Christian Friedrich Michaelis (philosopher)


Christian Friedrich Michaelis was a German philosopher, music aesthete, and essayist.

Life

Michaelis was the son of a doctor and he studied at the University of Leipzig from 1787, before travelling to Jena to learn from Karl Leonhard Reinhold and Friedrich Schiller. In 1793 he became a private lecturer in Leipzig and published numerous philosophical articles and writings, including the work Ueber den Geist der Tonkunst and several books on Kant’s philosophy and aesthetics.
He was a frequent contributor to the music journal Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung. His hopes of becoming a professor failed, presumably due to his closeness to Johann Gottlieb Fichte, who was dismissed in 1799 as a result of the atheism dispute.

Publications

Michaelis’ publications include; Ueber den geist der tonkunst mit ru̇cksicht auf Kants kritik der ȧsthetischen urtheilskraft Ueber die sittliche natur und bestimmung des menschen: ein versuch zur erläuterung über I.Kant's Kritik der praktischen vernunft Moral Lectures Museum des Witzes und der Laune