Christopher Wittich
Christoph Wittich or Christophorus Wittichius (1625, Brieg – 1687, Leiden) was a German-born Dutch theologian. He is known for attempting to reconcile Descartes' philosophy with the Scriptures.
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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.
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, 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, Art. Wittich, Christoph. Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon Band XXXVII (2016) 1493–1507.Online-Artikel
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.