Abstract
AbstractThis article presents a heretofore unknown and anonymous handwritten essay, found in the ›Schwedenksite‹, the papers of the Central German Illuminati, with commentary by Karl Leonhard Reinhold. The essay - probably written in 1786 - offers a materialistic developmental psychology, according to which the sensations are physical, not mental, and pleasure triggers the development of the drives before it is restricted by the drive of conservation. It further posits that there is an instinct for ›freedom of thought‹, which promotes an everincreasing awareness of one’s own instinctual structure and thus a greater independence from it. Moral behaviour is also understood as a conscious agreement with the laws of nature and as a reciprocal co-operation for greater ›freedom of thought‹. Although the author of the essay is not known, he may have applied for admission to the Illuminati with this essay. He could be from the circle of the philanthropic movement, which connected a sensualist philosophy with educational ideals.
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