Frederick C. Beiser
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199573011
- eISBN:
- 9780191722202
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199573011.003.0003
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Aesthetics, History of Philosophy
This chapter focuses on Christian Wolff's contributions to the German aesthetic tradition. Virtually every aspect of Wolff's system — his metaphysics, ethics, psychology, and logic — were ...
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This chapter focuses on Christian Wolff's contributions to the German aesthetic tradition. Virtually every aspect of Wolff's system — his metaphysics, ethics, psychology, and logic — were foundational for aesthetic rationalism. Wolff was among the first to conceive and advocate a philosophy of the arts. He bases his theory of the arts and beauty upon his psychology, which he first sketches in his Metaphysik (1719) and then elaborates in his Psychologia empirica (1732) and Psychologia rationalis (1734). The core of Wolff 's theory of beauty consists in a few short paragraphs of his Psychologia empirica. Though his discussion is brief, its influence was great. Gottsched, Baumgarten, Meier, Sulzer, and Mendelssohn made Wolff's discussion the starting point for their own aesthetics.Less
This chapter focuses on Christian Wolff's contributions to the German aesthetic tradition. Virtually every aspect of Wolff's system — his metaphysics, ethics, psychology, and logic — were foundational for aesthetic rationalism. Wolff was among the first to conceive and advocate a philosophy of the arts. He bases his theory of the arts and beauty upon his psychology, which he first sketches in his Metaphysik (1719) and then elaborates in his Psychologia empirica (1732) and Psychologia rationalis (1734). The core of Wolff 's theory of beauty consists in a few short paragraphs of his Psychologia empirica. Though his discussion is brief, its influence was great. Gottsched, Baumgarten, Meier, Sulzer, and Mendelssohn made Wolff's discussion the starting point for their own aesthetics.
Avi Lifschitz
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199661664
- eISBN:
- 9780191751653
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199661664.003.0003
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History, History of Ideas
This chapter explores a synchronic approach to the interrelations between language and mind, as expressed mainly by Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz and Christian Wolff. Leibniz's attempt to rehabilitate ...
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This chapter explores a synchronic approach to the interrelations between language and mind, as expressed mainly by Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz and Christian Wolff. Leibniz's attempt to rehabilitate the Christian mysteries incorporated an influential distinction: clear and distinct ideas corresponded to intuitive perception, whereas most of the ideas accessible to the human mind were clear but indistinct (or confused). Such ideas could be processed only by means of signs, resulting in symbolic knowledge. From the 1730s to the 1750s, prompted by fears of radical rationalism, Pietists and orthodox authors adopted this rehabilitation of symbolic thinking by means of clear but indistinct ideas. This synthesis was elaborated in contemporary aesthetics, historical studies, and biblical criticism, particularly in Halle and Göttingen.Less
This chapter explores a synchronic approach to the interrelations between language and mind, as expressed mainly by Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz and Christian Wolff. Leibniz's attempt to rehabilitate the Christian mysteries incorporated an influential distinction: clear and distinct ideas corresponded to intuitive perception, whereas most of the ideas accessible to the human mind were clear but indistinct (or confused). Such ideas could be processed only by means of signs, resulting in symbolic knowledge. From the 1730s to the 1750s, prompted by fears of radical rationalism, Pietists and orthodox authors adopted this rehabilitation of symbolic thinking by means of clear but indistinct ideas. This synthesis was elaborated in contemporary aesthetics, historical studies, and biblical criticism, particularly in Halle and Göttingen.
J. N. Findlay
- Published in print:
- 1981
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198246381
- eISBN:
- 9780191680960
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198246381.003.0002
- Subject:
- Philosophy, History of Philosophy, Metaphysics/Epistemology
This chapter gives a brief account of the three major influences which shaped Kant's opinions, which provided the background from which he dissented, and which he in great part transposed and ...
