Rethinking Enlightenment: the reception of John Locke in Germany

• Applicants: Dr. Lore Knapp; Professor Dr. Konstantin Pollok
• Subject Area: History of Philosophy
• Term: since 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 468451258

His concept of ‘simple ideas’ being the basis of all our knowledge, and his social contract theory, as well as his contributions to education, theology and economics, made John Locke (1632-1704) one of the most important Enlightenment thinkers. He is regarded as a founder of empiricism as well as of liberalism. Concepts of tolerance can hardly be described without reference to Locke’s "Epistola de tolerantia" (1689), which was translated into German in 1710. Locke’s influence on continental thought was and is the subject of many studies, but in most of these studies the ‘continent’ isn’t much bigger than France. Even though it is well known that the Germans admired British cultural and intellectual life in the middle of the 18th century, historians of philosophy still underestimate British influences, describing the German philosophical tradition as an independent, self-contained historical narrative spanning from Leibniz via Kant to Hegel. Understanding the significant role Locke played in the intellectual exchange between Britain and Germany will be the crux for Rethinking Enlightenment. The project will combine historical analyses of the academic distribution of Locke’s ideas, based on archive material, with a close look at their philosophical and aesthetical reception as well as the political connotations thereof. By systematically exploring the reception of John Locke in Germany, the project aims to change the general perception of the European Enlightenment as well as that of its impact over the following centuries. The central question is: How was Locke read and taught? This leads to more questions: What were the paths of distribution in detail? Which universities, people and subjects were involved? Why was Locke’s presence hardly considered in historical and contemporary descriptions? Which religious and political circumstances influenced the reception? What role did Locke play in the fields of epistemology, medicine, physiology, psychology, aesthetics, education, religion, politics, law and economics? The reception of the British philosopher in Germany offers a unique and promising approach to describing the linkage within the history of thought in Great Britain and Germany from c. 1700. The research group, consisting of the historian Prof. Thomas Ahnert (Edinburgh) with his research assistant, the philosopher Prof. Dr Konstantin Pollok (Mainz) with his doctoral student, and the literary scholar Dr Lore Knapp (Bielefeld), will publish a number of research-based articles in a special issue, as well as a doctoral thesis, a digitisation of archival sources and an exhibition. A number of collaborators will provide contributions for a systematic handbook about the reception of John Locke in Germany.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: United Kingdom
• Cooperation Partner: Professor Thomas Ahnert