Georg Anton Friedrich Ast

Georg Anton Friedrich Ast (1778–1841) was a German philosopher and philologist. Educated at the University of Jena, he began his academic career as a privatdozent before becoming a professor of classical literature at the University of Landshut in 1805. He later transferred to the University of Munich in 1826, where he remained until his death. Ast is primarily known for his critical work on Plato. His book "Plato's Leben und Schriften" (1816) was among the first to critically examine Plato's life and works based on internal evidence. He classified Plato's dialogues into three series based on their stylistic and dialectical features. He also published a comprehensive Latin translation and commentary on Plato's works and compiled the "Lexicon Platonicum" (1834–1839). In aesthetics, Ast combined the ideas of Schelling with those of earlier thinkers like Winckelmann, Lessing, Kant, Herder, and Schiller. His histories of philosophy were noted for their critical scholarship and for asserting that the history of philosophy is the history of reason itself, pioneering the concept of the development of thought. Ast's ideas had an influence on subsequent philosophers, particularly Friedrich Schleiermacher, a founder of hermeneutics. His works also covered grammar, criticism, and general philosophy.