Isaak Iselin (7 March 1728 in
Basel – 15 July 1782 in Basel) was a Swiss philosopher of history and politics.
Iselin studied law and philosophy at the
University of Basel and the
University of Göttingen. In 1756 he became secretary of the republic of Basel. He was a co-founder of the
Helvetic Society, the first national Swiss reform society.
Iselin's ''Geschichte der Menschheit'' ("History of Humanity") was the first fully-fledged history of humanity in German. The ''Geschichte der Menschheit'' was provoked by what Iselin conceived as
Montesquieu's climatological determinism and
Rousseau's critique of progress and at the same time inspired by exponents of the
Scottish Enlightenment
The Scottish Enlightenment ( sco, Scots Enlichtenment, gd, Soillseachadh na h-Alba) was the period in 18th- and early-19th-century Scotland characterised by an outpouring of intellectual and scientific accomplishments. By the eighteenth century ...
such as
Lord Kames. Iselin's pen-friend
Moses Mendelssohn in his review of the first edition of 1764, lauded Iselin as one of the best German prose writers.
Works
*''Philosophische und Politische Versuche'', 1760
*''Ueber die Geschichte der Menschheit'', 1764
*''Versuch über die gesellige Ordnung'', 1772
*''Träume eines Menschenfreundes'', 1776
Recent edition of Iselin's works
* Gesammelte Schriften. Kommentierte Ausgabe. Schwabe Verlag, Basel 2014–2018.
** volume 1: ''Schriften zur Politik'', ed. by Florian Gelzer, 2014, .
** volume 2: ''Schriften zur Ökonomie'', ed. by Lina Weber, 2016, .
** volume 3: ''Schriften zur Pädagogik'', ed. by Marcel Naas, 2014, .
** volume 4: ''Geschichte der Menschheit'', ed. by Sundar Henny, 2018,
open access.
References
* Béla Kapossy, ''Iselin contra Rousseau: Sociable Patriotism and the History of Mankind'' (Basel, Switzerland: Schwabe, 2006) (Schwabe Philosophica, 9).
*
Andreas Urs Sommer
Andreas Urs Sommer (born 14 July 1972) is a German philosopher of Swiss origin. He specializes in the history of philosophy and its theory, ethics, philosophy of religion, and Skepticism. His historical studies center on the philosophy of Enligh ...
, ''Geschichte als Trost. Isaak Iselins Geschichtsphilosophie'' (Basel: Schwabe, 2002) (= Schwabe Horizonte) ().
* Lucas Marco Gisi / Wolfgang Rother (ed.), ''Isaak Iselin und die Geschichtsphilosophie der europäischen Aufklärung'' (Basel: Schwabe, 2011).
See also
*
Gesellschaft für das Gute und Gemeinnützige
The Gesellschaft für das Gute und Gemeinnützige (GGG) is a private, non-profit organization founded in 1777 in Basel, Switzerland. Inspired by Enlightenment ideals, the GGG has played a significant role in the history of education and social wel ...
External links
*
1728 births
1782 deaths
Swiss philosophers
Political philosophers
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