Eduard Spranger

Who was Eduard Spranger?

Eduard Spranger was a German philosopher and psychologist.

A student of Wilhelm Dilthey, Spranger was born in Berlin and died in Tübingen.

Spranger's contribution to personality theory, in his book Types of Men were his value attitudes.

The Theoretical, whose dominant interest is the discovery of truth

The Economic, who is interested in what is useful

The Aesthetic, whose highest value is form and harmony

The Social, whose highest value is love of people

The Political, whose interest is primarily in power

The Religious, whose highest value is unity

Those six in more detail are:

Theoretical: A passion to discover, systemize and analyze; a search for knowledge.

Utilitarian: A passion to gain a return on all investments involving time, money and resources.

Aesthetic: A passion to experience impressions of the world and achieve form and harmony in life; self-actualization.

Social: A passion to invest myself, my time, and my resources into helping others achieve their potential.

Individualistic: A passion to achieve position and to use that position to affect and influence others.