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This chapter gives a brief account of the three major influences which shaped Kant's opinions, which provided the background from which he dissented, and which he in great part transposed and restructured. The influences considered are those of Leibniz, Christian Wolff, and Christian August Crusius.Less
This chapter gives a brief account of the three major influences which shaped Kant's opinions, which provided the background from which he dissented, and which he in great part transposed and restructured. The influences considered are those of Leibniz, Christian Wolff, and Christian August Crusius.
Thomas Kleinlein
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- June 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780198768586
- eISBN:
- 9780191821974
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198768586.003.0012
- Subject:
- Law, Public International Law
This chapter explores Christian Wolff’s systematic method and how it resonated in later scholarship. Wolff considered his systematic method to be his original contribution to the study of ...
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This chapter explores Christian Wolff’s systematic method and how it resonated in later scholarship. Wolff considered his systematic method to be his original contribution to the study of international law. Yet, despite the fact that he was a very renowned scholar in his time, this systematic method apparently remained an episode in international legal thought. Three transitions in international legal thought are already discernible, but not explicit, in Wolff’s writings: a process of an autonomization of international law, a shift from natural law to positivism, and a shifting focus from law to political economy. In a paradoxical manner, Wolff’s specific approach to the study of international law and his scientific method contributed to these transitions in international legal thought and, at the same time, hid them behind ambiguity. Arguably, this ambiguity contributes to explaining limited resonance of Wolff’s writings on international law.Less
This chapter explores Christian Wolff’s systematic method and how it resonated in later scholarship. Wolff considered his systematic method to be his original contribution to the study of international law. Yet, despite the fact that he was a very renowned scholar in his time, this systematic method apparently remained an episode in international legal thought. Three transitions in international legal thought are already discernible, but not explicit, in Wolff’s writings: a process of an autonomization of international law, a shift from natural law to positivism, and a shifting focus from law to political economy. In a paradoxical manner, Wolff’s specific approach to the study of international law and his scientific method contributed to these transitions in international legal thought and, at the same time, hid them behind ambiguity. Arguably, this ambiguity contributes to explaining limited resonance of Wolff’s writings on international law.
Ian J. Deary
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780198524175
- eISBN:
- 9780191712531
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198524175.003.0002
- Subject:
- Psychology, Cognitive Psychology
This chapter covers the historical contributions made to understanding intelligence differences by theorists such as Huarte, Thomas Hobbes, Christian Wolff, and Charles Spearman.
This chapter covers the historical contributions made to understanding intelligence differences by theorists such as Huarte, Thomas Hobbes, Christian Wolff, and Charles Spearman.
Henry Shue
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- April 2004
- ISBN:
- 9780199267217
- eISBN:
- 9780191601118
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199267219.003.0002
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
Employs historical analysis and philosophical reasoning to argue that sovereignty is inherently limited. The writings of classical theorists such as Grotius and Vattel indicate that aspirations to ...
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Employs historical analysis and philosophical reasoning to argue that sovereignty is inherently limited. The writings of classical theorists such as Grotius and Vattel indicate that aspirations to sovereignty and non-intervention have always been tempered by considerations above and beyond the state. Philosophically, it must be remembered that sovereignty is a right, and the concept of a right makes no sense in the absence of a corresponding duty. The duties that are constitutive of the rights of sovereignty constrain the behaviour of every sovereign belonging to international society. Two conclusions follow. First, there are limits on how states may treat their own citizens within their own territory. Second, other states face specific limits concerning the ill-treatment of residents within the territory of other states that they are free to ignore. In particular, genocide and massive violations of human rights are a matter of concern for all states in contemporary international society.Less
Employs historical analysis and philosophical reasoning to argue that sovereignty is inherently limited. The writings of classical theorists such as Grotius and Vattel indicate that aspirations to sovereignty and non-intervention have always been tempered by considerations above and beyond the state. Philosophically, it must be remembered that sovereignty is a right, and the concept of a right makes no sense in the absence of a corresponding duty. The duties that are constitutive of the rights of sovereignty constrain the behaviour of every sovereign belonging to international society. Two conclusions follow. First, there are limits on how states may treat their own citizens within their own territory. Second, other states face specific limits concerning the ill-treatment of residents within the territory of other states that they are free to ignore. In particular, genocide and massive violations of human rights are a matter of concern for all states in contemporary international society.
