Martin Knutzen (1713–1751) was a German philosopher, a disciple of Alexander Baumgarten and teacher of Immanuel Kant, to whom he introduced the physics of Newton.
Knutzen studied philosophy, mathematics and physics at the University of Königsberg (the present Kaliningrad), gaining his MA in 1733 with Dissertatio metaphysica de aeternitate mundi impossibili and becoming a Professor extraordinary of logic and metaphysics there in 1734.[1] A disciple of Christian Wolff, in the rationalist school, Knutzen was also interested in natural sciences, and taught physics, astronomy and mathematics, besides philosophy. The study of the doctrines of Newton induced him to question Leibniz' and Wolff's theory of the pre-established harmony, defending the concept of mechanical causality in the movement of physical objects; his lessons on the matter would influence the later work of Kant, who sought to reconcile the autonomy of the spiritual with the reality of the mechanical in the Critique of Judgement.
The relation of Knutzen with Kant, a pietist like him, was extremely limited. Knutzen introduced him to the study of mechanics and optics, besides discussing faith extensively. His ample library on natural sciences constituted an invaluable resource for the writing of the first treatise of Kant, Thoughts on the True Estimation of Vital Forces (Gedanken von der wahren Schätzung der lebendigen Kräfte), a mathematical text, and exerted a powerful influence on Kant's thought.
Knutzen would be also an important figure in the formation of Johann Georg Hamann.
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