BERNHARD

BOLZANO (1781-1848)  , Austrian priest and philosopher, was born at Prague on the 5th of October 1781 . He distinguished himself at an early age, and on his ordination to the priesthood (18o5) was appointed professor of the philosophy of religion in Prague University . His lectures, in which he endeavoured to show that Catholic theology is in complete harmony with reason, were received with eager interest by the younger generation of thinkers . But his views met with much opposition; and it was only through the protection of the archbishop, Prince Salm-Salm, that he was enabled to retain his chair . In 1820 he was accused of being connected with some of the students' revolutionary societies, and was compelled to resign . Several doctrines extracted from his works were condemned at Rome, and he was suspended from his priestly functions, spending the rest of his life in literary work . He died at Prague on the 18th of December 1848 . The most important of his numerous works are the Wissenschaftslehre, oder Versuch einer neuen Darstellung der Logik, advocating a scientific method in the study of logic (4 vols., Sulzbach, 1837); the Lehrbuch der Religionswissenschaft (4 vols., Sulzbach, 1834), a philosophic representation of all the dogmas of Roman Catholic theology; and Athanasia, oder Griinde fur die Unsterblichkeit der Seele (2nd ed., Mainz, 1838) . In philosophy he followed Reinhard in ethics and the monadology of Leibnitz, though he was also influenced by Kant . See Lebensbeschreibung des Dr Bolzano (an autobiography, 1836) ; Wisshaupt, Skizzen aus dem Leben Dr Bolzanos (185o); Palagy, Kant and Bolzano (Halle, 1902) .