Christoph Wittich or Christophorus Wittichius (1625, in Brieg – 1687, in Leiden) was a Dutch theologian. He is known for attempting to reconcile Descartes' philosophy with the Scriptures.
Life
He studied theology in Bremen, Groningen and Leiden, and taught theology, mathematics, and Hebrew at Herborn (1651–53), Duisburg (1653–55), Nijmegen (1655–1671) and Leiden (1671–1687). Starting from his 1653 publication Dissertationes Duæ he defended a non-literal interpretation of the Bible texts that were quoted by Voetius to prove the unscriptural nature of Descartes' Copernican beliefs, and tried to reconcile philosophy and theology.
Works
- Dissertationes Duæ, Amsterdam, 1653.
- De Stylo Scripturae, Amsterdam (?), 1656
- Consensus veritatis in Scriptura divina et infallibili revelatae cum veritate philosophica a Renato detecta, Nijmegen, 1660
- Theologia pacifica, Leiden, 1671.
- Anti-spinoza, Amsterdam, 1690 (posthumous).
Further reading
Ernst Bizer, D. ref. Orthodoxie u. d. Cartesianismus, in: ZThK 55, 1958, 306-372
Roberto Bordoli s.v., The Dict. of Seventeenth and Eighteenth-Century Dutch Philosophers, II, 2003, 1083–1086.
Cellamare, Davide, "A theologian teaching Descartes at the Academy of Nijmegen (1655–1679): class notes on Christoph Wittich’s course on the Meditations on First Philosophy", Intellectual History Review, 30:4, 585-613 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17496977.2019.1698874
Cuno, "Wittich, Christoph" in: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie 43 (1898), S. 631-635 [Online-Version]; URL: https://www.deutsche-biographie.de/pnd119252805.html#adbcontent
Kai-Ole Eberhardt, Art. Wittich, Christoph. Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon Band XXXVII (2016) 1493–1507.Online-Artikel
Kai-Ole Eberhardt, Christoph Wittich (1625–1687). Reformierte Theologie unter dem Einfluss von René Descartes, Göttingen 2018 (Reformed Historical Theology 47).(ISBN 978-3-525-55283-4)
Kai-Ole Eberhardt, Vernunft und Offenbarung in der Theologie Christoph Wittichs (1625–1687). Prolegomena und Hermeneutik der reformierten Orthodoxie unter dem Einfluss des Cartesianismus, Göttingen 2019 (FSÖTh 164)
Jacob Gronovius, Laudatio Funebris recitata post obitum [...] Christophori Wittichii [...], Leiden 1687.
Georg Pape, Christoph Wittichs Anti-Spinoza. Diss. Rostock 1910.
Jan Rohls, Descartes u. d. ref. Theol., in: Sonderforschungsbereich 573 „Pluralisierung u. Autorität i. d. Frühen Neuzeit“ an d. LMU München, Mitteilungen 2/2006, München 2006, 24-34
Theo Verbeek, Descartes and the Dutch. Early Reactions to Cartesian Philosophy, 1637–1650. Published for the Journal of the History of Philosophy, Carbondale 1992
Rienk H.Vermij, The Calvinist Copernicans. The reception of the new astronomy in the Dutch Republic, 1575–1750, Amsterdam 2002
External links
- Willem Frijhoff, Marijke Spies, Dutch Culture in a European Perspective 1: 1650: Hard-Won Unity, Uitgeverij Van Gorcum 2004, pp 310–11.
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