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The Development from Kant to Hegel; With Chapters on the Philosophy of Religion
This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1882 edition. Excerpt: ... Part n. the philosophy of religion. introductory. Philosophy, as metaphysic, is occupied in determining with increasing accuracy the definitions and the mutual relations of the three great objects of thought--God, the World, and Man. Religion, in its current acceptation, implies a certain theory of the nature of at least two of these--God and man--and their relation to one another. Philosophy and religion are, therefore, and have always been, most intimately connected. From another point of view, again, religion, considered as a subjective manifestation, is so universal a mark of human culture, when it advances above tho lowest stages, that it cannot be left unnoticed by any philosophy which pretends to give an exhaustive account of man and his relation to the system of which he forms a part. Every epoch of culture has derived its specific form and colour from its relation to certain religious ideas; difference of civilization means, in the main, difference of religious training. In these circumstances, it is perhaps not too much to say that the capacity of a philosophy to find room for religion in its scheme of things, becomes no unfair gauge of the adequacy or inadequacy of the system in question. In Christian times, the relations of philosophy and religion have been mainly determined by the attitude of reason towards the churchly doctrine of revelation. Three relations of the human reason to the things of God are possible. (1) It may be said that the content of theology is matter communicated by God in an extraordinary fashion--truths otherwise unattainable, and on which it is beyond the competency of reason to sit in judgment. We have thus two spheres arbitrarily separated. As regards their mutual relation, theology is at first...
50 pages, Paperback
Published September 12, 2013
12 people want to read
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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