Eduard Spranger

Eduard Spranger (27 June 1882 – 17 September 1963) was a German philosopher and psychologist. A student of Wilhelm Dilthey, Spranger was born in Berlin and died in Tübingen.

Thought

Spranger's contribution to personality theory, in his book Types of Men (Lebensformen; Halle (Saale): Niemeyer, 1914; translation by P. J. W. Pigors; New York: G. E. Stechert Company, 1928) 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.

Traditional: A passion to seek out and pursue the highest meaning in life, in the divine or the ideal, and achieve a system for living. This instrument is sometimes offered along with the DISC assessment. Retrieved October 4, 2007