Josef Popper-Lynkeus Archive

Josef Popper (1838-1921) was a Bohemian-Austrian philosopher, inventor, author and social reformer. He was born as the fifth child in a Jewish family, and was the uncle of the Austrian-British philosopher Karl Popper. He studied mathematics, physics and technology at the German Polytechnikum in Prag, but because of being a Jew was never allowed to take an adequate position in teaching, despite his knowledge and capabilities in technological science. He worked in the service of the railroad, as well as a private teacher and as editor of a newspaper. At the same time, he studied at Vienna University. He believed in the importance of the individual and society's obligations to each other, and some of his ideas in the fields of science, psychology and Jewish-related topics can be said to have anticipated those of Einstein, Freud and Herzl. Popper-Lynkeus believed that the Jews could be saved from anti-Semitism only if they had their own state. His "Allgemeine Nährpflicht" is a model for organizing society in which every member of society will receive means to live at a basic minimum from the state, including food, clothing and residence. These theories were initially published under the pseudonym Lynkeus, and only after it became known that they were his works, the name was added to his family name. Read more