Christian Wolff (1679-1754)

It is without question that Christian Wolff was the most important German philosopher in the early and middle portion of the eighteenth century. Dissatisfied with the, to his mind, arbitrary eclecticism advocated by Thomasius and his ‘school,’ and equally dissatisfied with the scholastic school metaphysics which, he thought, lacked rigour, he produced a systematic philosophical system in reply. Indeed, his philosophy is reputed to constitute the most coherent systematic whole produced in the 18^th century prior to Kant. As an enlightenment thinker, albeit a rationalist one, he was, like Thomasius, committed to public education. He saw philosophy, which he conceived as world-wisdom (Welt-Weisheit), as the means to public enlightenment and, in line with the mood of the time, the purview of everyone, not just of philosophers or experts. To make it accessible, he wrote in German, at least during his Halle years, and introduced much of the German philosophical terminology that is still used (the concepts of Bewußtsein, Vorstellung, and Begriff have their origin here).

2.1 Biography/Work

Wolff's birthplace was Breslau (then in Eastern Germany, now in Poland). At an early age, dissatisfied with orthodox theology, he turned to the study of mathematics as offering the best means to certainty. He studied theology and mathematics at the University of Jena and gained his Master's degree in Leizpig in 1702. Influenced by von Tschirnhaus and while working in Leipzig as a private lecturer, he wrote a dissertation seeking to apply the mathematical method to problems in practical philosophy. This drew Leibniz's attention to him. They began a correspondence that continued until Leibniz's death in 1716. Sponsored by Leibniz and von Tschirnhaus, he was appointed Professor of Mathematics and Natural Science at the University of Halle in 1707.

Since his position in Halle was predominantly as a teacher of mathematics -- a task at which he excelled -- Wolff did not begin lecturing and writing on philosophical matters until 1710. In mathematics, he produced textbooks, a four volume history of mathematics in 1710 and a mathematical dictionary in 1711. His philosophical lectures were in the first instance expositions of Leibniz's philosophy, which led his opponents (the representatives of the Thomasius ‘school’) to identify his philosophy as the Leibniz-Wolffian philosophy, a designation that remained despite his objection. He began an extensive series of publications, in German and often identified as his German works, on philosophical topics -- the “German Logic” in 1713, the “German Metaphysics” in 1719, the “German Ethics” in 1720, the “German Politics” in 1721, the “German Cosmology” in 1723, and the “German Theology” in 1724, along with numerous short essays. Given his success as a teacher and fame as an author, he gained increasing prominence in Halle, much to the dismay of the “Thomasians” who had dominated philosophical instruction there. It did not contribute to a smooth collegial relationship that Wolff did not like Thomasius's eclectic philosophy and did not hide his dislike. Matters came to a head in 1721 when some political maneuvering on the part of his opponents (the “Thomasians” and the pietists) likely prompted by his own increasing fame and popularity with the students combined with his apparently difficult personality, brought him to the attention of the emperor in Berlin, Friedrich Wilhelm I, who expelled him from Prussia in 1723 on threat of hanging.

Having earlier been invited to the University of Marburg, he took up the position there. At the time Marburg was a more cosmopolitan place than Halle, and Wolff now had students from other countries. He saw himself as speaking to Europeans, not merely Germans, and began writing in Latin. In fact, he produced a second series of books, in Latin and identified as his Latin works, going over the same subject matter that he had treated in his German texts, albeit in more detail. Though even more scholastic than the earlier German texts, these books contributed to his fame in a much broader context (Europe rather than Germany). In 1733, Friedrich Wilhelm I invited him to return to Prussia, but Wolff declined this invitation. He became increasingly well established, so much so that a cabinet order of 1739 required candidates for the ministry to study Wolff's books, particularly his logic. In short order, Wolffians and Wolff societies could be found everywhere, even in Prussia. In 1740, Frederick the Great recalled him to Prussia, offering a permanent fellowship in the Berlin Academy. Rather than accept the invitation to Berlin, he returned to Halle to great acclaim and public approbation. To his disappointment, however, the mood in Halle had changed, the residing Wolffians, in particular Baumgarten, had begun to develop his thought, and his lectures were not successful. Complaining about the poor quality of the students, he gave up lecturing but continued writing.

Date: 2014-12-21; view: 1114