JohannGottliebFichteGreatPhilosophers

2019

AlisonFernandes

JohannGottliebFichte

•  (1762-1814)

•  WhyFichteNow?

1.  WhyFichte?

2.  FichteatJena

3.  LeavingJena

4.  Fichte’sLegacy

1.WhyFichte???

•  “Fromthelittle(verylittle!)Iknowabout

FichteIwouldhaveguessediftherewasone

guyyouwouldnottalkaboutitwouldbe

Fichte,andiftherewasonepersonwho

wouldnevertalkaboutFichteitwouldbe

you!”(TomFarrell)

GermanIdealism

1945

RussellonFichte

•  ‘ModernphilosophybeginswithDescartes,whose

fundamentalcertaintyistheexistenceofhimselfandhis

thoughts,fromwhichtheexternalworldistobeinferred.

Thiswasonlythefirststageinadevelopment,through

BerkeleyandKant,toFichte,forwhomeverythingisonly

anemanationoftheego.Thiswasinsanity,and,fromthis

extreme,philosophyhasbeenattempting,eversince,to

escapeintotheworldofeverydaycommonsense’

GermanNationalism

•  AddressestotheGermanNation(1808)

Continentalvs.Analytic

WhyFichte?

•  Perhapshistoricallythefirstcontinentalphilosophertofalloutoftheanalyticcanon.

•  Activeandpracticalphilosophy

•  Ambitiousphilosophy

•  Systematicandbroad

•  Reconciliationist

Background

•  Born1762inRammenau,asmallruralvillage

inlowerSaxony.Theareawasstillfeudal.

•  Hisfatherwasthefirstinhisfamilytobe

liberatedfromserfdom,andworkedasalinen

weaver,earningbarelyenoughtosupporthis

familyofwifeand8children.

Background

•  The8-year-oldgooseherdFichtesoimpressesthelocal

Baron,thattheBaron(andhislaterdescendants)financed

hisstudiesatschoolanduniversity.

•  FichtestudieslawandtheologyatJena,Wittenbergand

Leipzig1780-4(althoughwithoutcompletingadegree)

•  Worksasaprivatetutor1784-1793inSaxony,Prussiaand

Switzerland—oftenholdingpostsonlyashortperiod.

Background

•  1790,FichtebeginstostudyKant’sCritiqueofPureReason(1781)andCritiqueofPracticalReason(1788).

Incrediblyimpressed—it’sawayoutofSpinozist

determinism.TravelstoKönigsbergtomeetKant.

•  WritesAttemptataCritiqueofallRevelation(forhis

secondmeetingwithKant).WithKant’sassistance,

theworkispublished(1792)withKant’spublisher.

Background

•  AttemptataCritiqueofallRevelationisanextensionof

Kant’sideasaboutGodandMoralitytorevelation—

religionasrevealedthroughthesenses.

•  Concludesthatnolegitimaterevelationcancontradict

thelawsofnatureormorality.

•  Theworkisinitiallypublishedanonymously.

•  Fichteiscatapultedtofame.

2.FichteatJena

•  1794,FichtetakesupprestigiouspositionattheUniversityofJena.(SucceedingReinhold.)

•  Hehasonlybeenoneyearatworkonhisnew

philosophicalsystemwhichwillnowneedto

betaught…

TheWissenschaftslehre

•  ‘Wissenschaftslehre’—TheoryofScientificKnowledge

•  Anattempttoprovideaunifiedfoundationtoall

branchesofinquiry(science,ethics,politics,religion,

aesthetics)

•  Aninquiryintothedeeprationalstructureofthought

•  ContinuallyrevisedthroughoutFichte’slifetime

TheWissenschaftslehre

•  ConcerningtheConceptoftheWissenschaftslehre

(1794)

•  FoundationoftheEntireWissenschaftslehre(1794-5)

•  AttemptataNewPresentationofthe

Wissenschaftslehre(1797-98)

•  (Wissenschaftslehrenovamethodo1796/99)

TheWissenschaftslehre

•  Fichtepresentedhisworkasmerely

elaboratingKantiandoctrines.

•  ButtheWissenschaftslehremakesradical

departures.

TheWissenschaftslehreKant:•  Ourperceptionsand

cognitionsoftheworldarealwaysconditionedbytheformsofintuitionandthecategoriesofunderstanding.

•  Wecanneverknowthingsastheyareinthemselves

•  Butwecanstilldistinguishbetweenthephenomenalandthenoumenal.

Fichte:•  Agreed,ourperceptionsare

soconditioned.•  Butnotonlycanwenot

knowthingsastheyareinthemselves.Theveryconceptofthingsinthemselvesmakesnosense.

•  Noristhereadistinctionbetweenthephenomenalandthenoumenal—everythingrealisconditioned.

TheWissenschaftslehre•  TheWissenschaftslehrebeginswiththe‘self-positing’I

—notanyparticularIbuttheformofsubjectivity.

•  TheIisarationalactivity,notathingorsubstance.

•  TheIisanactivitythatcanknowitselfandfreelymake

itselfitsownobject.

•  WhentheIknowsitself,itisnotasitknowsobjects—

theIdoesn’tdistinguishitselffromwhatitknows.

TheWissenschaftslehre

•  TheIismeanttoposititselffreely—itisafreeactivity.

•  But,itturnsoutthattoposititself,theIwillhaveto

positthingstowhichitisopposed(thenot-self).

•  (Ihavetopositaworldwhichisnotme,andwhich

resistsmywill,ifIamtoknowmyself.)

•  TranscendentalArgument

•  Dialectical

TheWissenschaftslehre

•  TheIisastrivingactivity,thatseekstobeself-determining.

•  ButtheIcanonlyknowitselfbyhavingthis

strivingactivity‘checked’byobstaclesthat

preventitsbeingself-determining.

