Franz Joseph Molitor, or Joseph Franz Molitor (July 7, 1779 in Oberursel/ Taunus – March 23, 1860 in Frankfurt/Main) was a German writer and

philosopher A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...

Life

Molitor was born the son of a Kurmainz civil servant. Beginning in 1797, he studied at the University of Mainz and from 1799 at the University of Marburg. He initially studied law but then switched to history and philosophy. He studied the works of Kant, Reinhold, Fichte and Schelling. From 1802, he was co-editor of the short-lived '' Zeitschrift für eine künftig aufzustellende Rechtswissenschaft nach dem Princip eines transscendentalen Realismus''. Under the influence of theosophist Franz Xaver von Baader, he attempted in his writings to reconcile philosophical realism with idealism. In 1806 Molitor joined the board of directors of the Jewish educational institution Philanthropin in Frankfurt am Main. In 1812 Molitor became professor of philosophy at the new Lyceum Carolinum in Frankfurt, which

Karl Theodor von Dalberg Karl Theodor Anton Maria von Dalberg (8 February 1744 – 10 February 1817) was Prince- Archbishop of Regensburg, Arch-Chancellor of the Holy Roman Empire, Bishop of Constance and Worms, prince-primate of the Confederation of the Rhine and Gra ...

had set up on the French model; after the end of 1814 he drew a permanent pension from there, with which he - in addition to income from private tuition and his work at the philanthropist - could make a living.

Freemasonry and Kabbalah

After becoming acquainted with Judaism and its own symbolic language, Molitor entered the Frankfurt Freemason's Lodge "Zur Aufstieg Morgenröthe" on May 19, 1808, in which Jews could also be a member; at times he was their

chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

. Later, with the support of the landgrave Carl von Hessen, he founded the Frankfurt Lodge "Carl zum aufgehenden Licht". In 1813, Molitor began to work intensively on Jewish mysticism. The Jewish mystic and Hochgrad -

Freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

Ephraim Joseph Hirschfeld Ephraim (; he, ''ʾEp̄rayīm'', in pausa: ''ʾEp̄rāyīm'') was, according to the Book of Genesis, the second son of Joseph ben Jacob and Asenath. Asenath was an Ancient Egyptian woman whom Pharaoh gave to Joseph as wife, and the daughte ...

exerted a major influence on him. Molitor learned the Hebrew and Aramaic, studied the Talmud and

Zohar The ''Zohar'' ( he, , ''Zōhar'', lit. "Splendor" or "Radiance") is a foundational work in the literature of Jewish mystical thought known as Kabbalah. It is a group of books including commentary on the mystical aspects of the Torah (the five ...

. His endeavor was to put Kabbalah and Christianity in mutual connection and to unite both on a higher level, an approach that is not dissimilar to Hirschfeld's. As the fruit of many years of study, he published the first volume of his ''Philosophy of History or Tradition'' in 1824, which gave him the support of scholarships from

Christian von Hessen-Darmstadt Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρισ ...

and (mediated by Schelling) Ludwig I. from Bavaria. His apartment gradually became a gathering point for mystically interested men and women from Frankfurt and the surrounding area. He was unable to complete his five-volume work. The main starting point of his argumentation was the fight against pantheism,

atheism Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no d ...

and

materialism Materialism is a form of philosophical monism which holds matter to be the fundamental substance in nature, and all things, including mental states and consciousness, are results of material interactions. According to philosophical materiali ...

, based on the assumption that the Kabbalah contains a higher mysticism that could also be inherent in Christianity. In this respect, his title as "

Christian Kabbalist Christian Kabbalah arose during the Renaissance due to Christian scholars' interest in the mysticism of Jewish Kabbalah, which they interpreted according to Christian theology. It is often transliterated as Cabala (also ''Cabbala'') to disti ...

" is well justified. Molitor's Philosophie der Geschichte oder über die Tradition was an influence on Gershom Scholem and Walter Benjamin. Benjamin's first encounter with the Kabbalah was through Molitor's work and Benjamin proudly displayed Molitor's works on his bookshelves until his untimely death.

Literary works

* Ideen zu einer künftigen Dynamik der Geschichte, 1805 * Philosophie der Geschichte, 4 vols., 1824–1853

Bibliography

Katharina Koch, ''Franz Joseph Molitor und die jüdische Tradition. Studien zu den kabbalistischen Quellen der "Philosophie der Geschichte". Mit einem Anhang unveröffentlichten Briefe von F. von Baader, E. J. Hirschfeld, F. J. Molitor und F. W. J. Schelling'', Walter de Gruyter Verlag, Berlin 2006

References

External links

Andreas Korpás: ''Ein rätselhafter Philosoph. Katharina Koch stellt Franz Joseph Molitors Kabbala-Rezeption vor.''
Book review (German) {{DEFAULTSORT:Molitor, Joseph Franz 1779 births 1860 deaths People from Oberursel (Taunus) German philosophers People from the Electorate of Mainz Burials at Frankfurt Main Cemetery German male writers