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German Swiss Enlightenment philosopher and Physiocrat.
Isaak Iselin studied law and philosophy at Basel and Göttingen, and went on to became a secretary of state of the republic of Basel in 1756. An ardent republican, his early efforts were dedicated to Enlightenment political philosophy (1755), largely an effort to extol the republican ideal, revised several times (1760) in light of the works of Montesquieu and Rousseau, and culminating in his 1764 exercise in conjectural history.
Iselin became enchanted with the Physiocrats, reviewing their doctrines in his 1772 Versuch (which contains a detailed description of Quesnay's Tableau). Iselin went on to compose a long, roaming treatise (1776), effectively a complete revision of his own philosophy in light of his new Physiocratic embrace.
In 1776, Iselin established and edited the monthly journal Ephemeriden der Menschheit, in imitation of the Physiocratic Ephémérides du citoyen, which ran out of Basel until 1778, then relocated to Leipzig in 1780 until Iselin's death in 1782 (it was carried on by W.G. Becker for three more years).
Major Works of Isaak Iselin
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Resources on Isaak Iselin
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