Christopher Jacob Boström

Christopher Jacob Boström (January 1, 1797 in Piteå, Norrbotten – March 22, 1866 in Uppsala) was a Swedish philosopher. His ideas dominated Swedish philosophy until the beginning of the twentieth century. He also had a great influence on Swedish cultural life.

As a student he briefly studied theology, and religion remained his primary interest throughout his life.

Most of his life was spent teaching at Uppsala University, where he received the appointment in 1838 of adjunct professor of philosophy and from 1840–63 was professor of practical philosophy. For four years, he tutored the royal family in . There he was charged with the education of the crown prince, later Oscar II of Sweden.

According to Richard Falckenberg, he was “the most important systematic thinker of his country.” His philosophy, that of “rational idealism” as he termed it, exercised great influence in Sweden.

Reality is presented only as spiritual: God as an absolute, self-conscious unity, in which all living beings are eternally and unchangeably contained, according to degree. The highest aim of humanity should be the conduct and behavior according to reason in harmony with the Divine; that of the state, like the individual should exist solely in God, and in its most perfect form should consist in the harmonious obedience of all its members to a constitutional monarch; while ultimate perfection should be an all-embracing system of such states governed in obedience to Universal Reason.

According to the philosophy of Boström, true philosophy is such knowledge or awareness that is complete with respect to form, content and extent, and thus identical to God's own omniscience. Philosophy insofar as human beings can attain it, however, is identical to human awareness, insofar as it partakes of this divine omniscience: it is man's fully clear and distinct (formally perfect) awareness of true, absolute divine reality. The first task of philosophical science must be to produce the most general concepts whereby to define absolute reality. The character of Boström's philosophy depends on the manner in which he solved this task.

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