World Philosophy Atlas
Amsterdam
- Amsterdam
Amsterdam, in the seventeenth-century Dutch Republic, sheltered several unorthodox thinkers. Baruch Spinoza was born here in 1632 into a prominent family of the city's Portuguese-Jewish community, which on 27 July 1656 issued against him the harshest writ of excommunication it ever pronounced. René Descartes, who spent most of his mature years in the Dutch Netherlands, wrote in November 1629 from his new residence in Amsterdam. In the twentieth century L. E. J. Brouwer, founder of intuitionism in mathematics, studied at the University of Amsterdam from 1897 and taught there from 1912 to 1951.
When
- 1629–1661 Seventeenth-century Dutch Republic Descartes's residence and Spinoza's youth.
- 1897–1951 Intuitionism Brouwer at the University of Amsterdam.
Schools and institutions
- University of Amsterdam Brouwer studied here from 1897 and was professor from 1912 to 1951.
Thinkers
- Baruch Spinoza 1632 – 1677born here, 1632 (Born in Amsterdam in 1632; excommunicated on 27 July 1656; living in Rijnsburg by 1661.)
- René Descartes 1596 – 1650worked here, 1629 (Wrote to Mersenne in November 1629 from his new residence in Amsterdam.)
- L. E. J. Brouwer 1881 – 1966taught here, 1912–1951 (Entered the University of Amsterdam in 1897; doctorate 1907; professor 1912-1951.)
Sources: SEP: Baruch Spinoza · SEP: René Descartes · SEP: L. E. J. Brouwer