Schelling's Mystical Platonism: 1792-1802

by Naomi Fisher

Schelling came of age during the pivotal and exciting years at the end of the eighteenth century, as Kant's philosophy was being incorporated into the German academic world. At this time, in addition to delving into the new Kantian philosophy, Schelling engaged in an intense study of Plato's dialogues and was immersed in a Neoplatonic intellectual culture. Attention to these aspects of Schelling's early philosophical development illuminates his fundamental commitments. Throughout the first decade of his adult life, from 1792-1802, Schelling was a mystical Platonist. Naomi Fisher argues that Schelling is committed to two overarching theses, which together comprise his mystical Platonism. First, Schelling considers the absolute to be It cannot be described in conceptual terms. For this reason, it remains inferentially external to any given philosophical system and is only intimated to us in certain analogical formulations, in works of art, or in nature as a whole. Second, Schelling is committed to a kind of priority All things are grounded in the absolute, but finite things possess an integral unity all their own, and so have a distinct and relatively independent existence.Highlighting these commitments resolves an interpretive dispute, according to which Schelling is a Fichtean idealist or a Spinozist, or he vacillates between these positions. Interpreting Schelling as advancing a mystical Platonism provides an alternative way of interpreting these early texts, such that they are by and large consistent. Fisher presents Schelling's early philosophy as a unique and compelling fusion of the old and Schelling fulfills the characteristic aims of post-Kantian philosophy in a way distinctive among his contemporaries, by drawing on and appropriating various strands of Platonism.

Genres: Philosophy, Romanticism

248 pages, Hardcover

Published May 7, 2024

Reviews

[Imanol Faya]

Me generó una sorpresa inesperada en un autor y en una tradición filosófica de los cuales no tenía ningún tipo de interés ni de estima más que la que se le puede otorgar a autores/tradiciones de gran importancia para la historia de la filosofía. Eso es muy bueno;
Además, fue de gran utilidad para despejar muchos prejuicios infundados que tenía sobre la filosofía de Schelling, que resulta ser filosóficamente más robusta de lo que anteriormente creía (y no un simple mediador entre Fichte y Hegel).

[Michael Godwin]

Schelling's Mystical Platonism: 1792–1802 offers a compelling and original reinterpretation of Schelling's early philosophy, revealing the profound influence of Platonic and Neoplatonic thought on his intellectual development. Naomi Fisher combines meticulous historical scholarship with rigorous philosophical analysis, providing fresh insights into German Idealism and the evolution of post-Kantian philosophy. Highly recommended for readers interested in Schelling, German Idealism, Platonism, metaphysics, Romanticism, and the history of philosophy.

[Lamp]

好经典的吊胃口书，吊到最后也不知道到底有什么洞见，越看越火大。