Michael Hicks and Christian Asplund
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- April 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780252037061
- eISBN:
- 9780252094163
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Illinois Press
- DOI:
- 10.5406/illinois/9780252037061.003.0008
- Subject:
- Music, History, American
This introductory chapter is an overview of Christian Wolff's music and how it tends to defy academic analysis. In an academic musical culture such things must be easily systematized and categorized, ...
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This introductory chapter is an overview of Christian Wolff's music and how it tends to defy academic analysis. In an academic musical culture such things must be easily systematized and categorized, Wolff's music constantly defies attempts at arriving at neat analyses of his work. If Wolff has a method of composing it is to overturn methods from piece to piece. The constancy is change—often radical change even in the vocabulary of a single work. The restlessness of his imagination prevents him from settling into a Wolff “style,” or clearly recognizable idiom—except that he favors epigrammatic utterances, even blunt statements, though often as gentle as spare. The chapter also delves briefly into Wolff's life and career, highlighting and debunking the perceived contrasts between Wolff the man and his artistry.Less
This introductory chapter is an overview of Christian Wolff's music and how it tends to defy academic analysis. In an academic musical culture such things must be easily systematized and categorized, Wolff's music constantly defies attempts at arriving at neat analyses of his work. If Wolff has a method of composing it is to overturn methods from piece to piece. The constancy is change—often radical change even in the vocabulary of a single work. The restlessness of his imagination prevents him from settling into a Wolff “style,” or clearly recognizable idiom—except that he favors epigrammatic utterances, even blunt statements, though often as gentle as spare. The chapter also delves briefly into Wolff's life and career, highlighting and debunking the perceived contrasts between Wolff the man and his artistry.
Michah Gottlieb
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- May 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195398946
- eISBN:
- 9780199894499
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195398946.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism, Philosophy of Religion
This chapter explores Mendelssohn's early thought. While Frederick the Great's enlightened absolutism should have presented Jews with greater opportunities for social advancement and equal rights, ...
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This chapter explores Mendelssohn's early thought. While Frederick the Great's enlightened absolutism should have presented Jews with greater opportunities for social advancement and equal rights, this was stymied by Frederick's adherence to medieval stereotypes of Jews as superstitious and unethical. Addressing Jewish contemporaries, Mendelssohn uses Maimonides' authority to legitimate cultural pursuits outside of Judaism. But Mendelssohn is disturbed by Maimonides' ambivalent attitude towards central theistic concepts such as divine providence and the immortality of the soul. While Maimonides is the greatest medieval Jewish philosopher, Spinoza is the greatest modern Jewish philosopher. Addressing his Christian contemporaries, Mendelssohn defends Spinoza as a model of Jewish cultural attainment. While Mendelssohn rejects Spinoza's atheism, he claims that Spinoza made crucial contributions to the enlightened theism of the German philosophers Leibniz and Wolff who advanced religious philosophy beyond its medieval forms by philosophically grounding Judaism's fundamental insight into God's providential goodness.Less
This chapter explores Mendelssohn's early thought. While Frederick the Great's enlightened absolutism should have presented Jews with greater opportunities for social advancement and equal rights, this was stymied by Frederick's adherence to medieval stereotypes of Jews as superstitious and unethical. Addressing Jewish contemporaries, Mendelssohn uses Maimonides' authority to legitimate cultural pursuits outside of Judaism. But Mendelssohn is disturbed by Maimonides' ambivalent attitude towards central theistic concepts such as divine providence and the immortality of the soul. While Maimonides is the greatest medieval Jewish philosopher, Spinoza is the greatest modern Jewish philosopher. Addressing his Christian contemporaries, Mendelssohn defends Spinoza as a model of Jewish cultural attainment. While Mendelssohn rejects Spinoza's atheism, he claims that Spinoza made crucial contributions to the enlightened theism of the German philosophers Leibniz and Wolff who advanced religious philosophy beyond its medieval forms by philosophically grounding Judaism's fundamental insight into God's providential goodness.
