Karl Friedrich Stäudlin (July 25, 1761 – July 5, 1826) was a German

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

theologian 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 ...

born in

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...

. He studied theology in

Tübingen Tübingen (, , Swabian: ''Dibenga'') is a traditional university city in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, and developed on both sides of the Neckar and Ammer rivers. about one in thr ...

, and from 1790 was a professor of theology 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 ...

, where remained for nearly 36 years. In 1803 he was appointed ''Consistorialrath''. He was an advocate of "

rational Rationality is the quality of being guided by or based on reasons. In this regard, a person acts rationally if they have a good reason for what they do or a belief is rational if it is based on strong evidence. This quality can apply to an abili ...

Supranatural Supernatural refers to phenomena or entities that are beyond the laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin (above, beyond, or outside of) + (nature) Though the corollary term "nature", has had multiple meanings si ...

ism". His writings largely dealt with

church history __NOTOC__ Church history or ecclesiastical history as an academic discipline studies the history of Christianity and the way the Christian Church has developed since its inception. Henry Melvill Gwatkin defined church history as "the spiritual ...

moral theology Ethics involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior.''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy''"Ethics"/ref> A central aspect of ethics is "the good life", the life worth living or life that is simply sati ...

and

moral philosophy Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concerns ma ...

. On the latter subject, he was profoundly influenced by the work of

Immanuel Kant Immanuel Kant (, , ; 22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804) was a German philosopher and one of the central Enlightenment thinkers. Born in Königsberg, Kant's comprehensive and systematic works in epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, and ...

.Kant in the history of moral philosophy, The Invention of Autonomy: A History of Modern Moral Philosophy
by Jerome B. Schneewind

Selected publications

* ''Geschichte und Geist des Skeptizismus'' (History and spirit of skepticism), 1794. * ''Kirchliche Geographie und Statistik'' (Religious history and statistics), 1804. * ''Geschichte der philosophie und biblischen Moral'' (History of philosophy and Biblical morals), 1805. * ''Geschichte der christlichen Moral'' (History of Christian morals), 1808. * ''Geschichte der theologischen Wissenschaften'' (History of theological science), 1810–11. * ''Geschichte des Rationalismus und Supernaturalismus'' (History of rationalism and supranaturalism), 1826.

References

* John C. Laursen, “Skepticism and the History of Moral Philosophy: The Case of Carl Friedrich Stäudlin”, in John van der Zande and

Richard Popkin Richard Henry Popkin (December 27, 1923 – April 14, 2005) was an American academic philosopher who specialized in the history of enlightenment philosophy and early modern anti-dogmatism. His 1960 work ''The History of Scepticism from Erasmus to ...

(eds.), ''The Sceptical Tradition around 1800: Scepticism in Philosophy, Science, and Society'', Dordrecht, Kluwer, 1998.
IDREF.fr
Bibliography of Karl Friedrich Stäudlin 19th-century German Protestant theologians Academic staff of the University of Göttingen 1761 births 1826 deaths Writers from Stuttgart German historians of religion German male non-fiction writers 19th-century male writers {{Germany-theologian-stub