Das Büchlein vom Leben nach dem Tode

by Gustav Theodor Fechner

Gustav Theodor Fechner war alles: Mediziner, Physiker, Ästhetiker, Psychologe und Philosoph. Im 1836 veröffentlichten Büchlein vom Leben nach dem Tode schreibt der Universalgelehrte jedem Menschen drei Leben zu. Eines des dauernden Schlafes im Mutterleib, eines zwischen Schlafen und Wachen in dieser Welt und ein drittes des befreiten jenseitigen Wachens. Fechners zu Lebzeiten erfolgreichstes Buch tröstet: Wir leben nach unserem Tod in allen, die uns liebten und uns nicht vergessen, fort.

Genres: Philosophy, Psychology, Nonfiction, Religion, Death, Spirituality

76 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1836

About the author

Gustav Theodor Fechner (/ˈfɛxnər/; German: [ˈfɛçnɐ]; April 19, 1801 – November 18, 1887), was a German philosopher, physicist and experimental psychologist. An early pioneer in experimental psychology and founder of psychophysics, he inspired many 20th century scientists and philosophers. He is also credited with demonstrating the non-linear relationship between psychological sensation and the physical intensity of a stimulus via the formula: S = K \ln I, which became known as the Weber–Fechner law.

Reviews

[Fede La Lettrice · Rating 4 out of 5]

• Questo è un libretto inclassificabile a metà strada tra filosofia, scienza e spiritualità, pubblicato nel 1836 si pone come una sfida al materialismo ottocentesco, tentando di gettare un ponte tra il mondo visibile e l’invisibile, tra la vita terrena e quella ultraterrena.

• Fechner, pioniere della psicofisica, si avventura qui in un territorio che sfugge ai confini della scienza rigorosa, il testo infatti parla dell'universo intero come un grande essere vivente, animato da un’energia spirituale che connette ogni cosa. La morte, in questo quadro, non è una fine, ma un passaggio: l’individuo si dissolve nella totalità, continuando a esistere su un piano diverso. Questa idea, che risuona un po' come le antiche tradizioni mistiche e religiose, sfida però apertamente l’approccio della scienza positivista, conferendo al libro un carattere rivoluzionario per i tempi.

• Lo stile di Fechner è diretto, quasi didattico, da trattato, ma al contempo è poetico e immaginifico come una parabola; evoca immagini universali e accende interrogativi immortali. Questa tensione tra il rigore dell’argomentazione e il lirismo della visione cosmica costituisce, per me, uno dei punti di forza del libro.

• Il testo anticipa molte tematiche che saranno riprese dalla filosofia e dalla scienza del Novecento, il concetto di un universo vivente per esempio piuttosto che l’idea della continuità della vita. Ma la tesi di Fechner si basa più su intuizioni e metafore che su argomentazioni rigorose e questo lo rende vulnerabile alle obiezioni sia della filosofia razionalista sia della scienza empirica inoltre, il suo totale ottimismo cosmico appare, oggi, ingenuo. Il libro rimane comunque una testimonianza preziosa di una mente coraggiosa e visionaria, capace di sfidare i dogmi del suo tempo per proporre una visione del mondo che ispira e fa discutere.

[Zachary Mays · Rating 5 out of 5]

An inspiring little book. I read it many years ago and I’ve enjoyed revisiting it. I wholeheartedly endorse Fechner’s “daylight” view.

1/2/22: Reread this book in an earlier edition, augmented by excerpts from Fechner’s Zend-Avesta. As I get older my views more and more align with Fechner. Not process theology per se, but certainly with certain affinities to it. The idea of a large organic spiritual universe living and moving and having its being in God. Beautiful. The dead for Fechner live in us as well as beyond us, and we live in others in and beyond this life. Not only metaphorically but literally. This life and the life beyond is a world of indwelling spirits, a unity in diversity. I will read and reread this book throughout my life no doubt.

3/11/25: A constant companion of a book. As someone who has struggled with anxiety and grief, I find this book a constant and seemingly endless source of inspiration, comfort, and intellectual stimulation. I have read the book in all three readily available English editions. I never tire of it's simple message: We live and move and have our being in God, Spirit of all spirits, and we live and move and have our being in each other and within a living world, both that outer world and the deeper inner world we will see and understand more beyond this life. Hardly a book of woo woo spiritualist mish mash, I find it a work of art, whatever you believe about it, though I tend to have great sympathy with Fechner's views. But I am something of an animist, a Neoplatonist, a philosophical spiritualist myself. The dead are not very far from any of us, but live within us, as we live in them, and as we all live in God. Read it.

[Ioana]

Published in 1836 under Fechner's nom de plume Mises, prior to his famous mental breakdown, this indeed brief book transpires his unsophisticated teleological mystical credo in the afterlife.

Fechner believed not in Heaven and Hell, but in our ascension to a superior field of consciousness in what he called the third stage of our life, of which passing is death. Once entered this stage as spirits, the dead (with intact memories) still influence the life of the living - the living man is thought of as the center which unites the spirits (good and/or evil) which constantly exert themselves upon their receiver. Yet, the man has autonomy. Well, sort of. Since all hails from the pre-existing divine consciousness. Stohp. Don't expect this to make too much sense.
By the end of the book, the going gets going and we learn that the existence of ghosts (weaker form of memory of the deceased) is conducive evidence of Fechner's psychophysical universe, and the continuation of life after death and the persistence of these traces is due to the law of conservation (well, of a 'version' of it, you see), by which 'every cause retains its effects as an eternal possession'.
Afflicted by schismatic tendencies, there are aspects of Fechner's work which are difficult to reconcile. It is clear as the light of day that his religious upbringing severely permeated his thoughts up to his late years. In toto, I'd rather not linger on the dark side of things. As it is, this worldview and others akin I find desolating, crippling and unappealing, to say the least. Naive disseminators of this unoriginal theory are not without fault. However, I find this rather pitiful than contemptible. At the same time, credit is due for his imperfect, yet punctilious, more scientific work.
He expands too little on panpsychism. Loose analogies are drawn between man and threes, or seed germination, which contribute poorly to anything of substance.

[Nada Finn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ahead of his time and ours

For those interested in and perhaps confused by the plethora of books about ndes, mediumship, etc., Fechner lays out a simple and concise worldview in which such things are not supernatural but provide the deepest insights into nature herself.

[Kelsey Grissom · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. There is a lot in this book that I didn’t follow, but also a lot that seems consonant with what I have personally suspected about life after death. Anyway, if you have ever found it hard to imagine how, exactly, an afterlife can be possible (given, you know, *science*), then this author’s lovely analogies may help to open up your imagination to the how.

[Peter J. · Rating 3 out of 5]

While the author makes many profound points about the possible deeper metaphysical natures of both this life and the next, he makes some which seem to be mere guesswork. Overall, however, this short work is quite interesting, and worth the read.

[Er Ciccio · Rating 2 out of 5]

Libretto sottile ma intenso, purtroppo ci ho trovato solo una riflessione interessante il resto mi è sembrato inconcludente

[Lexi · Rating 3 out of 5]

common sense