Christoph Meiners
Christoph Meiners ( born July 31, 1747 in Warstade ( Hemmoor ); † May 1, 1810 in Göttingen) was a philosopher, ethnographer, professor of philosophy in Göttingen and a representative of popular philosophy.
Life
He was born the son of a postmaster. At high school in Bremen, he was popular with his classmates for his narrative talent. From 1767 to 1770 he was enrolled at the University of Göttingen, where he pursued his work mainly in the self-study. Manic obsessive reading and excerpting had all his life the favorite activities. He studied psychology as the basis of philosophy.
In 1772, he anonymously published the writing revision of philosophy, in which he described the " esoteric philosophy " ( personified by Pythagoras ) differed from the exoteric philosophy, which must be adapted to the political situation. Nevertheless, even the esoteric philosopher of the Enlightenment feel obliged: "The sun warms the globe even when it is hidden behind the clouds as well, the way to think and judge educate the public, if the esoteric equal to the first Principia, on which he founded, can not be seen. "
Despite all Sonderlichkeit he was appointed full professor and in 1772 in Göttingen for a 1775 full professor of philosophy. He gave Reich and European States history.
In 1785 he did manifest in his outline of the history of mankind that "the current human race consists of Zween main tribes, the (...) Caucasian and the Mongolian tribe: that the latter not only much weaker of Cörper and spirit, but also a lot of bad gearteter and virtuous empty (...) sey ".
In 1788 he was raised to the displeasure of his colleague Georg Christoph Lichtenberg, to the rank of Privy Councillor.
From 1788 to 1791 he was with Johann Georg Heinrich spring out the Philosophical Library.
He also was from January 1787 to August 1791 along with Ludwig Timotheus Spittler the Göttingische Historical magazine out. After the beginning of the French Revolution in 1789, he studied about freedom rights of " Negroes " and Jews beyond this side of the Atlantic. He was represented at the view that one can not both " sameness privileges and liberties " as " Christians and whites " concede.
His work over the constitution and administration Teutonic universities (Göttingen 1801-1802 ) served as a model of the Articles of Association of Russian universities of Dorpat (Tartu ), Moscow, Kharkov and Kazan.
Since 1803 Meiners worked as a vocation Agent of the curator of Moscow University, Mikhail Murawjow. Meiners mediated a number of Göttingen scientists at the Moscow University, then in 1803 the mathematician Ide, the philosopher Reinhard, the statistician Grellmann. This was followed by the philologist Johann Gottlieb Buhle (1763-1821), the chemist Reuss ( or Reiss ), the botanist Hoffmann, the lawyer Stelzer and the physician and naturalist Gotthelf Fischer von Waldheim.
As an informer, he reported in the French period covered of Johannes von Müller, the government in Kassel Minister of State and 1808/ 09 Director of Public Instruction in the Kingdom of Westphalia under King Jérôme, about the activities of the country teams under the Göttingen students and other " abuses " at the Georgia -Augusta. He did not stop even before reports of the temperate in student questions incumbent Vice-Rector, Professor Johann Gottfried Eichhorn. Also Eichhorn's successor, Karl Friedrich Staudlin is commented as the object of reporting detail.
Works
- Revision of philosophy. 1772 anonymous.
- Essay on the history of religion of ancient peoples, particularly the Egyptians. Göttingen 1775.
- History of the origin and progress of decay of Sciences in Greece and Rome in 1781, 2 vols.
- History of the luxury of the Athenians from the earliest times to the death of Philip of Macedon. In 1782.
- Outline of the history of mankind. 1785 ( digitized ).
- Description Age monuments in all parts of the earth. In 1786.
- Outline of the theory and history of the beautiful knowledge managed. 1787 ( digitized ).
- Instructions for young men to their own work [, ] especially for reading, Excerpiren, and writing. Helwing, Hannover 1789.
- As to the nature of the African Negroes ( and its dependent deliverance, or restriction of blacks ). 1790 (online).
- From Letters on Switzerland. Travel in summer 1782 and 1788. 1791.
- Biographies of famous men from the times of restitution of Sciences. 1797, 3 vols.
- General critical history of the older and more recent ethics or life science together with a study of questions: Is there then really a science of life? How should its content, be this as procure their method? 2 vols. Dieterich, Göttingen 1800-1801 ( Volume 2 under the title: General critical history of ethics or life science; digitized ).
- Description of a trip to Stuttgart and Strasburg in the autumn 1801. 1803.
- Terms and critical history of religions. 2 vols. Hannover from 1806 to 1807.
- Studies on the differences of human natures. 3 volumes. Cotta, Tübingen 1811-1815 ( digitized: Volume 1, Volume 2, Volume 3 ).