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Michael Gottlieb Birckner (21 August 1756 – 1 December 1798) was a Danish priest and philosopher. Birckner especially explored the subject of Freedom of Speech. The American historian H. Arnold Barton has characterised Birckner, along with Niels Ditlev Riegels, as being one of "the most original thinkers" of the radical group of authors in Denmark in this period.〔H. Arnold Barton, 1986, p. 242.〕 The Danish jurist Peter Germer in his book ''The Nature of Freedom of Speech'' (''Ytringsfrihedens Væsen'', 1973) shows that Birckners ideas was akin to ideas that Scottish-American philosopher Alexander Meiklejohn proposed in his ''Free Speech and Its Relation to Self-Government'' (1948).〔Peter Germer * Peter Germer, ''Ytringsfrihedens Væsen'', Juristforbundets Forlag, 1973, p. 202. ISBN 87-574-2440-3.〕 == Biography == Michael Gottlieb Birckner was born in Copenhagen. At age 3 he lost his mother, Anna Marie (born Wiborg), and half a year later his father, brickmason Johan Michael Birckner, died. The city mortician took in the orphan, and in due time Birckner graduated from the city's Latin school in 1772. He achieved his theological degree in 1784. He had also spent his time at the university studying philosophy and philology, and he especially excelled in modern languages, he spoke German like a native and he wrote verses in English. He wanted a position as a priest, but he disliked the parlors of the rich and powerful, so he did not achieve a call until 1790. The position was as a German minister on the isolated island of Föhr which was part of the kingdom of Denmark-Norway at the time. Before Birckner left the capital he had become a proponent of the philosophy of Immanuel Kant, which at that time was becoming popular in Denmark. But he was also under the influence of the radical French anti-clergy rationalism. He had published an article in the influential Danish periodical ''Minerva'' with the title ''An answer to the question: Should the nobility be suppressed?'' (July 1790). His answer to the question in the title was affirmative, provided that the privileges of nobility is an injustice and that the burgher can become "that which at present only the nobility is, without upsetting society as a whole". The article was soon translated into German and a reviewer of the ''Göttingische gelärdes Anzeigen'' (1792, p. 1899) praised it highly. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Michael Gottlieb Birckner」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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