Hans Driesch and synchronicity

Hans Driesch (1867-1941) was both a philosopher and a scientist. In fact, he started as a biologist and only later became a philosopher. 

In his autobiography, Driesch mentions the year 1898 as a major turning point in his life. Not only did he definitively convert from materialism to vitalism; he also met his wife, Margarethe Reifferscheidt. This coincidence, which regards two key moments (public and private life), already has some significance in itself. As his autobiography shows, private life and scientific research were insolubly linked. Driesch became a major supporter of biological vitalism by addressing and proposing solutions for the conundrum of morphogenesis. Beyond his scientific successes, his marital life was happy, and his wife accompanied him on his many travels.

Interestingly, there also seems to be another link between the private and the public (apart from their personal impact). 

After having described how in 1899 he married in Naples, Driesch adds that he and his wife did not immediately agree on where they would live. They would at least stay for the winter in Naples. Naples was also the place where Driesch did his research with sea urchin embryo’s and where he started accounting for a non-material, unifying and life-making principle (‘entelechy’). Almost immediately after having mentioned their wedding and postponed settlement (über den Ort, wo meine Frau und ich uns niederlassen würden, waren wir uns noch nicht einig) [1], Driesch describes how a discovery by his friend and colleague, Curt Herbst, enabled him to conduct his experiments with embryos more successfully. Growing blastomeres requires calcareous seawater (normales Seewasser) to preserve them (ihre Teilungsprodukte blieben von da an beisammen). Non-calcareous water will lead to premature termination of cell division (bei Fehlen des Calciums die Furchungszellen des Keimes nicht beieinander bleiben, sondern auseinander fallen, sodass es garnicht zur Bildung eines ‘Individuums’ kommt). Therefore, it can be used for researching the potencies of cells in their successive stages. (Driesch, 1951, p. 113) 

It should be noted that, during their honeymoon weeks, Driesch and his wife stayed in Cadenabbia, Beatenberg and on the Grosse Scheidegg (sic).[2] “Aber eine in sich abgeschlossene ‘Hochzeitsreise’ war das natürlich schon alles aus dem Grunde nicht, weil wir einen festen Wohnsitz ja noch garnicht in näherer Aussicht hatten.” (Driesch, 1951, p. 112) The calcareous mountainous regions of Switzerland, however, kept the itinerant young couple together until it finally settled in Heidelberg, where there son Kurt (named after Curt Herbst) was born.[3]

Toward the end of his autobiography, Driesch largely credits his repeated travels and relaxing strolls – rather than conscious laboratory work itself – for receiving flashes of insight and renewing ideas: “die ‘Einfälle’ wurden mir gegeben. Sie stammten aus meiner seelischen Anlage”. (Driesch, 1951, p. 2950  What is a prerequisite, however, is “an unconditional devotion to an idea” (bloßen Hingegebensein an eine Idee). (Driesch, 1951, p. 304)[4] Driesch also explicitly admits that he is not insensitive to life coincidences, such as for example the remarkable role of the number 9 in his life data. (ib., p. 294)

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[1] Hans Driesch (1951). Lebenserinnerungen. Aufzeichnungen eines Forschers und Denkers in entscheidender Zeit. München/Basel: Ernst Reinhardt Verlag, p. 112.

[2] scheiden = splitting; Egg/egg. NB: what to think of Driesch’ wife’s name: Reifferscheidt? (Reife = ‘maturity’; scheidt = ‘split’); or even the adjective used in the autobiography (in entscheidender Zeit).

[3] “Die Geburt unseres Sohnes machte uns natürlich etwas sesshafter”. Driesch, 1951, p. 129.

[4] “Man übergibt gleichsam – das freilich muss man in bewusster Weise – einem ‚anderen‘ den Auftrag zur Arbeit und dieser ‚andere‘, heiße er Seele, Unterbewusstsein oder wie sonst, arbeitet dann.” Driesch, 1951, p. 304. Similar to Driesch, Henri Poincaré mentions the inexplicable concomitance of his discoveries with periods of apparent inactivity of consciousness. Poincaré, 1920, p. 50f. His entire Science et méthode is dedicated to the ‘(il)logic’ of discovery.