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Between Kant & Hegel: Texts in the Development of Post-Kantian Idealism
A revision of the SUNY Press edition of 1985.
This volume fills a lamentable gap in the philosophical literature by providing a collection of writings from the pivotal generation of thinkers between Kant and Hegel. It includes some of Hegel’s earliest critical writings—which reveal much about his thinking before the first mature exposition of his position in 1807—as well as Schelling’s justification of the new philosophy of nature against skeptical and religious attack. This edition contains George di Giovanni’s extensive corrections, new preface, and thoroughly updated bibliography.
CONTENTS: Preface.
Part I: The Critical Philosophy and Its First Reception. Introduction: The Facts of Consciousness (Di Giovanni). K. L. REINHOLD, The Foundation of Philosophical Knowledge. G. E. SCHULZE, from Aenesidemus. J. G. FICHTE, Review of Aenesidemus. S. MAIMON, from Letters of Philaletes to Aenesidemus. J. S. BECK, from The Standpoint from which Critical Philosophy is to be Judged.
Part II: The Critical Philosophy and the Critical Journal of Schelling and Hegel. Introduction: Skepticism, Dogmatism and Speculation in the Critical Journal. (Harris). HEGEL & SCHELLING, The Critical Journal, Introduction: On the Essence of Philosophical Criticism Generally, and its Relationship to the Present State of Philosophy. G. W. F. HEGEL, How the Ordinary Human Understanding Takes Philosophy (as Displayed in the Works of Mr. Krug). G. W. F. HEGEL, Relationship of Skepticism to Philosophy, Exposition of its Different Modifications and Comparison to the Latest Form with the Ancient One. F. W. J. SCHELLING, On the Relationship of the Philosophy of Nature to Philosophy in General. Bibliography. Index.
George di Giovanni is Professor of Philosophy, McGill University.
H. S. Harris is Professor of Philosophy Emeritus, Glendon College, York University.
This volume fills a lamentable gap in the philosophical literature by providing a collection of writings from the pivotal generation of thinkers between Kant and Hegel. It includes some of Hegel’s earliest critical writings—which reveal much about his thinking before the first mature exposition of his position in 1807—as well as Schelling’s justification of the new philosophy of nature against skeptical and religious attack. This edition contains George di Giovanni’s extensive corrections, new preface, and thoroughly updated bibliography.
CONTENTS: Preface.
Part I: The Critical Philosophy and Its First Reception. Introduction: The Facts of Consciousness (Di Giovanni). K. L. REINHOLD, The Foundation of Philosophical Knowledge. G. E. SCHULZE, from Aenesidemus. J. G. FICHTE, Review of Aenesidemus. S. MAIMON, from Letters of Philaletes to Aenesidemus. J. S. BECK, from The Standpoint from which Critical Philosophy is to be Judged.
Part II: The Critical Philosophy and the Critical Journal of Schelling and Hegel. Introduction: Skepticism, Dogmatism and Speculation in the Critical Journal. (Harris). HEGEL & SCHELLING, The Critical Journal, Introduction: On the Essence of Philosophical Criticism Generally, and its Relationship to the Present State of Philosophy. G. W. F. HEGEL, How the Ordinary Human Understanding Takes Philosophy (as Displayed in the Works of Mr. Krug). G. W. F. HEGEL, Relationship of Skepticism to Philosophy, Exposition of its Different Modifications and Comparison to the Latest Form with the Ancient One. F. W. J. SCHELLING, On the Relationship of the Philosophy of Nature to Philosophy in General. Bibliography. Index.
George di Giovanni is Professor of Philosophy, McGill University.
H. S. Harris is Professor of Philosophy Emeritus, Glendon College, York University.
- GenresPhilosophy
404 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1985
115 people want to read
About the author
George di Giovanni
18 books7 followersGeorge di Giovanni is a Professor of Philosophy in the Philosophy Department at McGill University, specializing in German Idealism, Nineteenth Century Philosophy, Phenomenology (Husserl and Merleau-Ponty) and Philosophy of Religion.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 21, 2013
I can't praise the editing and annotation of this collection enough. But then, I've yet to be disappointed with Di Giovanni. If you claim any interest at all in Kant and/or Hegel, familiarize yourself with the thinkers presented in this book. It's hard to make sense of Hegel's context or Kant's legacy without understanding the philosophical frenzy that was the aftermath of the first Critique. Di Giovanni has arranged excerpts from Reinhold, Schulze, et al into a seamless conversation that proves to be so, so much more than merely paving the way for Hegel. If I were you I'd crash my car getting home to read this book as soon as possible.
December 20, 2021
An indispensable source book of documents in the transition from post-Kantian skepticism to Absolute Idealism, translated and edited by two of the leading experts in the field.
The majority of the book might be viewed as a prolegomena to the final selection, a relatively short but concise and crucial text in the Critical Journal of Schelling and Hegel (1802), which not only “provides Schelling’s justification of the new philosophy of nature…against sceptical and religious attack” but also provides insights into the genesis of Hegel’s Phenomenology.
