Christian Thomasius is one of the authors of the early modern age assured of the kind of scholarly attention that is not only dutifully paraded on the occasion of anniversaries. The state of research documented here demonstrates that increased historical knowledge not only broadens the perspectives but also compounds the problems. This new knowledge has helped to delineate our image of Thomasius more clearly and to dispel stereotypic received thinking about him, thus opening up new avenues for exploration and interpretation. The volume assembles the papers delivered at an interdisciplinary colloquium in Magdeburg in June 1995.