Frank Grunert
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- September 2019
- ISBN:
- 9781474449229
- eISBN:
- 9781474460200
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9781474449229.003.0009
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Political Philosophy
Whether Christian Wolff’s concept of innate rights is a substantial contribution to the development of the concept of human rights or not has been a major concern of recent literature. This chapter ...
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Whether Christian Wolff’s concept of innate rights is a substantial contribution to the development of the concept of human rights or not has been a major concern of recent literature. This chapter explores the role of Christian Wolff’s conception of iuraconnata or innate rights as possible foundations for the modern doctrine of human rights, imbuing natural law with a degree of transhistoricality and engaging with Knud Haakonssen’s rather different treatment of Wolff’s natural rights as alienable.Less
Whether Christian Wolff’s concept of innate rights is a substantial contribution to the development of the concept of human rights or not has been a major concern of recent literature. This chapter explores the role of Christian Wolff’s conception of iuraconnata or innate rights as possible foundations for the modern doctrine of human rights, imbuing natural law with a degree of transhistoricality and engaging with Knud Haakonssen’s rather different treatment of Wolff’s natural rights as alienable.
Henry E. Allison
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199647033
- eISBN:
- 9780191741166
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199647033.003.0011
- Subject:
- Philosophy, History of Philosophy, Metaphysics/Epistemology
This essay discusses the various conceptions of freedom to be found in Kant's texts, analyzes the connection between them and Kant's moral theory and epistemology, explores the contrast between the ...
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This essay discusses the various conceptions of freedom to be found in Kant's texts, analyzes the connection between them and Kant's moral theory and epistemology, explores the contrast between the empirical and the intelligible character of the will, and examines Kant's controversial views on the relation between freedom and causal determinism. In addition, it frames Kant's account of free will historically in relation to the views of his immediate predecessors, who exerted the most influence on him, and his idealistic successors, who strongly criticized him but were greatly influenced by his views. The former group includes Leibniz, Wolff and Crusius, and the latter Fichte, Hegel, and Schopenhauer.Less
This essay discusses the various conceptions of freedom to be found in Kant's texts, analyzes the connection between them and Kant's moral theory and epistemology, explores the contrast between the empirical and the intelligible character of the will, and examines Kant's controversial views on the relation between freedom and causal determinism. In addition, it frames Kant's account of free will historically in relation to the views of his immediate predecessors, who exerted the most influence on him, and his idealistic successors, who strongly criticized him but were greatly influenced by his views. The former group includes Leibniz, Wolff and Crusius, and the latter Fichte, Hegel, and Schopenhauer.
Michael Hicks and Christian Asplund
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- April 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780252037061
- eISBN:
- 9780252094163
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Illinois Press
- DOI:
- 10.5406/illinois/9780252037061.003.0003
- Subject:
- Music, History, American
This chapter documents more experimental changes in Wolff's compositional oeuvre, as well as certain new milestones in his life. While working in the army, Wolff continued to develop his musicianship ...
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This chapter documents more experimental changes in Wolff's compositional oeuvre, as well as certain new milestones in his life. While working in the army, Wolff continued to develop his musicianship through prose polemics and new compositional strategies. In 1962, he reached a new threshold in his experimental evolution, as he began a two-year span of writing only pieces with unspecified instrumentation. In addition, Wolff's academic and family moorings had begun to shift. Family-wise, he would marry Hope (“Holly”) Nash at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Royalton in 1965, develop an interest in electric guitar, and witness the birth of his firstborn, Christian Mayhew (“Hew”). Career-wise, Wolff's teaching contract with Harvard would not be renewed, which later provided him with the opportunity to apply for a position teaching classics and music at Dartmouth.Less
This chapter documents more experimental changes in Wolff's compositional oeuvre, as well as certain new milestones in his life. While working in the army, Wolff continued to develop his musicianship through prose polemics and new compositional strategies. In 1962, he reached a new threshold in his experimental evolution, as he began a two-year span of writing only pieces with unspecified instrumentation. In addition, Wolff's academic and family moorings had begun to shift. Family-wise, he would marry Hope (“Holly”) Nash at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Royalton in 1965, develop an interest in electric guitar, and witness the birth of his firstborn, Christian Mayhew (“Hew”). Career-wise, Wolff's teaching contract with Harvard would not be renewed, which later provided him with the opportunity to apply for a position teaching classics and music at Dartmouth.
