BIESTER, JOHANN ERICH - Enciclopedia Cattolica, Vol. II, p. 941

Machine translation of the 1948–1954 Italian original. The original text is authoritative.

BIESTER, JOHANN ERICH. — Philosopher, b. at Lübeck on 17 Nov. 1749, d. at Berlin on 20 Feb. 1816. He belonged to the circle of Mendelssohn and Nicolai, and was animated by the spirit of Wolffian philosophy. He founded the Secret Society for the Diffusion of Light and Truth, with the aim of transforming religion, subjecting dogma to morality, and spreading rationalist and unbelieving Enlightenment.

Article illustration — Together with Jedike he launched the *Berliner Monatsschrift*, a monthly periodical intended to popularize fragments of Kant’s political and religious philosophy.

BIBL.: Kelchner, s. V. in *Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie*, II, Leipzig 1875, pp. 632 ff.