August Friedrich Müller (15 December 16841 May 1761) was a German legal scholar and logician. August Friedrich was born in

Penig Penig () is a town in the district of Mittelsachsen, in the Free State of Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the river Zwickauer Mulde, 19 km northwest of Chemnitz. The old and the new castle were owned by the House of Schönburg from 1378 ...

, the son of Johann Adam Müller and his wife Johanne Susanne, daughter of a pharmacist in

Rochlitz Rochlitz (; , ) is a major district town (Große Kreisstadt) in the district of Mittelsachsen, in Saxony, Germany. Rochlitz is the head of the "municipal partnership Rochlitz" (Verwaltungsgemeinschaft Rochlitz) with its other members being the mu ...

, Johann Fromhold. Prefigured by his father, he attended school in 1697 and studied at the

University of Leipzig Leipzig University (), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 December 1409 by Frederick I, Electo ...

from 1703. Here he completed a degree in early philosophical sciences; Andreas Rüdiger (1673–1731) was his most important teacher. On the side he studied law under Gottlieb Gerhard Titius (1661–1714). In 1707 he received his degree of Magister in Leipzig, where he set up a school of philosophy. After a stay at the

University of Erfurt The University of Erfurt () is a public university located in Erfurt, the capital city of the German state of Thuringia. It was founded in 1379, and closed in 1816. It was re-established in 1994, three years after German reunification. Therefore ...

, where on 8 October 1714 he received his doctorate in law, he returned to Leipzig, where he also lectured on law. A position was offered to him at the

University of Halle Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (), also referred to as MLU, is a public research university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg. It is the largest and oldest university in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. MLU offers German and i ...

but he became an associate professor of philosophy at the University of Leipzig in 1732, succeeding

Christian Thomasius Christian Thomasius (; 1 January 1655 – 23 September 1728) was a German jurist and philosopher. Biography He was born in Leipzig and was educated by his father, Jakob Thomasius (1622–1684), at that time a junior lecturer in Leipzig Univer ...

and his pupil, Andreas Rüdiger. He was Dean of Philosophy several times, first in 1736. He died in

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

, aged 76. Bach composed the cantata ''

Zerreißet, zersprenget, zertrümmert die Gruft, BWV 205 (Destroy, burst, shatter the tomb) or (The contented Aeolus), BWV 205.1, , is a secular cantata or dramma per musica by Johann Sebastian Bach. It was written for the name day of August Friedrich Müller, and was first performed on 3 ...

'' in 1725 for the

name day In Christianity, a name day is a tradition in many countries of Europe and the Americas, as well as Christian communities elsewhere. It consists of celebrating a day of the year that is associated with one's baptismal name, which is normatively t ...

of Müller and performed the piece on the evening of 3 August 1725 in front of the professor's house at 2 Katharinenstraße in Leipzig.

Works

* ''Diss. de arte loquendi.'' Leipzig 1708 * ''Diss. inaug. de rationibus legum investigandis; ad L. 20. 21 D. de LL.'' Erfurt 1714 * ''Diss. de fictionum iuris Romani usu antiquo, non-usu hodierno.'' Leipzig 1715 * ''Balthasar Graciaans Qracul, das man mit sich führen und stets bey der Hand haben kann, das ist: Kunst – Regeln der Klugheit, vormahls von Mr. Amelot de la Houffaye unter dem Titel l'Homme de Cour ins Französische, anietzo aber aus dem Spanischen Original, welches durch und durch hinzngefüget worden, ins Teutsche übersetzt und mit neuen Anmerkungen, in welchen die Maximen des Autoris aus den Principiis der Sitten-Lehre erklähret und beurtheilet werden, versehen.'' 1. Centurie. Leipzig 1716, 2. Centurie Leipzig 1717, 3. Centurie. Leipzig 1719, new edition Leipzig 1738 (2 volumes) * ''Einleitung in die philosophischen Wissenschaften.'' 3 volumes. Leipzig 1728, 2nd edition Leipzig 1733 * ''Progr. inaug. sub aufpiciis Professionis philosophiae extraord.'' Leipzig 1731 * ''Progr. inaug. cum Professionem Organi Aristotelici capesseret.'' Leipzig 1732 * ''Diss. pro loco in facultate philosophica obtinendo de emigratione religionis caussa suscipienda.'' Leipzig 1732 * ''Progr. de argumentatione dialectica Aristoteli usitata.'' Leipzig 1736 * ''Progr. de Stoicorum Paradoxis.'' Leipzig 1736 * ''Progr. de notione legis.'' Leipzig 1740 * ''Progr. de successione hereditaria ex iure naturali.'' Leipzig 1743 Continuatio. Leipzig 1743 * ''Progr. de praemiis viris strennis a Platone decretis.'' Leipzig 1744 * ''Progr. de usucapione et praescriptione longi temporis ex principiis naturalibus.'' Leipzig 1744 * ''Progr. I et II de principio contradictionis.'' Leipzig 1746 * ''Progr. I et II de origine civitatum.'' Leipzig 1750 * ''Progr. de lectione librorum docta.'' Leipzig 1752 * ''Progr. de perceptione clara et distincta.'' Leipzig 1754 * ''Progr. I et II de notione legis naturalis detracta utilitatis ratione concepta.'' Leipzig 1758 * ''Progr. de libertate naturali et imperii humani limitibus.'' Leipzig 1760

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Muller, August German legal scholars German logicians 1684 births 1761 deaths Academic staff of Leipzig University 18th-century German jurists Leipzig University alumni Jurists from Saxony 18th-century German philosophers German male writers