Alberto Vanzo
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- November 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780198748717
- eISBN:
- 9780191814112
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198748717.003.0007
- Subject:
- Philosophy, History of Philosophy
This chapter argues for three claims concerning the relation between Christian Wolff’s philosophy and the methodological views of early modern experimental philosophers. First, Wolff’s system relies ...
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This chapter argues for three claims concerning the relation between Christian Wolff’s philosophy and the methodological views of early modern experimental philosophers. First, Wolff’s system relies on experience at every step and his views on experiments, observations, hypotheses, and the a priori are in line with those of experimental philosophers. Second, the study of Wolff’s views demonstrates the influence of experimental philosophy in early eighteenth-century Germany, well before Tetens and Feder endorsed the experimental method in the last three decades of the century. Third, Wolff’s thought is shaped by two distinct, but compatible, methodological commitments: to develop a thoroughly experimental philosophy and to build a system according to a mathematical demonstrative method. References to Wolff’s alleged empiricism and rationalism are best identified with references to his endorsement of the tenets of experimental philosophy and of a mathematical demonstrative method.Less
This chapter argues for three claims concerning the relation between Christian Wolff’s philosophy and the methodological views of early modern experimental philosophers. First, Wolff’s system relies on experience at every step and his views on experiments, observations, hypotheses, and the a priori are in line with those of experimental philosophers. Second, the study of Wolff’s views demonstrates the influence of experimental philosophy in early eighteenth-century Germany, well before Tetens and Feder endorsed the experimental method in the last three decades of the century. Third, Wolff’s thought is shaped by two distinct, but compatible, methodological commitments: to develop a thoroughly experimental philosophy and to build a system according to a mathematical demonstrative method. References to Wolff’s alleged empiricism and rationalism are best identified with references to his endorsement of the tenets of experimental philosophy and of a mathematical demonstrative method.
Michael Hicks and Christian Asplund
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- April 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780252037061
- eISBN:
- 9780252094163
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Illinois Press
- DOI:
- 10.5406/illinois/9780252037061.003.0007
- Subject:
- Music, History, American
This chapter contains some final reflections on Wolff. At present Wolff is the last surviving member of the so-called New York School of composers, and how he contends with this “survival” even as he ...
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This chapter contains some final reflections on Wolff. At present Wolff is the last surviving member of the so-called New York School of composers, and how he contends with this “survival” even as he continues to defy easy definitions of his musical oeuvre. The chapter also discusses the numerous challenges and accolades he received during this period, as well as his continued efforts to compose and to improvise. Yet it also considers a strain of organicism in Wolff's later works—however tenuous—and there are certain themes that also emerge during this latter period which this chapter briefly dwells on. The chapter concludes with further remarks on Wolff's survival and preoccupations as a musician.Less
This chapter contains some final reflections on Wolff. At present Wolff is the last surviving member of the so-called New York School of composers, and how he contends with this “survival” even as he continues to defy easy definitions of his musical oeuvre. The chapter also discusses the numerous challenges and accolades he received during this period, as well as his continued efforts to compose and to improvise. Yet it also considers a strain of organicism in Wolff's later works—however tenuous—and there are certain themes that also emerge during this latter period which this chapter briefly dwells on. The chapter concludes with further remarks on Wolff's survival and preoccupations as a musician.
