BAADER, bli'der, BENEDICT FRANZ RAVER von (1765-1841). A German Roman Catholic theologian and philosopher. He was born in Munich, March 27. 1705, the third son of the court physician to the Elector of Bavaria. His elder brothers were distinguished, Clemens as an author and Joseph as au engineer . Franz stud ied medicine at Ingolstadt and Vienna, graduat ing in 1784; assisted his father in medicine, but disliked the profession; studied engineering in the mining districts, and lived five years in England (1701-96), where he became acquainted with rationalistic philosophy, which he thought little less than satanic. The religious specu lations of Eckhart, Saint Martin, and espe cially Baum, were more to his mind. He held intimate friendship with Jacobi, and learned something of Schelling. Though deeply inter ested in philosophy, he kept his engineering practice. On his return from England he was appointed consulting engineer of the Bavarian mines; won the prize of 10,000 gulden for the discovery that Glauber's salt, instead of potash, may be employed in making glass; was en nobled in I5I3 for his valuahle services, and was superintendent of mines, 1817-1820. His first published work was Fermenta Coynitionis (Berlin. 1822-24, five parts; sixth part, Leipzig. 1825), in which he combated modern philosophy and recommended that of Iliihme. In 1826 he was appointed professor of philosophy and specu lative theology in the new University of Munich. Some of his lectures while occupying that chair have been published (Forlesungen fiber spekula tive Doymatik, Minister, I32S-38). In 1838 he
opposed the interference in civil matters of the Roman Catholic Church. to which he belonged, for which opposition he was interdicted from lecturing on the philosophy of religion during the last three years of his life. The interdict took the form of a general order forbidding lay men to lecture on the subject. So he was re stricted to his lectures on psychology and an thropology. His criticism of the Papacy and his desire to see it abolished no doubt contrib uted to his being silenced. Baader is considered to have been the greatest speculative Roman Catho lic theologian of modern times, and his influence has gone beyond the bounds of his Church. He also contrasted Eastern and Western Ca- I tholicism, to the detriment of the latter (Stutt gart, 1841) ; but ere he died he recanted. He died in Munich, May 21, 1841. His works were published in a collected edition (Leipzig, 1851 60. 16 vols.; Vol. XV. contains his biography, by E. Hoffman).
I'onsult: J. Claasen. con Baader's Lebec vnd theosophisehr Werke al.s l»begriff eh•istlieher Philosophic: l'ollstiindiger, •ortfp-Irene). A uszug in geord»eten Einzelsiitzett (Stuttgart, 1886-87) ; Otto Ptleiderer, The Phi losophy of Religion on the Basis of its History, Vol. II. (Eng. trans., London. 1887) ; for an elaborate article upon his teachings, see Hoff mann, Biogra p hie and Brirfu-rehsel (Leipzig, 1887) ; Welzer and \Vette, Kirrhenlexi•on, Vol. 1. (Freiburg, 1877).