Ernst Ferdinand Klein. Philosopher, Criminal Law Scholar and Justice Reformer of the German Enlightenment

Ernst Ferdinand Klein is one of the most prominent figures of the late German Enlightenment. A philosopher, scholar of criminal law, and reformer of the judiciary, he not only played an influential role in shaping academic dis­course in these fields at the end of the 18th century. He also had a lasting impact on forming public opinion on the relevant socio-political issues in this context as a publicist. Nevertheless, little research has been focused on Klein’s historical personality and his work to date. As a consequence, researchers have yet to adequately acknowledge the innovation that Klein put into motion through the discussions of his time and the syntheses that he was able to create in the aforementioned fields. Moreover, few efforts have been dedicated to reviewing Klein’s work in a comprehensive manner that would draw connections between his contributions to his various fields of activity and paint a complete picture of Klein. The project “Ernst Ferdinand Klein. Philosopher, Criminal Law Scholar, and Justice Reformer of the German Enlightenment” therefore aims to shed light on Klein’s work in its en­tirety, to reconstruct the internal structures of his oeuvre in detail, and to highlight Klein’s theoretical achieve­ments, his historical significance, and his (in parts controversial) reception at the time. The findings will be pub­lished in an interdisciplinary anthology on Ernst Ferdinand Klein’s work, which will be accompanied by an an­no­tated selection of texts containing a new edition of Klein’s most important writings (some of which previously unpublished).