September 18, 2025Open Access

Christian Wolff and Positive Academic Freedom

Key Points

Wolff argues for a positive aspect of academic freedom, linking it to the freedom to philosophise.
The analysis reveals Wolff's concept of libertas philosophandi as vital in understanding epistemic autonomy.
Contextualising Wolff's life enhances the understanding of his philosophical contributions to cognition.
The exploration of cognition within Wolff's theory provides insights into Enlightenment perspectives on knowledge.

Abstract

In this article I argue that it is possible to find a positive account of academic freedom or of "freedom to philosophise" within Enlightenment thought. I focus on the case of Christian Wolff and his discussion of libertas philosophandi. I start by contextualising Wolff's life and philosophy and discussing the negative aspect of his freedom to philosophise. I then present a case for an additional positive version understood as epistemic autonomy. Finally, I explain Wolffian epistemic autonomy within the context of his wider theory of cognition.

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Cite This Study

Dino Jakušić (Wed,) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/68d462b631b076d99fa618de https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.17951/kw.2025.39.23-41