Jena 1800: The Republic of Free Spirits

by Peter Neumann, Shelley Frisch (Translation)

Around the turn of the nineteenth century, a steady stream of young German poets and thinkers coursed to the town of Jena to make history. The French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars had dealt a one-two punch to the dynastic system. Confidence in traditional social, political, and religious norms had been replaced by a profound uncertainty that was as terrifying for some as it was exhilarating for others. Nowhere was the excitement more palpable than among the extraordinary group of poets, philosophers, translators, and socialites who gathered in this Thuringian village of just four thousand residents.

Jena became the place for the young and intellectually curious, the site of a new departure, of philosophical disruption. Influenced by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, then an elder statesman and artistic eminence, the leading figures among the disruptors―the translator August Wilhelm Schlegel; the philosophers Friedrich "Fritz" Schlegel and Friedrich Schelling; the dazzling, controversial intellectual Caroline Schlegel, married to August; Dorothea Schlegel, a poet and translator, married to Fritz; and the poets Ludwig Tieck and Novalis―resolved to rethink the world, to establish a republic of free spirits. They didn’t just question inherited societal traditions; with their provocative views of the individual and of nature, they revolutionized our understanding of freedom and reality.

With wit and elegance, Peter Neumann brings this remarkable circle of friends and rivals to life in Jena 1800, a work of intellectual history that is colorful and passionate, informative and intimate―as fresh and full of surprises as its subjects.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Philosophy, Romanticism, Germany, German Literature, Cultural

256 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2018

About the author

Peter Neumann, born in Neubrandenburg in 1987, studied philosophy, political science and economics in Jena and Copenhagen. He holds a PhD in philosophy and teaches at the University of Oldenburg, specializing in German Idealism. He is the author of two collections of poetry, which have been awarded several prizes and scholarships.

Reviews

[Manybooks · Rating 2 out of 5]

REVIEW OF THE ENGLISH TRANSLATION

Although I have only read Shelley Frisch's English translation of Peter Neumann's 2018 Jena 1800: Die Republik der freien Geister (simply because I have had trouble locating an inexpensive copy of the latter), I do not think that my issues and my criticisms regarding Jena 1800: The Republic of Free Spirits have much if anything to do with how Frisch has translated Neumann's text from German to English, since ALL of my reading discomfort seems to be content and theme based and not focused on writing style (and I seriously doubt that Shelley Frisch would be deliberately changing Peter Neumann's featured contents, but of course, I am going to have to verify this if or rather when I manage to obtain a copy of Jena 1800: Die Republik der freien Geister in order to compare and contrast). Therefore, even though Shelley Frisch is of course the translator, my review of and also my issues with Jena 1800: The Republic of Free Spirits will be firmly and also totally directed towards Peter Neumann, as yes, what is presented in Jena 1800: The Republic of Free Spirits (and by extension of course also in Jena 1800: Die Republik der freien Geister) and even more so what Peter Neumann has left out and has not bothered with, this does leave very much to be desired (and in particular for me as someone with a PhD in German).

Because indeed, while as a general introduction to German Romanticism and a textual exploration of how in the early 19th century (until Napoleon's army marched in) the small Thuringia (Thüringen) university town of Jena became a meeting place and mecca for literature, art and philosophy Jena 1800: The Republic of Free Spirits works well enough (albeit all the details about sex, squabbles, egocentricity etc. do get more than a bit tedious, not to mention that there is really not all that much in-depth regarding German Romanticism being presented) and that Peter Neumann quite accurately labels Jena as being pretty much the intellectual and cultural centre of what is now Germany for a number of years, hosting individuals like Friedrich Schiller, Friedrich Schelling, Friedrich Freiherr von Hardenberg (Novalis), Johann Gottlieb Fichte, Friedrich and August Wilhelm Schlegel and with Johan Wolfgang von Goethe and Georg Friedrich Wilhelm Hegel also playing important subsidiary roles, sorry, but the very broad (and often rather annoyingly name dropping) portrait Neumann textually features in Jena 1800: The Republic of Free Spirits is for me personally and academically speaking much too uncritical, much too all encompassingly laudatory of the individuals being featured and of Romanticism as a genre and movement to simply accept and textually tolerate.

