This week we look at Schelling’s philosophy of nature and the roots of his transition away from Fichte’s “subjective” idealism towards the “objective” idealism of Schelling’s philosophy of identity. We’ll focus on a small set of texts from Schelling’s early Naturphilosophie, with an eye toward their criticisms of Fichte and adoption (if in modified form) of tenets of Spinozism.
Readings
- Kant, Critique of Judgment (excerpt)
- Schelling, Outline of a System of the Philosophy of Nature (excerpt)
- Notes: Schelling on Nature (PDF)
- Grads (pick one)
- Beiser, “Naturphilosophie, chs. 2,4”
- Nassar, “The Philosophy of Nature”