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The Development From Kant to Hegel: With Chapters on the Philosophy of Religion
This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
178 pages, Hardcover
Published October 27, 2022
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July 20, 2019
The first time I read this book, I had never read any of the German idealists. It's accessibility is it's greatest merit, especially considering it was written in 1882.
However after becoming well developed in my knowledge of German idealism, many flaws have become apparent to me.
The greatest of them is its narrative. It's unsurprising given its age, but it gives a somewhat erroneous explication of the development of German idealism. It is the standard view of that period, that Fichte and Schelling were merely stepping stones on Hegel's path to glory. A view that Hegel himself started via his explicit compartmentalisation of their philosophical contributions, subsuming them under the development of his own philosophy. This is a view that has been seriously challenged in recent scholarship.
Further, although the discussion of Fichte is fairly in depth given the length, Schelling is passed over in just over 15 pages. Oddly enough Hegel is given less time than fichte, and little of substantial note is worth mentioning in the explication.
All of the criticisms Seth provides of Fichte and Schelling are near word for word those of Hegel. I think he is often uncharitable and dismissive, relying on reference to Hegel to disregard Schelling in a few lines.
If you want a book that'll serve as a good introduction to German idealism and get the traditional narrative of its development, this book isn't bad. Just take it with a pinch of salt and be sure to read Fichte and Schelling to get a more fair assessment of their philosophy.
However after becoming well developed in my knowledge of German idealism, many flaws have become apparent to me.
The greatest of them is its narrative. It's unsurprising given its age, but it gives a somewhat erroneous explication of the development of German idealism. It is the standard view of that period, that Fichte and Schelling were merely stepping stones on Hegel's path to glory. A view that Hegel himself started via his explicit compartmentalisation of their philosophical contributions, subsuming them under the development of his own philosophy. This is a view that has been seriously challenged in recent scholarship.
Further, although the discussion of Fichte is fairly in depth given the length, Schelling is passed over in just over 15 pages. Oddly enough Hegel is given less time than fichte, and little of substantial note is worth mentioning in the explication.
All of the criticisms Seth provides of Fichte and Schelling are near word for word those of Hegel. I think he is often uncharitable and dismissive, relying on reference to Hegel to disregard Schelling in a few lines.
If you want a book that'll serve as a good introduction to German idealism and get the traditional narrative of its development, this book isn't bad. Just take it with a pinch of salt and be sure to read Fichte and Schelling to get a more fair assessment of their philosophy.
Displaying 1 of 1 review