Ernst Platner
Encyclopedia
Ernst Platner was a German anthropologist, physician and philosopher born in Leipzig
. He was father to painter Ernst Zacharias Platner
(1773-1855).
He received his education at the University of Leipzig
, where in 1770 he became an associate professor of medicine. Later at Leipzig he was appointed a full professor of physiology
(1780) and philosophy (1811).
Platner was a follower of the teachings of Leibniz, and was author of Anthropologie für Aerzte und Weltweise, which was one of the more important anthropological works of the Spätaufklärung (epoch of German literature). In the field of anthropology he was a proponent of a concept that demonstrated the interplay of body and soul through physical persuasion. His work in this field was influential to scholars that included Johann Gottfried Herder
, Friedrich Schiller
and Karl Philipp Moritz
.
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
. He was father to painter Ernst Zacharias Platner
Ernst Zacharias Platner
Ernst Zacharias Platner was a German painter and writer born in Leipzig. He was the son of anthropologist Ernst Platner ....
(1773-1855).
He received his education at the University of Leipzig
University of Leipzig
The University of Leipzig , located in Leipzig in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, is one of the oldest universities in the world and the second-oldest university in Germany...
, where in 1770 he became an associate professor of medicine. Later at Leipzig he was appointed a full professor of physiology
Physiology
Physiology is the science of the function of living systems. This includes how organisms, organ systems, organs, cells, and bio-molecules carry out the chemical or physical functions that exist in a living system. The highest honor awarded in physiology is the Nobel Prize in Physiology or...
(1780) and philosophy (1811).
Platner was a follower of the teachings of Leibniz, and was author of Anthropologie für Aerzte und Weltweise, which was one of the more important anthropological works of the Spätaufklärung (epoch of German literature). In the field of anthropology he was a proponent of a concept that demonstrated the interplay of body and soul through physical persuasion. His work in this field was influential to scholars that included Johann Gottfried Herder
Johann Gottfried Herder
Johann Gottfried von Herder was a German philosopher, theologian, poet, and literary critic. He is associated with the periods of Enlightenment, Sturm und Drang, and Weimar Classicism.-Biography:...
, Friedrich Schiller
Friedrich Schiller
Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller was a German poet, philosopher, historian, and playwright. During the last seventeen years of his life , Schiller struck up a productive, if complicated, friendship with already famous and influential Johann Wolfgang von Goethe...
and Karl Philipp Moritz
Karl Philipp Moritz
Karl Philipp Moritz was a German author, editor and essayist of the Sturm und Drang, late enlightenment, and classicist periods, influencing early German Romanticism as well...
.
Selected publications
- Anthropologie für Aerzte und Weltweise (Anthropology for Physicians and the Worldwise), 1772
- Neue Anthropologie für Aerzte und Weltweise (New Anthropology for Physicians and the Worldwise), 1790
- Über den Atheismus. Ein Gespräch (About AtheismAtheismAtheism is, in a broad sense, the rejection of belief in the existence of deities. In a narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities...
, an Interview), 1783 - Philosophische Aphorismen (Philosophical AphorismAphorismAn aphorism is an original thought, spoken or written in a laconic and memorable form.The term was first used in the Aphorisms of Hippocrates...
s); Part 1- 1776, Part 2- 1782 - Quaestiones physiologicae (Questions of Physiology), 1794
- Quaestiones medicinae forensis (Questions of Forensic Medicine), 1797-1817