfeifer: Medizin der Goethezeit – Christoph Wilhelm Hufeland und die Heilkunst des 18. Jahrhunderts, Verlag Böhlau, Cologne, 2000, Template:ISBN
  • Günther Hufeland: Christoph Wilhelm Hufeland (1762–1836), Verlag Rockstuhl, Bad Langensalza, 2002, Template:ISBN
  • Wolfgang U. Eckart: Geschichte der Medizin, Heidelberg 2005

Notes

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References

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