Philip Willem van Heusde (17 June 1778 in

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

– 2 July 1839 in

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

) was a Dutch

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

educator A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

. He is known for his influence on the founders of the so-called Groningen school of theology. He studied literature and law in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

and

Leiden Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration wit ...

. In 1803 he received his doctorate in literature with a dissertation on

Plato Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...

. During the same year, he obtained his law degree. From 1803 to 1815, he was a professor of history, antiquities, eloquence and Greek studies at

Utrecht University Utrecht University (UU; nl, Universiteit Utrecht, formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2018, it had an enrollme ...

, where from 1815 to 1839, he was a professor of theoretical philosophy and literature. At Utrecht, he also served as university

librarian A librarian is a person who works professionally in a library providing access to information, and sometimes social or technical programming, or instruction on information literacy to users. The role of the librarian has changed much over time, ...

(1816-1839). He died on 2 July 1839 in Geneva, while traveling to Rome. Van Heusde was a prominent figure in the Protestant Réveil movement during the early part of the 19th century. His

humanistic Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humani ...

ideas found widespread support from educators, theologians and jurists. During his career, he strove to improve education in high schools.Universiteitsmuseum Utrecht
(biography)

Selected works

*''Initia philosophiae Platonicae I-III'', Utrecht, Joannes Altheer, 1827-1836 *''Brieven over het beoefenen der wijsbegeerte, inzonderheid in ons vaderland en in onze tijden,'' Utrecht, Joannes Altheer, 1837 *''De Socratische school of wijsgeerte voor de negentiende eeuw I-IV,'' Utrecht, Joannes Altheer & Van der Post Jr., 1834-1839 *''De school van Polybius of Geschiedkunde voor de negentiende eeuw'', Amsterdam, Johannes Müller, 1841

References

External links

WorldCat Search
(publications by van Heusde) 1778 births 1839 deaths 19th-century Dutch philosophers Academic staff of Utrecht University 19th-century Dutch historians Writers from Rotterdam {{theologian-stub