MENDELSSOHN, MOSES. - Philosopher, b. in Dessau on 6 Sept. 1729, d. in Berlin on 4 Jan. 1786. Already initiated, in Dessau, into the works of Maimonides (v.), he perfected in Berlin, partly under the direction of Lessing (v.), his philosophical formation, especially through the study of contemporary currents (Leibnizian rationalism, English empiricism and pre-Romanticism).
M. is less a systematic philosopher than a critic of systems and doctrines. He regards the existence of God, the immortality of the soul, and moral principles as demonstrable truths, and religiosity as an essential aspect of man: the objective content of religion, however, consists principally in its laws and practical maxims; even certain forms of pantheism can ground a pure and profound religiosity. With these and similar doctrines M. contributed to the affirmation of the idea of religious tolerance in law and in public opinion. His influence was even greater on the attitude of Jews toward society and cultural life. He facilitated for his coreligionists, with translations of the Old Testament (Pentateuch, Psalms), access to the sources of their religious tradition, and in his apology Jerusalem oder über religiöse Macht und Judentum (Berlin 1783) he gave an interpretation of the Jewish religion in accord with the spirit of modern culture.
Other works: Philosophische Gespräche (Berlin 1755); Abhandlung über die Evidenz in den metaphys. Wissenschaften (ibid. 1764); Phädon oder über die Unsterblichkeit der Seele (ibid. 1767); Morgenstunden oder über das Dasein Gottes (ibid. 1785).
Bibliography5 workscomplete editions: M. M.s sämtliche Werke, edited by G. B. Mendelssohn, 7 vols., Leipzig 1843-44; M. M.s gesammelte Schriften, edited by the
BIBL.: complete editions: M. M.s sämtliche Werke, edited by G. B. Mendelssohn, 7 vols., Leipzig 1843-44; M. M.s gesammelte Schriften, edited by the Akad. für die Wissenschaften des Judentums, 16 vols., Berlin 1929 ff. In Italian: Opere filosofiche di M. M., trans. by F. Pizzetti, 2 vols., Pavia 1853. Studies: E. D. Bachi, Sulla vita e sulle opere di M. M., Turin 1872; D. Baumgardt, Spinoza und M., Berlin 1932; H. Hölters, Der spinozistische Gottesbegriff bei M. M. und F. H. Jacobi und der Gottesbegriff Spinozas, Emsdetten 1938; further references in W. Ziegenfuss, Philosophen Lexikon, II, Berlin 1930, pp. 149-50.
Thum, Beda. “Mendelssohn, moses.” In Enciclopedia Cattolica, vol. VIII, coll. 673–674. Città del Vaticano: Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico, 1952. https://azioneromana.com/article/mendelssohn-moses.
MLA
Thum, Beda. “Mendelssohn, moses.” Enciclopedia Cattolica, vol. VIII, Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico, 1952, coll. 673–674. Azione Romana, https://azioneromana.com/article/mendelssohn-moses.
BibTeX
@incollection{ec8_mendelssohn_moses,
author = {Thum, Beda},
title = {Mendelssohn, moses},
booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica},
volume = {VIII},
pages = {673--674},
note = {Cited by column},
publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico},
address = {Città del Vaticano},
year = {1952},
url = {https://azioneromana.com/article/mendelssohn-moses}
}
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