Heinrich August Ritter (; 21 November 1791 – 3 February 1869) 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

historian of philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

. He was born in Zerbst, and studied philosophy and

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

at the

University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen, (german: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, known informally as Georgia Augusta) is a public research university in the city of Göttingen, Germany. Founded ...

and

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

until 1815. In 1824 he became an associate professor of philosophy at Berlin, later transferring to

Kiel Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021). Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the J ...

, where he occupied the chair of philosophy from 1833 to 1837. He then accepted a similar position at the

, where he remained till his death.

Friedrich Schleiermacher Friedrich Daniel Ernst Schleiermacher (; 21 November 1768 – 12 February 1834) was a German Reformed theologian, philosopher, and biblical scholar known for his attempt to reconcile the criticisms of the Enlightenment with traditional P ...

was a major influence in his thinking.ADB:Ritter, Heinrich
In:

Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie ''Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie'' (ADB, german: Universal German Biography) is one of the most important and comprehensive biographical reference works in the German language. It was published by the Historical Commission of the Bavarian Aca ...

(ADB). Band 28, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1889, S. 673 f.

Works

Ritter's chief work was a history of philosophy (''Geschichte der Philosophie'') published in twelve volumes at

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

from 1829 to 1853. This work was the product of a wide and thorough knowledge of the subject aided by an impartial critical faculty, and its value was underscored by its translation into almost all the languages of

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

. He wrote also accounts of ancient schools of philosophy, such as the Ionians, the Pythagoreans and the

Megarians Megara (; el, Μέγαρα, ) is a historic town and a municipality in West Attica, Greece. It lies in the northern section of the Isthmus of Corinth opposite the island of Salamis, which belonged to Megara in archaic times, before being taken ...

. Beside these important historical works, he published a large number of treatises of which the following may be mentioned: * ''Abriss der philosophischen Logik'' (1824). * ''Geschichte der Philosophie'' (1829–1853; 2nd edition, vols. i–iv, 1836–1838) — its 1st section, "Geschichte der philosophie alter zeit", was translated into English by Alexander J.W. Morrison and published as
''The history of ancient philosophy''
(1838–46). * ''Ueber das Verhältnis der Philosophie zum Leben'' (1835). * ''Historia philosophiae Graeco-Romanae'' (in collaboration with Ludwig Preller, 1838; 7th edition, 1888). * ''Kleine philosophische Schriften'' (1839–1840). * ''Versuch zur Verständigung über die neueste deutsche Philosophie seit Kant'' (1853). * ''System der Logik und Metaphysik'' (1856). * ''Die christliche Philosophie bis auf die neuesten Zeiten'' (2 volumes, 1858–1859). * ''Encyklopädie der philosophischen Wissenschaften'' (1862–1864). * ''Ernest Renan, über die Naturwissenschaften und die Geschichte'' (1865). * ''Ueber das Böse und seine Folgen'' (1869).

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ritter, Heinrich 1791 births 1869 deaths People from Zerbst German philosophers University of Göttingen alumni Academic staff of the University of Göttingen Humboldt University of Berlin alumni Academic staff of the Humboldt University of Berlin Academic staff of the University of Kiel German male writers