Poul Martin Møller

Question: Did Niels Bohr ever cite any philosopher in a positive way?

Answer: Yes, there was one. Poul Martin Møller

Introduction

Poul Martin Møller (1794-1838) is remembered primarily for the people he influenced: Søren Kierkegaard (his student) and Niels Bohr (via Bohr’s reading of Møller’s En Dansk Students Eventyr).

Møller’s early life was typical for the “gentry” in early 19th century Denmark. He was the son of a parish pastor, went to a fancy high school (gymnasium), and studied theology at the University of Copenhagen. But on the personal side, his life was a bit tumultuous, with at least one very serious infatuation that didn’t lead anywhere. After getting his university degree, Møller became a ship chaplain, and while onboard he translated works of ancient Greek literature into Danish.

Later Møller got a post teaching philosophy at the university in Kristiania (now Oslo). Recall that Norway had only received independence in 1814 and at that point of time, the languages of Denmark and Norway were essentially the same. Or to be more accurate, there were many spoken dialects in Norway but the written language (bokmål) was essentially Danish.

While in Kristiania, Møller seems to have had a Hegelian period. But it was short lived. When he was offered a job at the University of Copenhagen in 1832, he returned to join in with Frederik Christian Sibbern’s rejection of Hegel. Recall also that Søren Kierkegaard had begun his studies in 1830, and Møller was to become one of his primary influences. (Møller’s residence in Copenhagen was on Nytorv, just across from the Kierkegaard residence on Gammeltorv.)

Works

Møller didn’t publish much in the way of academic philosophy. One notable exception is his article about the possibility of life after death (Jensen and Stewart 2022). He also left behind some lecture notes and some aphorisms that have been collected in various places, including the book Strøtanker.

Møller also wrote poetry and novellas, most notably En Dansk Students Eventyr — a book that contains quite a bit of philosophy.

References