Neue Apologie des Socrates

work by Eberhard

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July 1, 2026

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Johann August Eberhard's Neue Apologie des Socrates (1772–78), or "A New Apology for Socrates," was a philosophical work advocating for the free examination of religious doctrine and epistemological rationalism, aligning with the views of Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz. Eberhard, a German philosopher and lexicographer, defended Leibniz's ideas against Immanuel Kant. He believed that Kant's critical philosophy was unnecessary given the prior achievements of Leibniz and Christian Wolff. Eberhard's work also promoted rationalism in a manner similar to Leibniz and Wolff.1

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Johann August Eberhard
Consequently, in his Neue Apologie des Socrates (1772–78; “A New Apology for Socrates”) and in his Allgemeine Theorie des Denkens und Empfindens (1776; “General Theory of Thinking and Feeling”), Eberhard advocated the free examination of religious doctrine and epistemological rationalism in the manner of Leibniz and the German…
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Consequently, in his Neue Apologie des Socrates (1772–78; “A New Apology for Socrates”) and in his Allgemeine Theorie des Denkens und Empfindens (1776; “General Theory of Thinking and Feeling”), Eberhard advocated the free examination of religious doctrine and epistemological rationalism in the manner of Leibniz and the German…
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