For considering that German Romanticism with its anti Reformation, anti Enlightenment attitude and its backward gaze of nostalgia and longing towards a supposedly intellectually and philosophically superior Middle Ages (and indeed even much further back) was a main component of Nazism and that there also was amongst many of the early philosophers of Romanticism a strong and troubling component of anti Semitism present (I mean, I personally do find reading either Schelling or Fichte pretty well horrid and hugely uncomfortable due to the latter), honestly, that NONE of this is ever even mentioned and critically approached, assessed by Peter Neumann (and by extension also of course his translator Shelley Frisch) in Jena 1800: The Republic of Free Spirits, for me, this is and especially for a book published in 2018 a pretty majorly problematic oversight and one that definitely makes me consider only a two star rating (although I have to admit that if I did not know so much about German Romanticism, how it was used by the Nazis and that many Romanticism philosophers had rather anti Semitic attitudes and worldviews I would probably be rating Jena 1800: The Republic of Free Spirits with three and not with two stars).

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

An introductory work, Jena 1800 acts as a repository for the historical names and concepts that influenced Germany's intellectual atmosphere at the turn of the 18th century. Peter Neumann traces the lives of the Schlegel circle of philosophers and their acquaintances in a cursory, dry style, infrequently peppering his writing with the compulsively readable anecdotes which serve to enliven a book of this character (such as Schiller smelling rotten apples when he was troubled). Weightier topics are treated with brevity, leaving the informed reader with a sense of inaccuracy in spite of the content's factuality. Moving from future to past and back again, the timeline becomes confused in a book which revolves around linking characters to a common year and place. More fleshy outline than polished book Jena 1800’s appeal remains nominal, neither deliciously gossipy nor winningly investigative.

[Nils · Rating 3 out of 5]

Durchaus unterhalt- und lehrsam, aber irgendwie weder Fisch noch Fleisch: für ein philosophisches Buch inhaltlich zu oberflächlich, für einen Roman zu wenig konkrete Handlung und für ein historisches Buch zu unsystematisch und sprunghaft. Funktioniert am ehesten noch als "Atmosphäre" mit sehr viel Namedropping.

[Luc De Coster · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bij de literatuur van Goethe en de filosofie van Kant kunnen we ons wat voorstellen. Schiller gaat nog net. Maar de Schlegels en Schelling schlagen we al eens door mekaar. Novalis, Fichte, Tieck hebben we wel al eens gehoord, maar hun klepel zou ik toch niet kunnen aanwijzen.

Dus een boekje over het intellectuele leven in de Duitse contreien (Duitsland bestond nog niet als natie-staat) rond 1800 leek me wel iets. Het was de periode dat de Duitsers een beetje met open mond naar de Franse Revolutie en Napoleon keken en probeerden te begrijpen en formuleren wat dat allemaal ook voor hen kon betekenen.

Dit boekje zegt daar wel iets over, maar lijkt niet goed te weten wat het wil zijn: een meer biografisch verslag van hoe deze helden van Verlichting en Romantiek met elkaar omgingen, een inleiding tot hun werk en ideeën of een geschiedenis van een periode. Goed om weten wie wanneer elkaar in Jena ontmoette en wanneer deze of gene van of naar Weimar of Berlijn verhuisde, maar na het lezen van dit boek was ik vrij snel vergeten wat nu precies de ene Schlegel van de andere onderscheidde. Zo ging Schelling aan de haal met de vrouw van één van de Schlegels, maar welke weet ik niet meer. Dat kan aan mij liggen natuurlijk, maar in een werk zoals dit zouden de protagonisten toch een beetje markant moeten geportretteerd worden.

Het boek heeft mij wel nieuwsgierig gemaakt naar meer, maar lijkt zelf te haastig geschreven (misschien is het niet zo goed vertaald ook) om wat heldere ideeën achter te laten en te beklijven.

[Beauregard Bottomley · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had very little overall feelings or sympathy for the characters since they were presented mostly as a series of facts loosely tied together as part of the German idealist of Jena.

It’s ironic in as far as they strived to return to us our feelings about our feelings through a transcendental ego or the intuition of the self beyond Kant’s Truth being within us such that an ecstatic awe presents itself to us directly.

