Rudolf Hermann Lotze (German: [ˈlɔtsə]; 21 May 1817 – 1 July 1881) was a German philosopher and logician. He also had a medical degree and was unusually well versed in biology. He argued that if the physical world is governed by mechanical laws, relations and developments in the universe could be explained as the functioning of a world mind. His medical studies were pioneering works in scientific psychology.