Moses Mendelssohn

Moses Mendelssohn (September 6, 1729–January 4, 1786) was a German Jewish philosopher. He was an important Jewish figure of the 18th century, and to him is attributable the renaissance of European Jews, Haskalah, the Jewish enlightenment. To some he was the third Moses (the other two being the Biblical lawgiver and Moses Maimonides) with whom a new era opens in the history of the Jewish people. To others, he was a step into the beginning of assimilation and loss of identity for Jews and the dilution of traditional Judaism.

Prominence in philosophy and criticism

From this time Mendelssohn's career was one of ever-increasing brilliance. He became (1756–1759) the leading spirit of Nicolai's important literary undertakings, the Bibliothek and the Literaturbriefe, and ran some risk (which Frederick's good nature obviated) by criticizing the poems of the king of Prussia. In 1762 he married Fromet Gugenheirn, who survived him by twenty-six years. In the year following his marriage Mendelssohn won the prize offered by the Berlin Academy for an essay on the application of mathematical proofs to metaphysics, although among the competitors were Thomas Abbt and Immanuel Kant. In October 1763 the king granted Mendelssohn the privilege of Protected Jew (Schutz-Jude)—which assured his right to undisturbed residence in Berlin.

Related Topics:
1756 - 1759 - Bibliothek - Literaturbriefe - King of Prussia - 1762 - Thomas Abbt - Immanuel Kant - 1763 - Schutz-Jude

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As a result of his correspondence with Abbt, Mendelssohn resolved to write on the Immortality of the Soul. Materialistic views were at the time rampant and fashionable, and faith in immortality was at a low ebb. At this favourable juncture appeared the Phädon oder über die Unsterblichkeit der Seele (Phädon or about soul's immortality; 1767). Modelled on Plato's dialogue of the same name, Mendelssohn's work possessed some of the charm of its Greek exemplar. What most impressed the German world was its beauty and lucidity of style—features to which Mendelssohn still owes his popularity as a writer. The Phädon was an immediate success, and besides being often reprinted in German was speedily translated into nearly all the European languages, including English. The author was hailed as the "German Plato," or the "German Socrates"; royal and other aristocratic friends showered attentions on him, and it is no exaggeration to assert with Kayserling that "no stranger who came to Berlin failed to pay his personal respects to the German Socrates."

Related Topics:
Materialistic - Phädon oder über die Unsterblichkeit der Seele - 1767 - Plato - German - English - Kayserling

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