FRIES, JAKOB FRIEDRICH German phil osopher, was born at Barby, Saxony, on Aug. Having studied at Niesky, Leipzig and Jena, in 18o6 he became professor of philosophy and elementary mathematics at Heidelberg. His philosophical position with regard to his contemporaries is set forth in Reinhold, Fichte and Schelling (2803; reprinted 1824 as Polemische Schrif ten), System der Philosophie als evidente Wis senscha f t (1804) and Wissen, Glaube and Ahnung (1805). His important Neue oder anthro pologische Kritik der Vernunft (3 vols. attempted to give a new foundation of psychological analy sis to the critical theory of Kant. In 1811 appeared his System der Logik and five years later, he accepted the chair of theoretical philosophy at Jena. In politics he was a strong Liberal and Unionist, and did much to inspire the organization of the Bur schenschaf t. In 1816 he published Vom deutschen Bund and deutscher Staatsver f assung, and his influence gave a powerful im petus to the agitation which in 1819 led to the issue of the Carls bad Decrees by the representatives of the German governments. He was condemned by the Mainz Commission and the grand-duke of Weimar was compelled to deprive him of his professorship. In 1824 he was recalled to Jena as professor of mathematics and physics, and in 1838, the right of lecturing on philosophy was restored to him. He died at Jena on Aug. Io, The most important works of his Jena professorate are the Handbuch der praktischen Philosophie (1817-32), Handbuch der psychischen Anthropologie (182o), Die mathematische Natur philosoplzie (1822), System der Metaphysik (1824, Die Ge schichte der Philosophie (1837-4o). In philosophy Fries at tempted to reconcile the criticism of Kant and Jacobi's philosophy of belief.
See E. L. Henke, J. F. Fries (1867) ; C. Grapengiesser, J. F. Fries, ein Gedenkblatt and Kant's "Kritik der Vernunft" and deren Fort bildung durch J. F. Fries (1882) ; H. Strasosky, J. F. Fries als Kritiker der Kantischen Erkenntnistheorie (1891) ; G. Weiss, Fries' Lehre v. der Ahnung in Asthetik, Religion u. Ethik (Gottingen, 1912) ; G. Hessenberg, Abhandlungen der Fries'schen Schule. 4 vols., 5906.