Keywords
Spinoza
freedom
absolute
self
How to Cite
Abstract
In this paper we examine the young Schelling’s first letter of 1795, Vom Ich als Princip der Philosophie oder über das Unbedingte im menschlichen Wissen, to the light of the programmatic intention of developing an “ethics à la Spinoza”. This aim not only involves going beyond the methodological intent of a critical philosophy of Kantian inspiration, but also seeks to fully address the human need to reach an unconditioned knowledge, beyond both thematic and methodological assumptions of criticism and pre-critical dogmatism. In order to respond to this call of idealism, the young philosopher sought to harmonize the clamor of freedom with the nature of the absolute, following Spinoza. But this harmony was not found in the unfolding of a simple theoretical exigency, but rather in the full practical realization of what we think and experience as the unconditioned. This harmony is fulfilled through articulating the self, the absolute and freedom. Such a fulfillment determined the direction and possibilities of philosophy in the nineteenth century.
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