Michael Hicks and Christian Asplund
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- April 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780252037061
- eISBN:
- 9780252094163
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Illinois Press
- DOI:
- 10.5406/illinois/9780252037061.001.0001
- Subject:
- Music, History, American
This book, the first interpretive narrative of the life and work of Christian Wolff, traces the influences and sensibilities of a contemporary composer's atypical career path and restless ...
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This book, the first interpretive narrative of the life and work of Christian Wolff, traces the influences and sensibilities of a contemporary composer's atypical career path and restless imagination. Written in full cooperation with Wolff, including access to his papers, this volume is a much-needed introduction to a leading avant-garde composer still living, writing music, and speaking about his own work. Wolff has pioneered various compositional and notational idioms, including overtly political music, indeterminacy, graphic scores, and extreme virtuosity. The book covers Wolff's family life and formative years, his role as a founder of the New York School of composers, and the context of his life and work as part of the John Cage circle, as well as his departures from it. Critically assessing Wolff's place within the experimental musical field, this volume captures both his eloquence and reticence and provides insights into his broad interests and activities within music and beyond.Less
This book, the first interpretive narrative of the life and work of Christian Wolff, traces the influences and sensibilities of a contemporary composer's atypical career path and restless imagination. Written in full cooperation with Wolff, including access to his papers, this volume is a much-needed introduction to a leading avant-garde composer still living, writing music, and speaking about his own work. Wolff has pioneered various compositional and notational idioms, including overtly political music, indeterminacy, graphic scores, and extreme virtuosity. The book covers Wolff's family life and formative years, his role as a founder of the New York School of composers, and the context of his life and work as part of the John Cage circle, as well as his departures from it. Critically assessing Wolff's place within the experimental musical field, this volume captures both his eloquence and reticence and provides insights into his broad interests and activities within music and beyond.
Gabriele Gava
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- December 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780198829294
- eISBN:
- 9780191867880
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198829294.003.0009
- Subject:
- Philosophy, History of Philosophy
Both in his pre-critical writings and in his critical works, Kant criticizes the Wolffian tradition for its use of the mathematical method in philosophy. The chapter argues that the apparent ...
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Both in his pre-critical writings and in his critical works, Kant criticizes the Wolffian tradition for its use of the mathematical method in philosophy. The chapter argues that the apparent unambiguousness of this opposition between Kant and Wolff notwithstanding, the problem of ascertaining the relationship between Kant’s and Wolff’s methods in philosophy cannot be dismissed so quickly. Only a close consideration of Kant’s different remarks on Wolff’s approach and a comparison of the methods that Wolff and Kant actually used in philosophy can allow us to determine when Kant’s criticisms are justified and where the differences in their methodological proposals for philosophy actually lie. We see that Kant’s account of philosophical method in fact has some elements in common with the Wolffian paradigm, even though there are also relevant differences.Less
Both in his pre-critical writings and in his critical works, Kant criticizes the Wolffian tradition for its use of the mathematical method in philosophy. The chapter argues that the apparent unambiguousness of this opposition between Kant and Wolff notwithstanding, the problem of ascertaining the relationship between Kant’s and Wolff’s methods in philosophy cannot be dismissed so quickly. Only a close consideration of Kant’s different remarks on Wolff’s approach and a comparison of the methods that Wolff and Kant actually used in philosophy can allow us to determine when Kant’s criticisms are justified and where the differences in their methodological proposals for philosophy actually lie. We see that Kant’s account of philosophical method in fact has some elements in common with the Wolffian paradigm, even though there are also relevant differences.
Henry E. Allison
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199691531
- eISBN:
- 9780191731808
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199691531.003.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, History of Philosophy, Moral Philosophy
The Introduction emphasizes the importance of the principle of autonomy and describes the structure of both Kant’s work and the commentary on it. It notes that the Groundwork has two tasks: to search ...
