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26-548: The Berlinische Monatsschrift was a monthly magazine published by Johann Erich Biester and Friedrich Gedike (though the latter resigned his editorship in 1791). It served primarily as the mouthpiece for the Berliner Mittwochsgesellschaft (Berlin Wednesday Society). It is considered Immanuel Kant ’s preferred magazine, mainly due to its debate on the question of ‘What is Enlightenment?’ The magazine

52-622: A Collegium medico-chirurgicum in 1723; a botanical garden in 1718; and a laboratory in 1753. However, those were later taken over by the University of Berlin . As a French-language institution its publications were in French such as the Histoire de l'Académie royale des sciences et belles lettres de Berlin which was published between 1745 and 1796. A linguistics historian from Princeton University , Hans Aarsleff , notes that before Frederick ascended

78-570: A few topics, the Prussian Academy was the first to teach both sciences and humanities. In 1710, the Academy statute was set, dividing the Academy into two sciences and two humanities classes. This was not changed until 1830, when the physics-mathematics and the philosophy-history classes replaced the four old classes. The reign of King Frederick II of Prussia ("Frederick the Great") saw major changes to

104-648: A position as an educator in the house of the hereditary land marshal von Lützow in Eickhof. In 1777, Biester moved to Berlin to serve as state secretary to Karl Abraham Freiherr von Zedlitz, the Prussian Minister of Culture. A dedicated freemason, he joined the Berlin Wednesday Society under the pseudonym "Axiomachus" (i.e. fighter for the just cause) and was a member of the Lawless Society. Biester became

130-798: A prominent figure in Enlightenment circles, advocating against the spread of occultism and irrational sentimentalism, and vehemently opposed the proselytizing efforts of Catholic and Jesuit groups. From 1783, he co-edited the Berlinische Monatsschrift with educationalist Friedrich Gedike, who resigned from the editorial board in 1791. Biester later edited the Berlinische Blätter and the Neue Berlinische Monatsschrift until 1811. His publications often addressed Enlightenment ideals and rational thought. In 1784, Biester

156-473: Is Enlightenment? appeared in the same journal, reflecting the period's vibrant intellectual atmosphere. In the 1790s, Biester actively defended Kant’s work against increasing censorship under King Friedrich Wilhelm II's government. When Kant’s essays on religion were censored, Biester submitted a direct petition (Immediatgesuch) to the king, advocating for intellectual freedom and opposing censorship which had been tightened. However, his efforts were thwarted by

182-495: Is evident in his controversial essay Proposal that the clergy should no longer be involved in performing marriages (de: "Vorschlag, die Geistlichen nicht mehr bei Vollziehung der Ehen zu bemühen“ ), published in the Berlinische Monatsschrift in 1784. This essay aligned with the Protestant Socinian movement and Unitarian Deism, challenging traditional religious practices. That same year, Immanuel Kant’s seminal article What

208-754: The Katharineum in Lübeck and studied law and English literature at the University of Göttingen from 1767 to 1771, where he befriended the poet Gottfried August Bürger. After completing his studies, he worked as a lawyer in Lübeck and contributed to scholarly journals. In 1773, he earned a doctorate in law from the University of Bützow, and received a teaching position as a preceptor at the Pädagogium Bützow (Mecklenburg), which he reliquished in 1975. He also temporarily held

234-478: The Prussian Academy of Arts , or "Arts Academy," to which "Berlin Academy" may also refer. In the 18th century, when French was the language of science and culture, it was a French -language institution. Prince-elector Frederick III of Brandenburg , Germany founded the Academy under the name of Kurfürstlich Brandenburgische Societät der Wissenschaften ("Electoral Brandenburg Society of Sciences") upon

260-502: The Academy under the name of Deutsche Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin (English: German Academy of Sciences at Berlin ) on 1 July 1946. In 1972, it was renamed Akademie der Wissenschaften der DDR or AdW (English: Academy of Sciences of the GDR ). At its height, the AdW had 400 researchers and 24,000 employees in locations across East Germany . Following German Reunification , the Academy

286-629: The Academy. In 1744, the Nouvelle Société Littéraire and the Society of Sciences were merged into the Königliche Akademie der Wissenschaften ("Royal Academy of Sciences"). An obligation from the new statute were public calls for ideas on unsolved scientific questions with a monetary reward for solutions. The Academy acquired its own research facilities in the 18th century, including an observatory in 1709; an anatomical theater in 1717;

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312-482: The Prussian Academy of Sciences, effectively blocking his admission in the philosophical class. This biography of a German philosopher is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Prussian Academy of Sciences The Royal Prussian Academy of Sciences ( German : Königlich-Preußische Akademie der Wissenschaften ) was an academy established in Berlin , Germany on 11 July 1700, four years after

338-607: The Prussian minister Johann Christoph von Wöllner (1732-1800), who aimed to suppress Enlightenment ideas and even sought to exile Biester and his colleague Friedrich Gedike. Biester maintained close friendships with influential figures such as Wilhelm and Alexander von Humboldt. Towards the end of his life, he collaborated with Alexander von Humboldt at the Prussian Academy of Sciences in Berlin, joining its philological class in 1798 despite significant resistance due to Prussian censorship. In

