Frans Hemsterhuis
Frans Hemsterhuis , also Franz Hemsterhuis or François Hemsterhuis , (born December 27, 1721 in Franeker , † July 7, 1790 in The Hague ) was a Dutch philosopher and writer during the Enlightenment .
Live and act
Frans Hemsterhuis was the son of the philologist Tiberius Hemsterhuis and his wife, née Cornelia Maria de Wilde (1685–1766). He studied at the University of Leiden and studied the works of Plato intensively . Since he did not succeed in taking up a professorship, he applied for the service in the State Chancellery of the United Netherlands .
He belonged to the Münster circle of Princess Amalie von Gallitzin in Münster, in which Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi and Johann Georg Hamann also frequented. His Lettre de Dioclès à Diotime sur l'athéisme (Paris 1785) was addressed to Princess Amalie, whom he called Diotima (see Diotima ) . In 1773 he met Denis Diderot personally in The Hague , who was on his trip to Russia to visit Empress Catherine II.
Hemsterhuis' philosophy was shaped by his preoccupation with antiquity (especially with the Greek philosophers Socrates and Plato), as well as by the Enlightenmentists Locke and Shaftesbury . He made it his business to create an eclectic union between rationalism and sensualism . His explanation, according to which the beautiful is that which generates the greatest number of ideas in the shortest possible time, influenced Jacobi and Goethe . His mostly dialogical writings show the clarity and grace of a tasteful stylist and art connoisseur.
Works
- Lettre sur la sculpture (1769)
- Sur les désirs (Paris 1770)
- Lettre sur l'homme et ses rapports (Paris 1772)
- Sophyle, ou de la philosophie (Paris 1778)
- Aristée, ou de la divinité (Paris 1779)
- Alexis, ou sur l'âge d'or (Paris 1787)
- Œuvres philosophiques , collected writings, edited by Jansen, (Paris 1792)
literature
- Anton de Man: Hemsterhuis, Europees filosoof en zoon van Franeker . Calbona, Rotterdam 2014, ISBN 978-94-91872-65-5 .
Web links
- Literature by and about Frans Hemsterhuis in the catalog of the German National Library
- Digital library voor de Nederlandse Letteren. Franciscus Hemsterhuis
Individual evidence
- ↑ Michiel Wielema: Frans Hemsterhuis: A Philosopher's View of the History of the Dutch Republic. Erasmus University, Rotterdam pp 55-63, online (PDF; 231 kB)
- ^ Gallitzin Foundation. Timeline ( memento of the original from October 2, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Raymond Trousson: Diderot. Editions Gallimard (2007) ISBN 978-2-07-034170-2 p. 257
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Hemsterhuis, Frans |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Hemsterhuis, Franz; Hemsterhuis, François |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Dutch philosopher |
| DATE OF BIRTH | December 27, 1721 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Franeker |
| DATE OF DEATH | July 7, 1790 |
| Place of death | The hague |