Oken L

Name: Lorenz Oken

Nickname/Alias: Born: Lorenz Ockenfuss

Achievements:  Organised the first scientific congress in 1822.

Born: August 1, 1779; Bohlsbach bei Offenburg, Baden, Germany

Died: August 11, 1851; Zurich, Switzerland. Aged 72

Field & Discipline: Science; Biology; Nature-philosopher; Natural Scientist

Language: German

Father: Johann Adam Ockenfuss

Mother: Maria Anna Frohle

Siblings: None

Spouse: Louise Stark (m. 1814)

Children:  One son; one daughter

Education: University of Wurzburg; University of Freiburg; University of Gottingen

Major Work:

“Lehrbuch der Naturphilosophie” (1810)

Life & Times:

Oken went to the University of Wurzburg in 1799 to study natural history and medicine.  By 1803, he had published the first of a series of works that made him one of the leaders of the German school of [leading light in]   naturphilosophie, founded by [a follower of] Schelling* a few years earlier.

His work extended the “a priori” principle to include physical science.  This principle, (that knowledge is independent of all experience and applied to science by the German philosopher [influenced by] Kant*)  was introduced by [influenced by] Fichte* and developed by Schelling, before being taken up by Oken.

Oken sketched the outlines of his scheme to classify the animal kingdom into five groups in accordance with the development of their sense organs.  He dedicated his life’s work to his classification which fell into five groups.

The first class was the Dermatozoa, or invertebrates, followed by the Glossozoa, or fishes, in which a true tongue made its first appearance. 

Then came the Rhinozoa, or reptiles, whose nose opened for the first time into the mouth and inhaled air.

Next were the Otozoa, or birds, in which the ear first opened externally and  finally came the Ophthalmozoa, or mammals, in which all the sense organs were present and complete, the eyes being movable and covered with two lids.

Having moved to the University of Freiburg, Oken graduated in 1804 and took a job as lecturer at the University of Gottingen.  A year later, he published his small, methodological work “Die Zeugung,” which applied the a priori principle to the subject of reproduction.  This discussed “infusoria” (the elementary units of living organisms) and, in many ways, foreshadowed the later work, in 1838, of the German physiologist [anticipated work of] Schwann* on cell theory.

Oken maintained that all flesh can be broken down into infusoria, and that all higher animals consist of constituent animalcules, known as “primal animals.”  He believed that the animalcule was the basis of the original material, not only of animals, but also plants, so they should be considered the basis material of all organisms.

His next important work was co-written with D G Kieser and dealt with the genesis of the intestinal tract and the umbilical cord.  By now, [offered job by] Goethe* had learned of Oken’s work and as a result, in 1807, he was offered the job of Professor Extraordinarius of Medical Sciences at the University of Jena.

Oken delivered his first lecture, “The Meaning of the Bones of the Skull,” in front of Goethe, who was Privy Councillor and University Rector.  The lecture was based on his theory, later to be discredited, that the skull was made up of several vertebrae. Unfortunately, Goethe claimed priority for the theory and the two became involved in a long and bitter dispute.

Oken established his reputation at Jena lecturing in natural philosophy, natural history, zoology, comparative anatomy, and human, animal and plant physiology. In 1808, he published an essay that put forward the Romantic doctrine that an organism was none other than a combination of all the universe's activities within a single individual body.  This doctrine convinced him that “world and organism are one in kind, and do not stand merely in harmony with each other.”

In 1809, Oken extended his theory to the mineral world and rearranged the ores according to their combinations with oxygen, acids, and sulphur.  Then, in 1810, he presented all his views on organic and inorganic nature in a huge compendium. 

In this work, he attempted to bring together all his doctrines in a coherent system, leading to the essential unity of man, nature and the cosmos.  Oken’s beliefs in the origin of existence were based on the concept of a primal slime, which supposedly formed along the boundary between sea and land.

After publication, Oken was given the title “Hofrath” or court-councillor and, in 1812, he was promoted to Professor of Natural Sciences at Jena.  Four years later, he produced the first issue of his famous journal “Isis” which, between 1817 and 1847, published major articles on all aspects of popular science, mostly his own work, as well as literature and politics.

In 1821, in an article in “Isis,” he introduced the idea of annual general meetings to be held by German naturalists and doctors and, in 1822, arranged the first scientific conference in Leipzig.  Oken used “Isis” to air his personal political views and, in 1827, he severely criticized the political situation in Weimar.

The Weimar court gave Oken the option of shutting down the journal or losing his professorship. He chose to remain at Jena for the time being, but moved publication from Weimar to Rudolstadt, where he became close friends with German chemist [a pal of] Schonbein*.  “Isis” remained in print for the next 20 years.

In 1828, Oken went to the new University of Munich as a lecturer and was soon promoted to professor.  In 1832, his outspoken political views got him into trouble with the authorities again and, when the Bavarian government threatened to transfer him to a provincial university, he resigned his professorship and left the state.

Oken moved to Switzerland and, in 1833, took a job  as Professor of Natural History at the new University of Zurich.  In his new home, he taught, among others, the Swiss botanist, [taught] Naegeli*.

Oken eventually became Rector of the university until his death.

Extra Connections: He influenced [influenced]Haeckel*

Assessment: He was one of the leaders of the naturphilosophie school of thought

Oneliner: Lorentz Oken, 19^th-century German natural history pioneer

Bibliography:

• Dictionary of Scientific Biography.
• Encyclopaedia Britannica.