Samuel Grosser: Pharus intellectus sive logica electiva methodo neo-veterum praeceptis

Samuel Grosser’s “Pharus intellectus” (1697) represents a pivotal moment in early Enlightenment school philosophy. It presents logic as “medicina intellectus”, a remedy for the infirmities of the human mind, and integrates classical syllogistics with innovative didactic tools such as diagrammatic triangle models. As a “lighthouse of the understanding,” the work employs the light metaphor to illustrate the guiding role of logic in the pursuit of rational cognition. Grosser combines Aristotelian tradition with pedagogical pragmatism. His instruction to logic aimed at clarity, moral formation, and intellectual autonomy. The work is deeply committed to utility, virtue, and the discernment of truth.