Hermann Friedrich Wilhelm Hinrichs

Hinrichs was the son of a Protestant pastor. He studied theology at Strassburg, and, following a crisis of faith, philosophy at Heidelberg under Hegel, who wrote a preface to his Religion im innern Verhältniss zur Wissenschaft (Heidelberg, 1822),^[1] describing Hinrichs's work as turgid and difficult to follow. Hinrichs was convinced that philosophy was superior to theology in knowing and reconciling with God.

He became a Privatdozent in 1819, and held professorships at Breslau (1822) and Halle (1824),^[1] which were important centers of Hegelianism outside Berlin.