The book only got interesting when Hegel made a brief appearance near the end. I think the author made a mistake by not including some of the rabid antisemitism of some of the characters in this book or its time period especially since one of the more interesting characters of the aesthetics of Jena was a daughter of Moses Mendelssohn (I recommend all five volumes of the ‘History of the Jews’ by Henrich Graetz and especially the fifth and last volume for more amplification concerning the rabid antisemitism).

Overall, I would recommend instead either of the following books: ‘German Idealism’ by Beiser, or ‘Fichte, German Idealism, and Early Romanticism’ by Rockmore, or ‘Science of Knowledge’ by Fichte, or ‘System of Transcendental Idealism’ by Schelling, or ‘Kantian Reason’ by Dorrien. After all, who amongst us doesn’t love the German Idealist?

[Donald · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you've ever wanted to read a disjointed, gossipy book about German Idealism and care more about the romantic life of Caroline Schelling than the philosophy of Friedrich Schelling, this is the book for you.

[Tissie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cover: Meh. It’s a lovely painting, but it’s flat. It doesn’t stand out nor attract attention.

So, the famous backlog I was about to clean? I didn’t. I had to put everything on hold for a long while, alas. Now, this is attempt #2 at it.

Jena 1800 is a good(ish) book. It starts with a bang—the French soldiers are on the prowl and the Prussian outposts are as good as gone—which sets the mood right away. War! Political instability! Uncertainty! The setting couldn’t be more promising. Being dropped into the thick of it right from the start is something I appreciate.

However, the enthusiasm dies down pretty soon. First of all, the story reads like a gossip mag at times; I didn’t pick up a book about philosophy and German idealism just to delve into people’s love life, you know? Read your, er, target audience a bit better 🙂

Then, I guess the gossipy stylistic choice, together with a non-chronological timeline, makes it harder to connect with the characters, too. It saddens me, because from a strictly historical point of view, the topic is interesting. It has potential; it just should have been told in a different way.

Strong points of Jena 1800? The prose, as I couldn’t find any typos or mistakes, and the images embedded in the book. Being able to see a painting referenced in the book is always great.

3 stars on GR.

[Josep Maria · Rating 1 out of 5]

Promete mucho este libro y no ofrece prácticamente nada. Un intento, en mi opinión fallido, de explicar de forma novelada las actividades en Jena de los grandes intelectuales alemanes del cambio del siglo XVIII al XIX. Superficial, sin nada que ver con, por ejemplo, el Romantik o el Hölderlin de Rüdiger Safranski.

[Lori Sinsel Harris · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was captured by the description of this book, a book about poets and thinkers coming together at a time when wars have just ended and free thinking was not encouraged. Especially coming together in a town in Germany at the turn of the 19th century, when we know what in a few short years will transpire there, quelling all free thinkers and exterminating poets, philosophers and the like. But this was a time of enlightenment, when poets like Dorothea Schlegel, and Goethe converged on the small town of Jena. Joining them would be philosophers Schlegel and Schelling along with their wives and many other thinkers, poets and philosophers.
This was a very interesting account of the town and the artists who came together at this special time. Highly detailed, giving good description of the atmosphere that prevaded the era. But this book was difficult to get through. Maybe because of being translated, but it was dry and clinical at times. I was expecting something a little bit more lyrical because of the subject matter I suppose.
Still not a bad read to get an understanding of these men and women and the times in which they lived. Thank you to Net Galley and Farrar, Strauss and Giroux for the free ARC, I am leaving my honest review in return.

[Danny Jacobs · Rating 3 out of 5]

De voorbije week - net terug van anderhalve week Thüringen - las ik “De republiek der vrije geesten. Jena, het Oost-Duitse stadje waar de briljantste intellectuelen samenkwamen in 1800” van Peter Neumann.

Jena 1800. De idealen van de Franse Revolutie sijpelden in heel Europa door. Een generatie jonge dichters en filosofen dacht na over een nieuwe politieke indeling van Europa die niet langer gebaseerd moest zijn op erfelijke opvolging. Zo ook in universiteitsstad Jena, in het oosten van Duitsland. Een stadje met nauwelijks 5000 inwoners. Belangrijke intellectuelen streken hier neer om met gelijkgestemden te filosoferen over de toekomst.

