Johann Gottlieb Fichte's Wissenscbaftslebre arises out of a particularly stormy period in the philosopher's personal, academic, and intellectual life. The work he produced is many things at an epistemology or theory of knowledge, a philosophical anthropology, an ethics or metaethics, the foundation for a political theory (Rousseau), the basis for an aesthetic program (Romanticism), perhaps even a philosophy of nature. Seidel presents the English and German text of part 1 of the Wissenscbaftsiebre, followed by a commentary on the text. The work concludes with a summary of parts 2 and 3 of the Wissenscbafislebre. An annotated bibliography surveys the important literature on the philosopher.
I could only make it through half of this book. The introduction is nice but the commentary is so redundant. For example there is a paragraph explaining the difference between "necessary" and "contingent" - who would pick up a book about the Wissenschaftslehre who doesn't know what those words mean? Or a long explanation of how "X" refers to something unknown and is from algrabra, are you kidding? Maybe there is something good in this book but I don't have time to read this.