Philipp Albert Stapfer
Encyclopedia
Philipp Albert Stapfer was a Swiss politician and philosopher.
He was the plenipotentiary envoi of the Helvetic Republic
to the French consulate
in Paris from 1801 till 1803. ( Act of Mediation
)
He married and settled in France, at a summerhouse in Talcy (Loir-et-Cher) and in Paris where he became the friend of Maine de Biran
-in 1805 at informal gatherings of Cabanis circle at Auteuil. He was also vice-president of the Paris Protestant society.
He is the recipient of Maine de Biran's essay:
an important résumé known as: "Réponses à Stapfer"
a pronounced interest in the educational experiments of Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi
.
As a Minister of Sciences and Arts of the Helvetic Republic
in 1798 he arranged the nomination of Pestalozzi as chief editor of the government paper "Helvetisches Volksblatt" -a post from which Pestalozzi quickly resigned.
In Paris Stapfer pleaded Pestalozzi's case for educational reform with Napoleon Bonaparte, who denigrated the program for its lack of real science.
Maine de Biran however -following the encounters with Stapfer at Auteuil and his own appointement as "sous-préfet" of the Dordogne
in 1806- reformed the education in his department by inviting to Bergerac a teacher formed by Pestalozzi at Yverdon.
, Joseph-Marie de Gérando, Pierre Paul Royer-Collard
, Georges Cuvier
and many others was a regular participant in the philosophical debates organised by Maine de Biran
, after the latter finally settled in Paris as an administrator in 1812.
Together with Degérando, who introduced Kant studies in France, he was one of Maine de Biran's main sources on the philosophy of Immanuel Kant
whose work he followed in its development by one of Kant's pupils: Friedrich Bouterwek
(1766-1828), professor in Philosophy at the Georg August University in Göttingen
. Meyers Lexicon Mannheim 1990 links Bouterwek with Maine de Biran. Bouterwek was already lecturing on Kant at Göttingen when Stapfer studied there in 1789-1790.
The extent of Stapfer's knowledge of Kant can be judged from the substantial (pagelong) notes he appended to Maine de Biran's: "Exposition de la doctrine philosophique de Leibniz. Composée pour la Biographie Universelle" (Paris: Michaud ed 1819). This exposition written at the instigation of Stapfer is one of only two (authorised) philosophical texts by Maine de Biran published during his lifetime.
(Stapfer's notes were republished by Pierre Tisserand in his Oeuvres de Maine de Biran,1939 -Tome XI pp435-489 )
Stapfer long survived his immediate contemporaries de Biran and Bouterwek. He arranged for his own salon, inviting guests such as Victor Cousin
, Sainte-Beuve, Guizot to whom he became an important material witness of the preceding decades.
It took the untiring persistence of Stapfer to encourage Victor Cousin and Joseph Lainé to classify and publish the works of Maine de Biran.
He was the plenipotentiary envoi of the Helvetic Republic
Helvetic Republic
In Swiss history, the Helvetic Republic represented an early attempt to impose a central authority over Switzerland, which until then consisted mainly of self-governing cantons united by a loose military alliance, and conquered territories such as Vaud...
to the French consulate
French Consulate
The Consulate was the government of France between the fall of the Directory in the coup of 18 Brumaire in 1799 until the start of the Napoleonic Empire in 1804...
in Paris from 1801 till 1803. ( Act of Mediation
Act of Mediation
The Act of Mediation was issued by Napoleon Bonaparte on 19 February 1803 establishing the Swiss Confederation. The act also abolished the previous Helvetic Republic, which had existed since the invasion of Switzerland by French troops in 1798. After the withdrawal of French troops in July 1802,...
)
He married and settled in France, at a summerhouse in Talcy (Loir-et-Cher) and in Paris where he became the friend of Maine de Biran
Maine de Biran
François-Pierre-Gonthier Maine de Biran , usually known simply as Maine de Biran, was a French philosopher.- Life :...
-in 1805 at informal gatherings of Cabanis circle at Auteuil. He was also vice-president of the Paris Protestant society.
He is the recipient of Maine de Biran's essay:
- "Réponses aux arguments contre l'aperception immédiate d'une liaison causale entre le vouloir primitif et la motion et contre la dérivation d'un principe universel et nécessaire de causalités de cette source." (1818);
an important résumé known as: "Réponses à Stapfer"
Pestalozzi
Philipp Albert Stapfer also shared with Maine de BiranMaine de Biran
François-Pierre-Gonthier Maine de Biran , usually known simply as Maine de Biran, was a French philosopher.- Life :...
a pronounced interest in the educational experiments of Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi
Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi
Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi was a Swiss pedagogue and educational reformer who exemplified Romanticism in his approach....
