Kritik des Stoizismus in Johann Michael von Loëns "Epicurische Sittenlehre die beste" (1751)

Abstract

This article is a contribution to analysis of the critique of stoicism in the 18th century. The author suggests that the text of J. M. von Loën is intertwined with the trend initiated by Thomasius that was developed by Baumgarten and Meier. The terminology that is used by von Loën evidently suggests genetic connotations with the terminology used by Baumgarten (“rauhe Sittenlehre/Tugend”), and the critical argumentation has the connection with the argumentation used by Meier, who has termed the stoic postulate of stifling emotions as a removal of half of humankind from a human being. Von Loën – similarly to Meier – is a proponent of the concept of a whole human being (“der ganze Mensch”) and he opts for the harmony of the soul (“Gemütsruhe”).

Keywords

• Critique of stoicism
• Johann Michael von Loën
• Alexander Gottlieb Baumgarten
• Georg Friedrich Meier