Abstract

The scientific and literary achievements of Albrecht von Haller were never questioned, but there has been much disagreement on the issue whether he was able to bring his scientific, philosophical, and religious beliefs into a harmonius synthesis. The recent and most comprehensive book on Haller by Richard Toellner (1971) suggests that Haller's thought possessed such a unity, and this judgment has remained unchallenged. This article reopens the question by painting out discrepancies between the Cartesian, Lockean, and Newtonian strands in Haller's philosophy of science, as evidenced particularly by his pivotal essay on irritability and sensibility. In opposition to vitalism Haller postulated forces innate to matter, but out of religious concerns he feared materialism and was anxious to limit the power of such innate forces.