Georg Friedrich Meier (26 March 1718 – 21 June 1777) was a German

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 ...

and aesthetician. A follower of

Alexander Gottlieb Baumgarten Alexander Gottlieb Baumgarten (; ; 17 July 1714 – 27 MayJan LekschasBaumgarten Family'' 1762) was a German philosopher. He was a brother to theologian Siegmund Jakob Baumgarten (1706–1757). Biography Baumgarten was born in Berlin as the ...

, he reformed the philosophy of Christian Wolff by introducing elements of

John Locke John Locke (; 29 August 1632 – 28 October 1704) was an English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment thinkers and commonly known as the "father of liberalism ...

empiricist In philosophy, empiricism is an epistemological theory that holds that knowledge or justification comes only or primarily from sensory experience. It is one of several views within epistemology, along with rationalism and skepticism. Empir ...

theory of knowledge.

Career

Meier studied philosophy and theology at the

University of Halle Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg (german: Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg), also referred to as MLU, is a public, research-oriented university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg and the largest and oldest university i ...

, where he was a pupil of Baumgarten. Meier succeeded Baumgarten as extraordinary professor, and became a full professor at Halle in 1748."Meier, Georg Friedrich"
''

Encyclopedia of Philosophy '' The Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' is one of the major English encyclopedias of philosophy. The first edition of the encyclopedia was edited by philosopher Paul Edwards (1923–2004), and it was published in two separate printings by Macmillan ...

'' online.

Animal rights

Meier was an early advocate of

animal rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding suffering—should be afforded the sa ...

. In 1749, Meier authored ''Versuch eines neuen Lehrgebäudes von den Seelen der Thiere'' (Attempt of a new teaching structure from the souls of animals) which ascribed the same sensory perceptions to both animals and man. He granted animals imagination, intelligence, judgement, memory, language, pleasure and displeasure. Meier believed that animals were capable of love and that their

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

s were eternal for God cannot destroy anything. Meier fiercely opposed the mechanist views of

René Descartes René Descartes ( or ; ; Latinized: Renatus Cartesius; 31 March 1596 – 11 February 1650) was a French philosopher, scientist, and mathematician, widely considered a seminal figure in the emergence of modern philosophy and science. Mathem ...

.Maehle, Andreas-Holger. ''Cruelty and Kindness to the 'Brute Creation': Stability and Change in the Ethics of the Man-Animal Relationship, 1600-1850''. In Aubrey Manning and James Serpell. (2003). ''Animals and Human Society: Changing Perspectives''.

Routledge Routledge () is a British multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanities, behavioural science, education, law, and ...

. p. 89. He believed that God had endowed animals with souls to enjoy his creation and after death an animals soul could reach the next step of incarnation until finally becoming a human soul. His doctrine of

metempsychosis Metempsychosis ( grc-gre, μετεμψύχωσις), in philosophy, is the transmigration of the soul, especially its reincarnation after death. The term is derived from ancient Greek philosophy, and has been recontextualised by modern philoso ...

was not based on respect for animal life or their welfare. In contrast, Meier advocated the killing of animals due to his unusual belief that it would accelerate the rise of their souls.

Works

* ''Gedancken von Schertzen'', Halle 1744. * ''Anfangsgründe aller schönen Künste und Wissenschaften'', Halle 1748–50 (3 vols.).
''Versuch eines neuen Lehrgebäudes von den Seelen der Thiere''
Halle 1749. *
Vernunftlehre
', Halle 1752. *
Auszug aus der Vernunftlehre
', Halle 1752 (reprinted in ''Kant's gesammelte Schriften'' Akademie Ausgabe, XVI, pp. 1–872 with the annotations by Kant). * ''Metaphysik'', Halle
vol. 1
(1755)
vol. 2
(1756)
vol. 3
(1757)
vol. 4
(1759). * ''Versuch einer allgemeinen Auslegungskunst'', Halle 1757. * ''Philosophische Sittenlehre'' Halle 1753-1761 (5 vols.). * ''Alexander Gottlieb Baumgarten Leben'', Halle 1763. * ''Beyträge zu der Lehre von den Vorurtheilen'', Halle 1766. * ''Betrachtungen über die Schranken der menschlichen Erkenntniss', Halle 1775.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Meier, Georg Friedrich 1718 births 1777 deaths Animal rights scholars Aesthetics Empiricists German male writers German philosophers Philosophers of art

Career

Animal rights

Works

References

Further reading

External links