Christian August Crusius

Christian August Crusius (1715 to 1775) was a German philosopher and Protestant theologian, born in Leuna in the Electorate of Saxony. He spent his career at the University of Leipzig, where he became professor of theology in 1744, ordinary professor in 1750 and twice served as president of the university. He first came to notice as an opponent of the philosophy of Leibniz and Christian Wolff from the standpoint of religious orthodoxy, attacking it for the moral evils that must flow from any system of determinism and trying to vindicate the freedom of the will. His Guide to Rational Living (1744) and Outline of the Necessary Truths of Reason (1745) won great but short-lived popularity, and his criticism of Wolff influenced the young Immanuel Kant.