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The Introduction emphasizes the importance of the principle of autonomy and describes the structure of both Kant’s work and the commentary on it. It notes that the Groundwork has two tasks: to search for and to establish the supreme principle of morality. Its first two parts are devoted to the first task and use an “analytic” method, which begins with the premise that this principle is implicit in the common understanding of morality and culminates in various formulations of the categorical imperative. The third is concerned with the second task. It uses a “synthetic” method, which eventuates in a “deduction” of this imperative. The commentary consists of four parts; since, in addition to devoting a part to each part of the Groundwork, it contains an analysis of Kant’s Preface and a contrast of Kant’s views with the Wolffian universal practical philosophy and the popular moral philosophy associated with Christian Garve.Less
The Introduction emphasizes the importance of the principle of autonomy and describes the structure of both Kant’s work and the commentary on it. It notes that the Groundwork has two tasks: to search for and to establish the supreme principle of morality. Its first two parts are devoted to the first task and use an “analytic” method, which begins with the premise that this principle is implicit in the common understanding of morality and culminates in various formulations of the categorical imperative. The third is concerned with the second task. It uses a “synthetic” method, which eventuates in a “deduction” of this imperative. The commentary consists of four parts; since, in addition to devoting a part to each part of the Groundwork, it contains an analysis of Kant’s Preface and a contrast of Kant’s views with the Wolffian universal practical philosophy and the popular moral philosophy associated with Christian Garve.
Ulrich L. Lehner
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199595129
- eISBN:
- 9780191729096
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199595129.003.0009
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History, History of Religion
This chapter examines how the German Benedictines actively engaged in dialogue with modern philosophy. At the center of this dialogue was the University of Salzburg, a Benedictine institution, where ...
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This chapter examines how the German Benedictines actively engaged in dialogue with modern philosophy. At the center of this dialogue was the University of Salzburg, a Benedictine institution, where monks from throughout Southern Germany and Austria taught until the school's closing in 1810. A positive opinion of the Enlightenment was prevalent there, especially under the protection of Archbishop Colloredo. Among the new themes the enlightened Monks proposed were a more optimist anthropology, a positive view of Leibniz and Locke, a focus on experimental physics, as well as a clear preference for the vernacular as the new language of academia. During the last quarter of the 18th century, the Benedictines also welcomed many of the ideas of Immanuel Kant and Johann Gottlieb Fichte, while trying to integrate them into their philosophical systems.Less
This chapter examines how the German Benedictines actively engaged in dialogue with modern philosophy. At the center of this dialogue was the University of Salzburg, a Benedictine institution, where monks from throughout Southern Germany and Austria taught until the school's closing in 1810. A positive opinion of the Enlightenment was prevalent there, especially under the protection of Archbishop Colloredo. Among the new themes the enlightened Monks proposed were a more optimist anthropology, a positive view of Leibniz and Locke, a focus on experimental physics, as well as a clear preference for the vernacular as the new language of academia. During the last quarter of the 18th century, the Benedictines also welcomed many of the ideas of Immanuel Kant and Johann Gottlieb Fichte, while trying to integrate them into their philosophical systems.
Jeffrey L. Kosky
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226451060
- eISBN:
- 9780226451084
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226451084.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Philosophy of Religion
This book starts with a picture that serves as a depiction of modern disenchantment. What it shows has become almost commonplace, hardly worth remark, much less, years of obsession. The book presents ...
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This book starts with a picture that serves as a depiction of modern disenchantment. What it shows has become almost commonplace, hardly worth remark, much less, years of obsession. The book presents here the frontispiece to Christian Wolff’s emblematic work of the European Enlightenment, Reasonable Thoughts on God, the World and the human Soul, and All things in General. Communicated to the Lovers of Truth by Christian Wolff. It is an image of enlightenment and of revelation—of seeing the light and seeing it according to the format of light as a cone of illuminating rays streaming from a point source. This gives voice to a certain dualism: light and dark are opposed and irreconcilable, the light coming only after the darkness. It also gives voice to a sense of novelty or uniqueness, a break with how things have been in that dark past. Finally, it implies that light, at some time, departed, if it now returns or is brought back.Less
This book starts with a picture that serves as a depiction of modern disenchantment. What it shows has become almost commonplace, hardly worth remark, much less, years of obsession. The book presents here the frontispiece to Christian Wolff’s emblematic work of the European Enlightenment, Reasonable Thoughts on God, the World and the human Soul, and All things in General. Communicated to the Lovers of Truth by Christian Wolff. It is an image of enlightenment and of revelation—of seeing the light and seeing it according to the format of light as a cone of illuminating rays streaming from a point source. This gives voice to a certain dualism: light and dark are opposed and irreconcilable, the light coming only after the darkness. It also gives voice to a sense of novelty or uniqueness, a break with how things have been in that dark past. Finally, it implies that light, at some time, departed, if it now returns or is brought back.
