Jacobus Wittichius

Jacobus Wittichius (Jacob Wittich) (1677–1739) was a German-Dutch philosopher, a Cartesian and follower of Burchard de Volder, and holder of controversial views on the nature of God.

[2] A Latin dissertation at the University of Duisburg in 1711, on the nature of God, and at least nominally against Benedictus de Spinoza and Frederik van Leenhof, raised some questions about his orthodoxy.

Once he was given the chair, Wittichius found that Driessen continued to campaign against him, using an unauthorized Dutch translation of his Duisburg dissertation (anonymous but from the circle of Ruardus Andala); and his links to de Volder.

Johann Franz Buddeus intervened, getting the Jena theology faculty to assert that the views of Wittichius were close to those of Spinoza and Abraham Joannes Cuffeler.

[2][3] Wittichius went on in combative fashion in his inaugural oration, with praise for Francis Bacon and Galileo, blame for the approach in philosophy of Gisbertus Voetius, employing Cartesian terminology, and making an allusion to Spinoza's Ethics.