EBERHARD, JOHAN AUGUST. – Philosopher, Protestant pastor, b. at Halberstadt on 31 August 1739, d. at Halle on 6 January 1809. He studied theology, philosophy, and philology; he was a private tutor and preacher; professor of philosophy at Halle from 1778.
The Neue Apologie des Sokrates (1772) made him famous for asserting the existence of virtue in the pre-Christian world. He had eclectic tendencies, under the influence of Leibniz and Wolff. He attacked Kantian criticism in books and two journals.
BIBL.: Principal works: Sittenlehre der Vernunft. Berlin 1781; Handbuch der Aesthetik, 4 vols., Halle 1803–1805. Studies: F. Nicolai, Gedächtnisschrift auf J. A. E., Berlin 1880; G. Drager, A. E.: Psychologie und Aesthetik, Halle 1915. Giacomo Soleri