Einleitung in die Philosophie or Introduction to Philosophy was intended by Walch to be a companion to the earlier Lexicon, as the full title suggests: Introduction to Philosophy, Which Explains All Its Parts, Indicates their Proper Connections, and Gives an Account of the Origin and History of Each Discipline, Especially for Use with the Philosophical Lexicon. Divided into three parts, the Einleitung contains extensive historical introductions to philosophical disciplines throughout the ages. The first part examines the 'Character of Philosophical Cognition'. The second deals with the 'Disciplines' of philosophy, namely logic, metaphysics, natural philosophy, ethics, doctrine of virtue, philosophy of law, and political philosophy, and the third concerns 'Philosophical Secrets' or the teaching on the mind (Geist) or souls. Much of Walch's philosophy is reminscent of Kant and some philosophers have argued that he should be counted as one of Kant's predecessors. This reprint will provide academics with important evidence to analyse this issue and the opportunity to fully understand the relationship between the two strands of the German Enlightenment, initiated by its two 'founders', Christian Thomasius and Christian Wolff.
First published in 1727, this reprint is of the rare third improved edition (1738) which contains an extensive index. Now reprinted in two volumes, with an introduction by Manfred Kuehn, this valuable work provides a succinct and systematic account of philosophy. The availability of the Einleitung and Lexicon will allow historians of philosophy the opportunity to fully examine the work of an influential eighteenth-century German philosopher.