Note, however, that this collection, while set up with a modicum of introductory material, is a source book and not an ostensive introduction to these topics. The material, while largely unfiltered from the original sources, is largely critical (i.e. of the predominating post-Kantian skepticism of the time as practiced by otherwise lesser and perhaps otherwise forgettable figures: Reinhold, Schulz, Maimon, and Beck—though Fichte is also included and invoked), and what philosophy is contained therein is presented in that context.
To say that the collection is “indispensable” therefore, requires a sufficient familiarity or engagement with these topics to gratify the insights they provide. Without this, we have an expertly curated stand of trees that have been signposted for a purpose that might appear obscure without an explicitly discursive introduction to the period.
The majority of the book might be viewed as a prolegomena to the final selection, a relatively short but concise and crucial text in the Critical Journal of Schelling and Hegel (1802), which not only “provides Schelling’s justification of the new philosophy of nature…against sceptical and religious attack” but also provides insights into the genesis of Hegel’s Phenomenology.
Note, however, that this collection, while set up with a modicum of introductory material, is a source book and not an ostensive introduction to these topics. The material, while largely unfiltered from the original sources, is largely critical (i.e. of the predominating post-Kantian skepticism of the time as practiced by otherwise lesser and perhaps otherwise forgettable figures: Reinhold, Schulz, Maimon, and Beck—though Fichte is also included and invoked), and what philosophy is contained therein is presented in that context.
To say that the collection is “indispensable” therefore, requires a sufficient familiarity or engagement with these topics to gratify the insights they provide. Without this, we have an expertly curated stand of trees that have been signposted for a purpose that might appear obscure without an explicitly discursive introduction to the period.
February 2, 2019
As the title suggests, this text offers an excellent array of philosophy that exemplifies the development of post-Kantian idealism in Germany.
The book is divided into two parts, the first of which follows the reception of Kant's work (the first Critique in particular), and provides a diverse exemplification of how Kant's works were (mis)understood and (mis)interpreted, and how these factors were essential to the shaping of the idealist tradition that gave birth to Hegel and Schelling. The review by Fichte is the high point of this section, gesturing towards his Wissenschaftlehre. The rest of the texts were marginally interesting, though for the most part are unimportant outside of their historical influence upon the more widely remembered figures of this tradition.
The second section of this work is devoted to some writings from Schelling and Hegel's Critical Journal, and is thus oriented farther away from Kant, towards the thinking of these later figures who are highly indebted to his speculative revolution. These texts offer insight into the progression and metamorphic co-influence that the thoughts of Hegel and of Schelling were having upon one another, and how this intellectual friendship charted the course for their later works (especially setting the inital stages for Hegel's Phenomenology). I found Hegel's piece on Skepticism and Schelling's on the Philosophy of Nature to be of the most interest and value. Each evinces much influence of the other's thought upon its author, to the point where authority is ungrounded and rendered nearly inoperative. Hegel and Schelling are disidentified, not in oblivion, but through a sublation which inscribes a negative progression towards an Absolute in language. Of course, this Absolute remains faulted, broken, and at times mistaken. It has not reached its end, which is infinite - it remains seperated from itself, severed from its absoluteness, and thus at once determined and divested of its status as Absolute.
If you are interested in any of the proper names that have been written above in any partially serious manner then this book is an interesting and worthwhile read, helping to fill an often obscured gap in the historical progression of the German Geist under the far too often misunderstood guise of Idealism. If nothing else, this volume helps to clear up the inanity of this common misunderstanding concerning Idealism and its relation to reality.
The book is divided into two parts, the first of which follows the reception of Kant's work (the first Critique in particular), and provides a diverse exemplification of how Kant's works were (mis)understood and (mis)interpreted, and how these factors were essential to the shaping of the idealist tradition that gave birth to Hegel and Schelling. The review by Fichte is the high point of this section, gesturing towards his Wissenschaftlehre. The rest of the texts were marginally interesting, though for the most part are unimportant outside of their historical influence upon the more widely remembered figures of this tradition.
The second section of this work is devoted to some writings from Schelling and Hegel's Critical Journal, and is thus oriented farther away from Kant, towards the thinking of these later figures who are highly indebted to his speculative revolution. These texts offer insight into the progression and metamorphic co-influence that the thoughts of Hegel and of Schelling were having upon one another, and how this intellectual friendship charted the course for their later works (especially setting the inital stages for Hegel's Phenomenology). I found Hegel's piece on Skepticism and Schelling's on the Philosophy of Nature to be of the most interest and value. Each evinces much influence of the other's thought upon its author, to the point where authority is ungrounded and rendered nearly inoperative. Hegel and Schelling are disidentified, not in oblivion, but through a sublation which inscribes a negative progression towards an Absolute in language. Of course, this Absolute remains faulted, broken, and at times mistaken. It has not reached its end, which is infinite - it remains seperated from itself, severed from its absoluteness, and thus at once determined and divested of its status as Absolute.
If you are interested in any of the proper names that have been written above in any partially serious manner then this book is an interesting and worthwhile read, helping to fill an often obscured gap in the historical progression of the German Geist under the far too often misunderstood guise of Idealism. If nothing else, this volume helps to clear up the inanity of this common misunderstanding concerning Idealism and its relation to reality.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews