Franz Brentano

Franz Brentano
Franz Brentano in 1890
Born
Franz Clemens Honoratus Hermann Josef Brentano

16 January 1838
Marienberg am Rhein,
Rhineland, Prussia, German Confederation
Died17 March 1917 (1917-03-18) (aged 79)
Spouses
  • Ida Lieben
    (m. 1880–1894; her death)
  • Emilie Rueprecht
    (m. 1897–1917; his death)
Education
EducationUniversity of Munich
University of Berlin
University of Münster
University of Tübingen
(PhD, 1862)
University of Würzburg
(Dr. phil. hab., 1866)
Theses
Doctoral advisorFranz Jakob Clemens
Other advisorsAdolf Trendelenburg
Philosophical work
Era19th-century philosophy
RegionWestern philosophy
SchoolSchool of Brentano
Aristotelianism
Intentionalism ("act psychology")
Empirical psychology
Austrian phenomenology
Austrian realism
InstitutionsUniversity of Würzburg
(1866–1873)
University of Vienna
(1873–1895)
Notable studentsEdmund Husserl, Sigmund Freud, Tomáš Masaryk, Rudolf Steiner, Alexius Meinong, Carl Stumpf, Anton Marty, Kazimierz Twardowski, Christian von Ehrenfels
Main interestsOntology
Psychology
Notable ideas
Ecclesiastical career
ReligionChristianity
ChurchCatholic Church
Ordained6 August 1864
Laicized1873

Franz Clemens Honoratus Hermann Josef Brentano (/brɛnˈtɑːn/; German: [bʁɛnˈtaːno]; 16 January 1838 – 17 March 1917) was a German philosopher and psychologist. His 1874 Psychology from an Empirical Standpoint, considered his magnum opus, is credited with having reintroduced the medieval scholastic concept of intentionality into contemporary philosophy.

Originally a Catholic priest, Brentano withdrew from the priesthood in 1873 due to the dogmatic definition of papal infallibility in Pastor aeternus. Working subsequently as a non-denominational professor, his teaching triggered research in a wide array of fields such as linguistics, logic, mathematics and experimental psychology through the young generation of philosophers who were gathered as the School of Brentano.