Johann Gottlieb Heineccius (September 11, 1681 – August 31, 1741) was a German

jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyzes and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal education in law (a law degree) and often a Lawyer, legal prac ...

from

Eisenberg, Thuringia Eisenberg () is a town in Thuringia, Germany. It is the capital of the district Saale-Holzland. Neighboring municipalities are Jena ( in west) and Gera ( in south east). West of Eisenberg runs the motorway A 9 from Berlin to Munich. A tradition ...

Life

He studied

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

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 ...

, and law at Halle; and at the latter university he was appointed in 1713 professor of philosophy, and in 1718 professor of jurisprudence. He subsequently filled legal chairs at

Franeker Franeker (; ) is one of the eleven historical City rights in the Low Countries, cities of Friesland and capital of the municipality of Waadhoeke. It is located north of the Van Harinxmakanaal and about west of Leeuwarden. As of 2023, it had 13,0 ...

in the Netherlands and at

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

, but finally returned to Halle in 1733 as professor of

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

and

jurisprudence Jurisprudence, also known as theory of law or philosophy of law, is the examination in a general perspective of what law is and what it ought to be. It investigates issues such as the definition of law; legal validity; legal norms and values ...

. Heineccius belonged to the school of philosophical jurists. He endeavoured to treat law as a rational science, and not merely as an empirical art whose rules had no deeper source than expediency. Thus he continually refers to first principles, and he develops his legal doctrines as a system of philosophy. Heineccius's brother, Johann Michael Heineccius (1674–1722), was a well-known preacher and theologian.

Works

His chief works were: *''Antiquitatum Romanarum jurisprudentiam illustrantium syntagma'' (1718) *''Historia juris civilis Romani ac Germanici'' (1733) *''Elementa juris Germanici'' (1735) *''Scriptorum de iure nautico et maritimo'', 1740. *''Operum ad universam iuris prudentiam'', Ginevra, 1744 (8 voll.). *''Elementa juris naturae et gentium'' (1737; Eng. trans. by Turnbull, 2 vols, London, 1763) Besides these works he wrote on purely philosophical subjects, and edited the works of several of the classical jurists. His ''Opera omnia'' (9 vols, Geneva, 1771, etc.) were edited by his son Johann Christian Gottlieb Heineccius (1718–1791). Other works: *

References

External links

*
Opera omnia
' on the Cujas Library website. {{DEFAULTSORT:Heineccius, Johann Gottlieb 1681 births 1741 deaths People from Eisenberg, Thuringia 18th-century German jurists Jurists from Thuringia Leipzig University alumni University of Halle alumni Academic staff of the University of Halle