In 1827, at the age of 76, Chladni came to Breslau, where he attracted a circle of admirers and was a prominent part of the local social life. One of his friends was Henrik Steffens (1773-1845), a professor at the University of Breslau from 1811 to 1832. Steffens was a philosopher who promoted the Naturphilosophie of Friedrich Schelling. He was influenced by his study of geology, and promoted the doctrine of “Individualization,” according to which organisms become more distinct the higher on an evolutionary scale they appear.