Kelly Joan Whitmer
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- January 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780226243771
- eISBN:
- 9780226243801
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226243801.003.0003
- Subject:
- History, History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
Chapter Two considers how and why the Halle Orphanage and its educational programming were implicated in the politics of confessional reconciliation that in many ways defined Brandenburg-Prussia ...
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Chapter Two considers how and why the Halle Orphanage and its educational programming were implicated in the politics of confessional reconciliation that in many ways defined Brandenburg-Prussia after the Thirty Years War. Efforts to devise institutional strategies for eliminating confessional difference and, more generally, reconciling competing points of view led to a series of sustained efforts here to turn eclecticism into a kind of scientific methodology—a method that might involve Anschauung, or efforts to teach young people how to observe with the inner eye. Administrators also increasingly consulted the writings of the Czech educational reformer Johann Amos Comenius and endeavoured to apply his system of “mosaic physics.” The chapter concludes with a discussion of how these efforts impacted the curriculum of the Orphanage schools, including the debates surrounding the practice of eclecticism that had emerged in Halle on the eve of Christian Wolff’s expulsion.Less
Chapter Two considers how and why the Halle Orphanage and its educational programming were implicated in the politics of confessional reconciliation that in many ways defined Brandenburg-Prussia after the Thirty Years War. Efforts to devise institutional strategies for eliminating confessional difference and, more generally, reconciling competing points of view led to a series of sustained efforts here to turn eclecticism into a kind of scientific methodology—a method that might involve Anschauung, or efforts to teach young people how to observe with the inner eye. Administrators also increasingly consulted the writings of the Czech educational reformer Johann Amos Comenius and endeavoured to apply his system of “mosaic physics.” The chapter concludes with a discussion of how these efforts impacted the curriculum of the Orphanage schools, including the debates surrounding the practice of eclecticism that had emerged in Halle on the eve of Christian Wolff’s expulsion.
Clemens Schwaiger
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- July 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780198783886
- eISBN:
- 9780191826535
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198783886.003.0004
- Subject:
- Philosophy, History of Philosophy, Metaphysics/Epistemology
This chapter explains the key elements in the dispute between the Pietists and Wolff, and defends the thesis that as a figure situated at the boundary between these two parties, Baumgarten played a ...
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This chapter explains the key elements in the dispute between the Pietists and Wolff, and defends the thesis that as a figure situated at the boundary between these two parties, Baumgarten played a historically decisive role in the debate. To demonstrate this, Schwaiger shows in detail how, in attempting to build a middle path, Baumgarten is led to offer an original and fundamental modification of the theory of freedom. This includes reworking the Wolffian conception of a rule of willing, further developing the theory of motivational indifference, and recasting the distinctions between “spontaneity,” “choice,” and “freedom.”Less
This chapter explains the key elements in the dispute between the Pietists and Wolff, and defends the thesis that as a figure situated at the boundary between these two parties, Baumgarten played a historically decisive role in the debate. To demonstrate this, Schwaiger shows in detail how, in attempting to build a middle path, Baumgarten is led to offer an original and fundamental modification of the theory of freedom. This includes reworking the Wolffian conception of a rule of willing, further developing the theory of motivational indifference, and recasting the distinctions between “spontaneity,” “choice,” and “freedom.”
