Eclectic Endeavours of 18th-century Popular Philosophy

Abstract

The University of Göttingen was a product of the personal union between Great Britain and the Electorate of Braunschweig-Lüneburg. As such, it established a British-German connection on an institutional level. Its library and its journal, the Göttingische Anzeigen, profited immensely from new and secure circulation networks. Against the backdrop of a booming early modern publication and review market as well as the development of a German literary language, this paper focuses on Scottish influences upon Popular Philosophy in Göttingen and discusses three reviews that the Göttingen Professor of philosophy, Johann Georg Heinrich Feder, published about the works of James Beattie, Adam Ferguson and Thomas Reid. It emphasizes the connection between early modern journalistic work and eclectic philosophy, by linking linguistic translation, conceptual integration and transformation as well as academic discussions and popularisation efforts.

Keywords

• German Enlightenment
• popular philosophy
• eclecticism
• Göttingen University
• Johann Georg Heinrich Feder