•  Inseekingtoovercometheseobstacles,itcomes

toknowitself.

TheWissenschaftslehre

•  Fichtedidn’tlikeSpinoza’ssystem(andunlikelyhe

knewofDiotima).

•  TheIseekstobefullyself-determining.

•  Butitcanneverreachthisstate.(Ifitweretobe

achieved,theIwouldceasetobe.)

•  It’sown‘essence’consistsinstrivingtowardsthis

unreachablestate.

TheWissenschaftslehre

•  ItturnsoutthattheIwillhavetoundertakea

wholeseriesofacts,includingpositingthings

inspaceandtime,causation,substances,etc.

inordertoexplainhowrationalityisableto

freelyknowitselfasfree.

TheWissenschaftslehre•  Butitisnotjust‘theoretical’actsthatwillberequired.

•  Theonlywayreasoncancometoknowitselfisby

positinganultimateought.

•  WhentheIfeelstheforceofthisought,itbecomes

determinedinaparticularway.Butitdoesnotthereby

becomedeterminedbysomethingoutsideitself.Itis

theI,asanexpressionofreason,thatdetermines

itself.SotheIcanknowitselfasanI.

OtherWritingsfromJena

•  TheWissenschaftslehrewe’veseensofarisjust

thefoundation.Thefullsystemrequires

examiningotherconditionsrequiredfortheIto

havefullself-knowledge.

•  Twofurthermajortreatiesinethics(TheSystem

ofEthics,1797)andpolitics(TheFoundationof

NaturalRight,1798).

OtherWritingsfromJena

•  TheFoundationofNaturalRight:Inordertoknowmyself,Ihavetopositotherpeoplewho

willrecognisemeasasubject.

•  (cf.Hegel’smasterslavedialecticandthe

philosophyofrecognition)

FichteatJena

•  BythispointFichtehasmarried(HohannaRahm,

daughterofacustomsofficialinZürich)andhas

ason(ImmanuelH.Fichte)wholatereditshis

father’sworks.

•  Fichtealsopublishespopularpoliticalwritingson

freedomandindefenceoftheFrenchRevolution

(1793),whichsecureshisreputationasaradical.

3.LeavingJena

•  Fichtewasalwaysaveryengaging

philosopher,dedicatedtohisstudentsand

oftenoutspoken.

LeavingJena•  Fichtewascontinuouslyengagedindisputes.

•  ‘…whenanythingstoodinhisway,thenhisinflexibility

turnedintorudeness,andhisenergyinto

recklessness…Fichtelackedtheabilitytoputupwith

everydaylife’

(RudolfSteiner,quotedinBreazeale)

•  Thissituationdidn’tworkoutsowellforFichte…

LeavingJena

•  1798Fichtepublishes‘OntheFoundationofOurBelief

inaDivineGovernmentoftheUniverse’

•  TheessayisanattempttoclarifythatFichteisnota

religiousskeptic.Whileheacceptslimitsonwhatwe

canknow(theoretically)aboutthenatureofGod,we

arejustifiedinbelievinginGod’sexistence.

•  TheessayalsoidentifiesGodasthemoralworldorder.

LeavingJena

•  Theessaysparksthe‘AtheismControversy’

andanationwidepamphletwar.

LeavingJena•  TheWeimaradministrationiswillingtobelenient,and

togiveFichtemildcensurewithnopracticalupshots.

•  Fichtewritesanumberoflettersinwhichhethreatens

toleaveandbeginanewuniversityifanykindof

censureisgiven.

•  Theadministrationpublishtheirmildcensure,witha

postscriptacceptinghisofferofresignation.

LeavingJena

•  1800,FichtemovestoBerlin.

•  HecontinuestorevisetheWissenschaftslehre,

butinasomewhatnewdirection—more

mystical,lessrational.

LeavingJena

•  1806,Napoleon’stroopsdefeatPrussiaat

JenaandoccupyBerlin.

•  1807-8,FichtedeliverslecturesinBerlinthatbecomeAddressestotheGermanNation.

LeavingJena

•  1810,FichtebecomesprofessorandDeanat

newlyfoundedHumboldtUniversityinBerlin.

•  1814,hediesofafevercaughtfromhiswife,

whoherselfcontracteditwhilenursing

Prussiansoldiers.

4.Fichte’sLegacy

•  SchellingandHegel—recognition,anddialectical

method

•  Beauvoirandexistentialists—whoweareforourselves

matters,‘existenceprecedesessence’

•  AmericanPragmatism(Peirce,viaHegel)—practical

interestsleadtousreasoningtheoretically,‘checks’.

•  Heidegger—Dasein

Fichte’sLegacy

•  Fichteisprobablymoreoptimisticaboutthecapacitiesfor

reasonthanthesefollowers,andlessconcernedwithour

contingency.

•  Heisalsorefreshinglyextremeinhisthinking.

•  Hemakesaproblemofthingsthatlooksimple(self-

knowledge)

•  Anantidotetoatooreadyacceptanceofamind-

independentworldanditsroleinphilosophy.

FurtherReading•  Fichte,J.G.[1994].IntroductionstotheWissenschaftslehre.and

OtherWritings(1797–1800)ed.andtrans.DanielBreazeale,

Indianapolis/Cambridge:Hackett.

•  Neuhouser,Frederick.1990.Fichte’sTheoryofSubjectivity.

Cambridge:CambridgeUniversityPress.

•  Zöller,Gunter.1995.OriginalDuplicity.Albany,NewYork:SUNY

Press.

•  Breazeale,Daniel.2013ThinkingThroughtheWissenschaftslehre:

ThemesfromFichte’sEarlyPhilosophy.Oxford:OxfordUniversity

Press.