.
As a Minister of Sciences and Arts of the Helvetic Republic
Helvetic Republic
In Swiss history, the Helvetic Republic represented an early attempt to impose a central authority over Switzerland, which until then consisted mainly of self-governing cantons united by a loose military alliance, and conquered territories such as Vaud...
in 1798 he arranged the nomination of Pestalozzi as chief editor of the government paper "Helvetisches Volksblatt" -a post from which Pestalozzi quickly resigned.
In Paris Stapfer pleaded Pestalozzi's case for educational reform with Napoleon Bonaparte, who denigrated the program for its lack of real science.
Maine de Biran however -following the encounters with Stapfer at Auteuil and his own appointement as "sous-préfet" of the Dordogne
Dordogne
Dordogne is a départment in south-west France. The départment is located in the region of Aquitaine, between the Loire valley and the High Pyrénées named after the great river Dordogne that runs through it...
in 1806- reformed the education in his department by inviting to Bergerac a teacher formed by Pestalozzi at Yverdon.
Philosopher
Apart from being an involved and tolerant Protestant philosopher Stapfer, with André-Marie AmpèreAndré-Marie Ampère
André-Marie Ampère was a French physicist and mathematician who is generally regarded as one of the main discoverers of electromagnetism. The SI unit of measurement of electric current, the ampere, is named after him....
, Joseph-Marie de Gérando, Pierre Paul Royer-Collard
Pierre Paul Royer-Collard
Pierre Paul Royer-Collard , was a French statesman and philosopher, leader of the Doctrinaires group during the Bourbon Restoration .-Biography:...
, Georges Cuvier
Georges Cuvier
Georges Chrétien Léopold Dagobert Cuvier or Jean Léopold Nicolas Frédéric Cuvier , known as Georges Cuvier, was a French naturalist and zoologist...
and many others was a regular participant in the philosophical debates organised by Maine de Biran
Maine de Biran
François-Pierre-Gonthier Maine de Biran , usually known simply as Maine de Biran, was a French philosopher.- Life :...
, after the latter finally settled in Paris as an administrator in 1812.
Together with Degérando, who introduced Kant studies in France, he was one of Maine de Biran's main sources on the philosophy of Immanuel Kant
Immanuel Kant
Immanuel Kant was a German philosopher from Königsberg , researching, lecturing and writing on philosophy and anthropology at the end of the 18th Century Enlightenment....
whose work he followed in its development by one of Kant's pupils: Friedrich Bouterwek
Friedrich Bouterwek
Friedrich Bouterwek , German philosopher and critic, was born to a mining director at Oker, today a district of Goslar in Lower Saxony, and studied law and philology under Christian Gottlob Heyne and Johann Georg Heinrich Feder at the University of Göttingen.After he had finished his studies he was...
(1766-1828), professor in Philosophy at the Georg August University in Göttingen
Göttingen
Göttingen is a university town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Göttingen. The Leine river runs through the town. In 2006 the population was 129,686.-General information:...
. Meyers Lexicon Mannheim 1990 links Bouterwek with Maine de Biran. Bouterwek was already lecturing on Kant at Göttingen when Stapfer studied there in 1789-1790.
The extent of Stapfer's knowledge of Kant can be judged from the substantial (pagelong) notes he appended to Maine de Biran's: "Exposition de la doctrine philosophique de Leibniz. Composée pour la Biographie Universelle" (Paris: Michaud ed 1819). This exposition written at the instigation of Stapfer is one of only two (authorised) philosophical texts by Maine de Biran published during his lifetime.
(Stapfer's notes were republished by Pierre Tisserand in his Oeuvres de Maine de Biran,1939 -Tome XI pp435-489 )
Stapfer long survived his immediate contemporaries de Biran and Bouterwek. He arranged for his own salon, inviting guests such as Victor Cousin
Victor Cousin
Victor Cousin was a French philosopher. He was a proponent of Scottish Common Sense Realism and had an important influence on French educational policy.-Early life:...
, Sainte-Beuve, Guizot to whom he became an important material witness of the preceding decades.
It took the untiring persistence of Stapfer to encourage Victor Cousin and Joseph Lainé to classify and publish the works of Maine de Biran.