Georg Friedrich Meier

Georg Friedrich Meier ( born March 29, 1718 Ammendorf, † June 21, 1777 in Giebichenstein ) was a German philosopher.

Life and work

Youth (1718-1735)

His father Gebhard Friedrich Christoph Meier was town preacher in Ammendorf and Beesen. The mother 's maiden name was Dorothea Kuskopf. To 1727 Meier was taught by his parents in the fields of Latin, writing and arithmetic. However, throughout his youth, he remained very susceptible to disease (epilepsy ). From 1727 Meier went to the school of the orphanage. There took over the Hospital preacher Möller room and board. The stay was interrupted by an illness. From 1729 Meier made ​​a second attempt at the same place. Meier learned in the house of Christopher Semler (Upper deacon of the church Ulrich ). Semler was also Quartier father, educator and first patron of Meier. In addition to the spiritual training, he has also dedicated mathematics, astronomy, physics and mechanics. The humanistic education comes up short in his youth, so Meier acquires his knowledge in a self-taught way. Semler enables him to hear also from 1732 lectures at the Frederick University.

Study years (1735-1739)

Already 1730 is Meier enrolled at the University of Halle. From 1735, after high school, he began the actual study of philosophy and theology. There Meier attended lectures by the Brothers Baumgarten ( Alexander Gottlieb Baumgarten: logic, metaphysics, natural law and moral philosophy; Sigmund Jacob Baumgarten: Theology). The two Baumgarten be Meier's largest benefactor and supporter. In addition, the autodidactic acquisition of works of Christian Wolff takes place during the course. Meier PhD in April 1739 as Magister Philosophiae.

MA (1739-1746)

Meier habilitated in September 1739 with the publication " De nonnullis abstractis mathematicis ". End of 1740 was followed by A. G. Baumgarten called to the University of Frankfurt / Oder. For this reason, Meier took over the teaching in Halle / Saale. He learned a great feed to his lectures (up to 300 people ). This is all the more remarkable, as Christian Wolff with his recall to Halle in 1740 also took over all parts of philosophy, mathematics, natural and international law. Wolff was Meier's success obviously not very pleased " that the beauty thinkers will spoil everything in philosophy ."

Associate Professor (1746-1748)

In November, not least through the intervention of SJ Baumgarten, Georg Friedrich Meier appointed associate professor. His philosophy remained generally largely in the conceptual framework of the philosophy of Christian Wolff, made ​​this framework, however, on a number of points by modernizing revisions and additions continued, especially in matters of emerging aesthetics. A little later, in 1748, suggested Meier from a call to Göttingen, and the appeal by the Duke of Brunswick.

Professor (1748-1777)

In December 1748 Meier was appointed full professor. His extensive teaching in all disciplines of philosophy and aesthetics he continued until 1776. A sign of his rise is, inter alia, the rapid uptake in various learned societies.

  • Royal German society to Greifswald ( 1744)
  • " German society " in Jena (1748 )
  • Royal Academy of Sciences in Berlin (1751 )
  • " German society " in Göttingen (1753 )

As the successor to Meier's chair of philosophy at the University of Halle was made a call to Immanuel Kant to Königsberg. However, it does not follow that, because he was working on his major philosophical work, what his full attention needed. From 1778 Johann August Eberhard took the orphaned Chair. He was a former student of Meier and later Kant critics.

Family

Georg Friedrich Meier married on June 3, 1750, the pastor's daughter Johanna Concordia Hermann. In the winter of 1776 he suffered a serious illness. Meier died on 21 June 1777.

Work and impact

Today is likely to be his most famous work Meiers rudiments of all the fine arts and sciences, in the hall appeared ( 3 vols ) 1748-1750. This work presents in German language essential ideas of Alexander Gottlieb Baumgarten's Aesthetica later published in Latin ( 2 vols, Frankfurt / Oder in 1750 and 1758). Meier was acquainted with Baumgarten's ideas of aesthetics as a new science of sensory knowledge by Baumgarten's dissertation ( Meditationes Philosophicae de Nonnullis ad Poema Pertinentibus, Hall 1735), his lectures and personal messages. Meier's work, which explicitly recognizes the predecessor shaft Baumgarten, was - among other things because it was German and not Latin drafted - to the popularization and dissemination of Baumgarten's ideas decisively. It had therefore part in the creation of an aesthetic mode and the cult of the genius of the 18th century, especially by Baumgarten's idea of a new aesthetic people type, felix aestheticus, polemical lifted out against a " dark " and " schulfüchsig " type shown the " logicus ".

Of importance for the history of hermeneutics Meier was an attempt of a general interpretation of art (Hall 1757, reprinted Hamburg Meiner Verlag, 1996).

Other important works Meiers, which differ from the model of Christian Wolff mainly by promoting greater attention to psychological issues, the limits of human knowledge and skepticism about the possibility of a purely rational proofs of God are: thoughts on religion (Hall 1749), theory of reason (Hall 1752 ), proof of the predetermined agreement (Hall, 1752), Philosophical ethics (5 vols Hall 1753-1761 ), metaphysics (4 vols Hall from 1755 to 1759 ), reflections on the limits of human knowledge (Hall 1775).

Known students

  • Karl Abraham Zedlitz
  • Karl Theophil Guichard
  • Johann August Nosselt
  • Johann Salomo Semler
  • Thomas Abbt
  • Johann August Eberhard
  • Christian Gottfried Schütz
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