János Rathmann: Johann Samuel Toperczer ‘s thoughts

Johann Samuel Toperczer (1770-1815), was one of the best teachers of the well-known Levoca Grammar School, who wrote numerous studies. The work tries to give a picture of the direction of Toperczer’s ideas according to his published studies. The author introduces his life and career according to accessible sources. Later, he describes his school-years, emphasising that in that decade, in the 90s of the 18th century, Jena was Germany’s acknowledged intellectual centre and one of the centres of the Kantian philosophy and ideology. Perhaps Toperczer’s way of thinking, that was based on solid Kantenian foundations, could go beyond criticism. He understood his great master, Kant, and the Kant-interpretators of his time, e.g. Forberg, Reinhold, Schmid, and his kind teacher, and historian at the Jone University, Schiller. He was inspired by them for achieving knowledge and independent thinking. Although, he was also inspired by the Jena University itself, and by the creative atmosphere of the Goethe-spirited university that at that time was progressive. Thus, the study places Toperczer’s thinking to that milieu in which it in fact was created: to the Kant-originated spirituality of C. Reinhold, Fr. Schiller, J. G. Herder. Outgoing from this, the author examines the main idea and concept of Toperczer’s two biggest studies. The first – considering its topic – describes one of the ideas of enlightenment, the philosophical issue of achieving happiness by people, that is approached from newer and newer aspects, while the second one describes in detail the historical forms of love and friendship in life of the ancient Greek culture.

The work’s conclusion is that Toperczer’s unrevealed works are of great value and the his career that remained in torso could produce original ideological elements.