François Hemsterhuis (27 December 1721 – 7 July 1790) was a Dutch writer on

aesthetics Aesthetics, or esthetics, is a branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of beauty and taste, as well as the philosophy of art (its own area of philosophy that comes out of aesthetics). It examines aesthetic values, often expressed t ...

and moral

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. ...

. The son of

Tiberius Hemsterhuis Tiberius Hemsterhuis (9 January 16857 April 1766) was a Dutch philologist and critic. Life He was born in Groningen. His father, a learned physician, gave him a good early education and he entered the university of his native city in his fiftee ...

, he was born at

Franeker Franeker (; fry, Frjentsjer) is one of the eleven historical cities of Friesland and capital of the municipality of Waadhoeke. It is located north of the Van Harinxmakanaal and about 20 km west of Leeuwarden. As of 1 January 2014, it had 12 ...

in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. He was educated at the

University of Leiden Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange, as a reward to the city of Le ...

, where he studied

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 ...

. Failing to obtain a professorship, he entered the service of the state, and for many years acted as secretary to the state council of the United Provinces. He died at the Hague on 7 July 1790. Through his philosophical writings he became acquainted with many distinguished persons—

Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as tr ...

Herder A herder is a pastoral worker responsible for the care and management of a herd or flock of domestic animals, usually on open pasture. It is particularly associated with nomadic or transhumant management of stock, or with common land grazi ...

, Princess

Adelheid Amalie Gallitzin Princess Adelheid Amalie Gallitzin (also known as Amalia Samuilovna Golitsyna or in Russian as Амалия Самуиловна Голицына; 28 August 1748 – 17 April 1806) was a German salonist. She was the daughter of the Prussian Fiel ...

, and especially

Jacobi Jacobi may refer to: * People with the surname Jacobi Mathematics: * Jacobi sum, a type of character sum * Jacobi method, a method for determining the solutions of a diagonally dominant system of linear equations * Jacobi eigenvalue algorithm, ...

, with whom he had much in common. His most valuable contributions are in the department of aesthetics or the general analysis of feeling. His philosophy has been characterized as Socratic in content and Platonic in form. Its foundation was the desire for self-knowledge and truth, untrammelled by the rigid bonds of any particular system. His most important works, all of which were written in French, are: *''Lettre sur la sculpture'' (1769), in which occurs the well-known definition of the Beautiful as "that which gives us the greatest number of ideas in the shortest space of time" *its continuation, ''Lettre sur les désirs'' (1770) *''Lettre sur l'homme et ses rapports'' (1772), in which the "moral organ" and the theory of knowledge are discussed *''Sophyle'' (1778), a dialogue on the relation between the soul and the body, and also an attack on materialism *''Aristée'' (1779), the "theodicy" of Hemsterhuis, discussing the existence of God and his relation to man *''Simon'' (1787), on the four faculties of the soul, which are the will, the imagination, the moral principle (which is both passive and active) *''Alexis'' (1787), an attempt to prove that there are three golden ages, the last being the life beyond the grave *''Lettre sur l'athéisme'' (1787). A collected edition of his works was made by P. S. Meijboom (1846-1850); see also S. A. Gronemann, ''F. Hemsterhuis, de Nederlandische Wijsgeer'' (Utrecht, 1867); E. Grucker, ''François Hemsterhuis, sa vie et ses œuvres'' (Paris, 1866); E. Meyer, ''Der Philosoph Franz Hemsterhuis'' (Breslau, 1893), with bibliographical notice; Augustinus P. Dierick, "Pre-Romantic Elements in the aesthetic and moral writings of François Hemsterhuis (1721-1790)." Studies in Eighteenth Century Culture 26 (1998), 247–271. A bilingual French-Dutch edition was published, introduced and commented on by Michael John Petry in 2001, titled ''Wijsgerige werken / Frans Hemsterhuis''.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hemsterhuis, Francois 1721 births 1790 deaths 18th-century Dutch philosophers Enlightenment philosophers Leiden University alumni People from Franekeradeel Burials at Pieterskerk, Leiden