Reimarus, Hermann Samuel

Reimarus, Hermann Samuel

▪ German philosopher
born Dec. 22, 1694, Hamburg
died March 1, 1768
 German philosopher and man of letters of the Enlightenment who is remembered for his Deism, the doctrine that human reason can arrive at a religion (so-called natural religion) more certain than religions based on revelation.

      Appointed professor of Hebrew and Oriental languages at the Hamburg Gymnasium, or preparatory school, in 1727, Reimarus made his house a cultural centre and meeting place for learned and artistic societies. His first important philosophical work was Abhandlungen von den vornehmsten Wahrheiten der natürlichen Religion (1754; “Treatises on the Principal Truths of Natural Religion”), a Deistic discussion of cosmological, biological–psychological, and theological problems. In Die Vernunftlehre (1756; “Doctrine of Reason”) he combated traditional Christian belief in revelation.

      Reimarus' major work, Apologie oder Schutzschrift für die vernünftigen Verehrer Gottes (“Apologia or Defense for the Rational Reverers of God”), took 20 years to complete and was deliberately left unpublished until after his death. Gotthold Lessing (Lessing, Gotthold Ephraim) obtained fragments of the work from Reimarus' children for publication under the title Wolfenbütteler Fragmente in his own Zur Geschichte und Literatur (1774 and 1777). The appearance of the fragments aroused a controversy known as the Fragmentenstreit (German Streit, “quarrel”) that provoked both liberal and conservative criticism. Other fragments were published by several writers between 1787 and 1862, occasionally under pseudonyms.

      Reimarus also offered a novel treatment of the life of Jesus. Jesus (Jesus Christ), he claimed, was a mere human afflicted by messianic illusions; after his death his body was stolen and hidden by his disciples to maintain his resurrection. Reimarus consistently denied miracles except for creation itself and claimed that the ethical doctrines necessary for the survival of human society were accessible to reason without the aid of revealed principles.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Reimarus, Hermann Samuel — (1694–1768)    Theologian.    Reimarus was born in Hamburg, Germany, and was educated at Jena. Subsequently he taught at Wittenberg, Wismar and Hamburg. He is remembered for his huge Deist treatise, most of which was never published. However,… …   Who’s Who in Christianity

  • Reimarus, Hermann Samuel — (1694–1768) German biblical scholar in Hamburg. As a deist he rejected the historical worth of events in the Bible ascribed to supernatural agents, such as miracles. He was reckoned by Albert Schweitzer [[➝ Schweitzer, Albert]] to be the pioneer… …   Dictionary of the Bible

  • Hermann Samuel Reimarus — Hermann Samuel Reimarus; Ölgemälde von Gerloff Hiddinga, 1749. Hermann Samuel Reimarus (* 22. Dezember 1694 in Hamburg; † 1. März 1768 ebd.) war Gymnasialprofessor in Hamburg für orientalische Sprachen, Vertreter des Deismus und Wegbereiter der… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Hermann Samuel Reimarus — Hermann Samuel Reimarus. Hermann Samuel Reimarus (Hamburgo, 1694 1768). Historiador alemán. Fue Catedrático de lenguas orientales en su ciudad natal. Se considera que con Reimarus se inicia el movimiento de Búsqueda del Jesús histórico, a… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Hermann Samuel Reimarus — (December 22, 1694, Hamburg March 1, 1768, Hamburg), was a German philosopher and writer of the Enlightenment who is remembered for his Deism, the doctrine that human reason can arrive at a knowledge of God and ethics from a study of nature and… …   Wikipedia

  • Hermann Samuel Reimarus — (1694 1768) est un homme de lettres et philosophe allemand. Il est le gendre et collaborateur de Johann Albert Fabricius. Maîtrisant l hébreu et d autres langues orientales, et il est connu pour son déisme profond, conforme aux exigences de la… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Hermann Samuel Reimarus — (Hamburgo, 1694 1768). Filósofo y filólogo alemán. Profesor de lenguas orientales. Se considera que con Reimarus se inicia el movimiento de Búsqueda del Jesús histórico, a mediados del siglo XVIII. Se produce cuando un discípulo suyo, Gotthold… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Reimarus — Hermann Samuel Reimarus Hermann Samuel Reimarus Hermann Samuel Reimarus (1694 1768) est un homme de lettres et philosophe allemand. Il est le gendre et collaborateur de Johann Albert Fabricius. Maîtrisant l hébreu et d autres langues orientales,… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • REIMARUS (H. S.) — REIMARUS HERMANN SAMUEL (1694 1768) Homme de lettres et philosophe allemand, célébré à l’époque des Lumières pour son déisme affirmé, Hermann Samuel Reimarus, né à Hambourg, fit ses études à l’université d’Iéna et donna des cours à Wittenberg et… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Reimarus — Reimarus, Hermann Samuel, Popularphilosoph, geb. 22. Dez. 1694 in Hamburg, gest. daselbst 1. März 1768, studierte in Jena Theologie, ward 1723 als Rektor nach Wismar und 1728 als Lehrer der orientalischen Sprachen an das Gymnasium illustre seiner …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”