Aan de hand van talrijke anekdotes, bronnen en kleurrijke voorbeelden neemt Neumann ons mee naar een bijzondere periode uit de geschiedenis. Hij schetst een beeld van een markante gemeenschap van invloedrijke denkers en kunstenaars die aan de wieg stonden van belangrijke hervormingen in de aanloop naar de moderniteit. Soms wat te anekdotisch, soms een beetje te weinig samenhangend, maar al bij al een boeiende kijk achter de schermen in een belangrijk tijdsgewricht.

[Hamletov Horacije · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautifully written account of the lives and ideas of several great minds of the German Enlightenment period. Around the turn of the new millennium, a one-of-a-kind philosophical and cultural revolution was taking place in a little town of Jena, and the author diligently depicts how ideas circulated and spread throughout the country and Europe. Interestingly, throughout the book, a home-like atmosphere prevails, showing brilliantly how a group of intellectuals continually gathered together and discussed the ideas that will have shape the world we are living in right now.

[Oscar · Rating 3 out of 5]

A loose and somewhat disjointed narrative comprised of gossip from the Jena circle. Certainly not a work of proper history, still less a work of philosophy, though there are some decent, if flowery, summaries of the ideas of Schlegel et al. Unfortunately the claims, whether philosophical or biographical, are rarely referenced. Still a fairly enjoyable ramble.

[Michael H. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sehr lebendig und anschaulich.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Apparently this is a book about the dawn of the German Romantic movement. Or so I'm told. I actually had to go read some other reviews and commentary to ascertain the theme, though, because the author skips from character to character and scene to scene without bothering to give readers any context. Perhaps someone already well acquainted with the history and personalities sketched here would find it entertaining, but I had no idea where I was and quickly got lost trying to differentiate between Schiller and Schelling and the various Schlegels... Not even hints of scandalous romantic pairings or the threat of Napoleon's approaching army could liven up this book for me.

[Bbaron 21 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sad to say but this book is a disjointed mess that jumps from one episode in the timeline to another for no apparent reason, leaving the reader drowning in a sea of Schlegels, Schellings and Schillers. There have been some very good books on philosophy recently — eg At the Existentialist Cafe, Time of the Magicians — that actually (gasp!) followed a linear structure. Neumann seems to be aiming for an impressionistic, whimsical approach but ends up just being annoying.

[jt · Rating 2 out of 5]

Deeply flawed, despite the imaginative idea behind it. Difficult to determine if we’re doing history, biography, fiction, fan-fiction, or non-fiction. Definitely not philosophy.

Mainly, it’s unfocused, jumping back and forth, and scattered in its characters and contents. The short chapters themselves are divided into tiny motifs, which do not allow the kind of character development these personages deserve.

Would be better as a deeper dive on the story of one, with other personalities coming and going when they will.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fascinating history of philosophy at the University of Jena and the personalities involved. The background influencing many of them the upheaval in France following the French revolution and it's effect on the decaying Holy Roman Empire.

[Herb · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF. Disjointed, random, not worth the effort. Terribly inferior to Wulf's "Magnificent Rebels" on the same subject. Gag.

[Christine Rachelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wish I’d read this in college while getting my philosophy degree: so many names were recognizable, yet I’d never connected them all to the same time period and location during the French Revolution swirling around each other in the Melrose Place of Germany. I appreciated the novelistic style, the personality in the writing and in the subjects, of which there are so many. I marked several passages and look forward to revisiting Kant and Hegel, and reading for the first time Fichte and Schelling, and maybe even the Schlegels’ Lucinde. The book loses a star for its incessant time-jumping. I kept telling myself that there was a reason for it that would eventually come to light, or that I would discern; however, by the time I got to the timeline at the end of the book, I was rather irritated and astonished to see it all laid out linearly. It forced me to replay many vignettes in my head in a new light, in a new order. It’s surprising given that the timeline is important, as the author points out that French author Germaine de Staël believed. I may listen to the audiobook now that I really understand who each person was and see if makes more sense a second time around (and to hear the pronunciation of all these German words). As a primer, it’s an easier read than the writings of the philosophers in it, and the author successfully illuminated what I had guessed, incorrectly, was a dreary time and place.