364-400: The academy was in a crisis for two decades at mid-century, due to scandals and internal rivalries such as the debates between Newtonianism and Leibnizian views, and the personality conflicts between the philosopher Voltaire and the mathematician Maupertuis . At a higher level, Maupertuis, the director from 1746 to 1759 and a monarchist , argued that the action of individuals was shaped by

390-673: The advice of Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz , who was appointed president. Unlike other Academies, the Prussian Academy was not directly funded out of the state treasury. Frederick granted it the monopoly on producing and selling calendars in Brandenburg, a suggestion from Leibniz. As Frederick was crowned " King in Prussia " in 1701, creating the Kingdom of Prussia , the Academy was renamed Königlich Preußische Sozietät der Wissenschaften ("Royal Prussian Society of Sciences"). While other Academies focused on

416-651: The broader European intellectual context, Biester sided with the Enlightenment thinker Thomas Paine in the debate against conservative Edmund Burke, as represented in Germany by Friedrich von Gentz . Biester's support for Paine underscored his commitment to Enlightenment values of reason and progress. As a librarian and scholar, Biester championed young philologists and literary figures, including Friedrich August Wolf, Philipp Buttmann, Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué, Karl August Varnhagen von Ense, and Karl Friedrich Klöden. Despite his Enlightenment sympathies, Biester strongly opposed

442-552: The character of the institution that contained them, and they worked for the glory of the state. By contrast, d'Alembert took a republican rather than monarchical approach and emphasized the international Republic of Letters as the vehicle for scientific advance. By 1789, however, the academy had gained an international repute while making major contributions to German culture and thought. Frederick invited Joseph-Louis Lagrange to succeed Leonhard Euler as director; both were world-class mathematicians. Other intellectuals attracted to

468-545: The corresponding committee's members. University departments emanated from some of these businesses after 1945. On 25 November 1915 Albert Einstein presented his field equations of general relativity to the Academy. Under the rule of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945, the Academy was subject to the Gleichschaltung , a "Nazification" process that was established to take totalitarian control over various aspects of society. However, compared with other institutions, such as

494-595: The library of the Bielefeld University . Johann Erich Biester Johann Erich Biester was a German lawyer, scholar, and philosopher. Born in Lübeck as the fifth son of the wealthy silk merchant Ernst August Biester who came from Hanover, and his wife Margarethe Eilsabeth Hake, a granddaughter of the Lübeck scholar Jacob von Melle, Biester displayed an early interest in history and literature, distinguishing himself from his merchant brothers. Biester attended

520-662: The local lodge "Zum goldenen Pflug," serving from 1789 to 1816. Biester maintained a close friendship with the philosopher Immanuel Kant , visiting him in Königsberg in 1791. Their correspondence and interactions reflected Biester's commitment to Enlightenment philosophy and intellectual exchange. Biester died in Berlin in 1816 at the age of 66 and was buried in the cemetery of the Dorotheenstädtische and Friedrichswerdersche Gemeinden on Chausseestraße. His grave has not been preserved. Biester's advocacy for Enlightenment thought

546-628: The philosopher's kingdom were Francesco Algarotti , Jean-Baptiste de Boyer , and Julien Offray de La Mettrie . Immanuel Kant published religious writings in Berlin which would have been censored elsewhere in Europe. Beginning in 1815, research businesses led by Academy committees (such as the Greek-Roman Archeology Committee or the Oriental Committee) were founded at the Academy. They employed mostly scientists to work alongside

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572-420: The philosophy of Johann Gottlieb Fichte, a prominent Kantian philosopher. On this point he was in agreement with his friend Friedrich Nicolai, against whom Fichte vehemently polemicised. Biester criticized Fichte’s radical reinterpretation of Enlightenment thought, which emphasized striving for absolute knowledge rather than challenging existing prejudices. Biester and Nicolai jointly opposed Fichte’s appointment to

598-464: The throne in 1740, the academy was overshadowed by similar bodies in London and Paris . Frederick made French the official language and speculative philosophy the most important topic of study. The membership was strong in mathematics and philosophy, and included notable philosophers such as Immanuel Kant , Jean-Baptiste le Rond d'Alembert , Pierre-Louis de Maupertuis , and Etienne de Condillac . However,

624-670: The universities where Jewish employees and members were expelled starting in 1933, Jewish Academy members were not expelled until 1938, following a direct request by the Ministry of Education. The new Academy statute went into effect on 8 June 1939, reorganizing the Academy according to the Nazi leadership principle (the Führerprinzip ). Following World War II , the Soviet Military Administration in Germany , or SMAD , reorganized

650-665: Was appointed librarian of the Royal Library in Berlin by King Frederick II of Prussia, eventually becoming its director. His tenure emphasized scholarly accessibility and the promotion of knowledge. He also served as a civil servant and was active in Freemasonry, holding the position of "Grand Orator" of the Grand Lodge of the Freemasons of Germany until his death. He was a Master of the Chair of

676-399: Was initially published between 1783 and 1796. This was succeeded by the Berlinische Blätter , published by Biester, between 1797 and 1798. It was then revived by Friedrich Nicolai, who published it as Neue Berlinische Monatsschrift from 1799 until 1811. In 1998 all 58 editions of the Berlinische Monatsschrift , plus its successors, amounting to approximately 30,300 pages, were digitised by

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