Editing Franz Xaver von Baader (section)

== Life ==
Benedikt Franz Xaver Baader{{sfn|Abashnik|2010}} was born in [[Munich]], [[Electorate of Bavaria|Bavaria]], on 27 March 1765.{{sfn|Adamson|1878|p=173}} He was the third son of Joseph Franz von Paula Baader{{refn|group=lower-alph|His first name is spelled "Josef" in some records.{{citation needed|date=August 2015}}}} (15 September 1733&nbsp;– 16 February 1794) and Maria Dorothea Rosalia von Schöpf (25 October 1742&nbsp;– 5 February 1829),{{sfn|Hoffman|1857|pp=1–3}}{{sfn|Grassl|1953|pp=474}}{{refn|group=lower-alph|In some records her middle name is spelled "Rosalie." Also, in some records her last name is spelled "von Schöpff". She was a daughter of Johann Adam von Schöpf (1702 – 10 January 1772).{{citation needed|date=August 2015}}}} who were married on 23 May 1761. In 1775, Franz's father Joseph became the court physician of [[Maximilian III Joseph]],{{sfn|Hoffman|1857|p=3}} the [[elector of Bavaria]]. (The elector died two years later.)

Franz' two older brothers were both distinguished men. Clemens Alois Andreas Baader{{refn|group=lower-alph|In some records, Clemens's middle name is spelled "Aloys" or "Aloysius".{{citation needed|date=August 2015}}}} (8 April 1762&nbsp;– 23 March 1838) was an author. [[Joseph von Baader|Joseph Anton Ignaz Baader]] (30 September 1763&nbsp;– 20 November 1835) was an [[engineer]].{{sfn|Hoffman|1857|pp=4–5}}

Franz studied [[medicine]] at [[Ingolstadt]] and [[Vienna]], and for a short time assisted his father in his medical practice. However, Franz soon discovered that life as a physician did not suit him, and he decided to become a mining engineer instead.{{sfn|Adamson|1878|p=173}} He studied under [[Abraham Gottlob Werner]] at [[Freiberg]], travelled through several of the mining districts in north Germany, and resided in [[Kingdom of Great Britain|England]] from 1792 to 1796.{{sfn|Adamson|1878|p=173}}

In England, Franz von Baader became acquainted with the [[empiricism]] of [[David Hume]], [[David Hartley (philosopher)|David Hartley]], and [[William Godwin]], which was extremely distasteful to him. But he also came into contact with the mystical speculations of [[Meister Eckhart]], [[Louis Claude de Saint-Martin]], and above all those of [[Jakob Böhme]], which were more to his liking. In 1796, he returned to Germany and, in [[Hamburg]], became acquainted with [[F. H. Jacobi]], with whom he became close friends. He also came into contact with [[Friedrich Schelling]], and the works he published during this period were manifestly influenced by that philosopher, though Baader maintained his independence from Schelling.{{sfn|Adamson|1878|p=173}}{{refn|group=lower-alph|On Baader's influence on and friendship with Schelling and the reasons for their eventual break with one another, see [[Marie-Élise Zovko|Zovko]].{{sfn|Zovko|1996|pp=86–139, 191–269, 270–312}}}}

Their friendship continued till about the year 1822, when Baader's denunciation of modern philosophy in his letter to [[Russian Empire|Tsar]] [[Alexander I of Russia|Alexander I]] entirely alienated Schelling.
During this time, Baader continued to apply himself to his profession.{{sfn|Adamson|1878|pp=173–174}}

He gained a prize of 12,000 [[Bavarian gulden|gulden]] (≈117&nbsp;[[kg]] [[silver]]) for his new method of employing [[sodium sulfate]] instead of [[potash]] in the making of [[glass]]. From 1817 to 1820, he held the post of superintendent of mines and was raised to the rank of nobility for his services.{{sfn|Adamson|1878|p=174}} He retired in 1820, and thereafter published one of the best of his works, ''Fermenta Cognitionis'' in 6 parts from 1822 to 1825. In it, he combats modern philosophy and recommends the study of Böhme.{{sfn|Adamson|1878|p=174}}

In 1826, when the new university was opened in Munich, he was appointed professor of philosophy and speculative theology. He published some of his lectures there in 4 parts from 1827 to 1836 under the title ''{{lang|de|Spekulative Dogmatik}}''.{{sfn|Adamson|1878|p=174}}

His 1831 "Forty Sentences from a Religious Erotic" was dedicated to [[Emilie Linder]], a Munich painter.<ref name=":1">{{Citation|last=Historische Commission bei der königl. Akademie der Wissenschaften|title=Linder, Emilie|date=1883|url=https://de.wikisource.org/wiki/ADB:Linder,_Emilie|work=Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie, Bd. 18|pages=697|series=Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie|edition=1.|place=München/Leipzig|publisher=Duncker & Humblot|access-date=2021-04-02}}</ref>

In 1838, he publicly opposed the interference of the [[Roman Catholic Church]] in civil matters and, in consequence, was interdicted from lecturing on the philosophy of religion during the last three years of his life. He died on 23 May 1841.{{sfn|Adamson|1878|p=174}} He is buried in the [[Alter Südfriedhof]] in Munich.