[Mmetevelis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Neumann's work reads like a brisk walk in the countryside. He tells the story of a small group of intellectuals - philosophers, playwrights, and poets who lived in Jena at the turn of the 19th century right before the invasion of Napolean's armies. Goethe, Schleiermacher, and Schiller make lengthy appearances. The story moves very quickly and Neumann does not get bogged down in the mechanics of the German enlightenment as much as illustrate its aspirations and aims. Kant looms in the background and Hegel gradually comes to the foreground.

This is a great book for anyone wanting a little more of a taste of the intellectual climate around the German enlightenment and the extraordinary cross pollination among the different personalities and disciplines. I enjoyed it and recommend it for those interested in this fecund period of intellectual history and philosophy in general.

[Silvio Weitzl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Leutragasse 5

Dank Peter Neumanns bildhaftem Erzählstil findet man sich in Jena um 1800 sogleich zurecht, sieht dem Treiben der Stadt zu und lebt mit den beschriebenen Personen der damaligen Zeit lebhaft mit. Man ist zu Gast in der Literaten-WG, denkt über F.W.J. Schellings Naturphilosophie nach, bewundert F. Schlegels Mut für seinen Roman „Lucinde“ und lästert über Kants Schattenfiguren J.G. Fichte und G.W.F. Hegel. Man wird Zeuge der Freundschaft Goethes zu Schiller, folgt Ludwig Tieck nach Dresden und trauert am Sterbebett um Novalis. Schlussendlich jedoch erlahmt der große deutsche Geist dieser Zeit unter den Launen und dem Größenwahn eines kleinen Franzosen.

[Jenna Gareis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Five things about Jena 1800 by Peter Neumann 📚📚📚

1. Wow…this little book is jam packed with a ton of information that comes at you at a staggering pace.
2. Part history, part biography, part philosophical treatise…I’m not sure what this book actually wants to be.
3. It uses approachable language surrounding very nebulous ideas through very concrete human and physical place.
4. Yet, there’s no discussion…it’s more about reporting than evaluating or exploring. That felt less than satisfactory.
5. Quick read. I walk away with some more knowledge and quite a few questions.

[Amy Field · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5/5 — having lived in Jena, I can say this is a lovely book that puts us in the moments where Fichte, Schlegel, Schiller, Goethe, and Hegel were in the city, writing and teaching. It is amazing to read that Hegel had sent Phenomenology of Spirit to the publisher shortly before Napoleon took Jena and left with some of his writing tucked under his arm. Very accessible snippets of their philosophy woven in, could have done with a good bit more.

[Thomas Lambe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Many, many thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this excellent work.

This was such an excellent surprise. The author/translator guides us through an incredibly interesting time for the university town of Jena at the start of the 19th century.. I learned much from this. I would highly recommend this to anyone interested in intellectual history.

[Nefarious Chess · Rating 2 out of 5]

Notizen:
November 1799: Jena geistig-kultureller Mittelpunkt Deutschlands
—> weniger als 5000 Einwohner
—>20% Studenten
-Schelling Naturphilosoph hielt dort die erste Vorlesung
-Rhetorisch nicht überzeugend
-Viele Schüler mochten ihn
((Dogmatismus —> unkritisches Festhalten Anschauung))

-Kritik an Kant
—> Neue Bewegung
->Novalis, August Schlegel, Friedrich Schelling, Georg Hegel

[Enrique · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un libro muy ameno que pone en contexto el nacimiento del idealismo alemán y sus principales figuras en torno al cambio de siglo (1800).

Los saltos narrativos, tanto en tiempo y en espacio, a veces generan cierta confusión. Pero la lectura se sigue bien una vez el autor retorna al punto de partida.

Para aquel ajeno a la filosofía, lo más interesante es el salseo que se traen entre ellos.

[Jo Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I was excited by this approach, I found the book difficult to follow. He often does from one individual to another. There are interesting parts, however one would need a thorough grounding in these individuals to be able to totally understand this work.

[Andreas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Liest sich flüssig, aber der rote Faden fehlt. Ebenso wird nicht klar was Fakt und Fiktion ist.

[Lizzy Siddal (Lizzy’s Literary Life) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very informative. A potential 4* but the constant jumping back and forth during the timeline annoyed me. Hence 3*.

[GnosticShockmaster · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, yet, at times, chronologically confusing