The Schelling-Eschenmayer Controversy, 1801
Nature and Identity
Published on 3. March 2022
Book
Paperback/Softback
288 pages
978-1-4744-3440-9 (ISBN)
Description
During the first decade of the 19th century, F. W. J. Schelling was involved in 3 distinct controversies with one of his most perceptive and provocative critics, A. K. A. Eschenmayer. The first of these controversies took place in 1801 and focused on the philosophy of nature. Now, Berger and Whistler provide a ground-breaking account of this moment in the history of philosophy. They argue that key Schellingian concepts, such as identity, potency and abstraction, were first forged in his early debate with Eschenmayer. Through a series of translations and commentaries, they show that the 1801 controversy is an essential resource for understanding Schelling's thought, the philosophy of nature and the origins of absolute idealism.
Reviews / Votes
This excellent book focuses on a decisive moment in Schelling's philosophical development [...] Berger and Whistler show how much the two philosophers learn from each other despite their fundamental disagreements, and one senses their friendship and mutual respect. This volume makes a significant contribution to our understanding of the development of German Idealism-but it also provides a model for dialogue and philosophical collaboration. -- Mark J. Thomas * Journal of the History of Philosophy * An outstanding contribution to our understanding of Naturphilosophie, often thoughtlessly derided, that preoccupied Schelling and contemporary interlocutors such as Eschenmayer. Brilliant commentaries on the key texts here translated illuminate long obscured detail vital to a philosophical address to nature, creating an exemplary volume, unparalleled in any language. -- Iain Grant, University of the West of EnglandMore details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Edinburgh
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
Thickness: 15 mm
Weight
404 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4744-3440-9 (9781474434409)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
03/2020
Edinburgh University Press
€21.49
Available for download
Persons
Benjamin Berger is Visiting Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Kent State University. He is editor of a special issue of Pli, on Schelling: Powers of the Idea, 2014. Daniel Whistler is Professor of Philosophy at Royal Holloway, University of London. He is author and editor of numerous volumes on eighteenth and nineteenth-century philosophy, including the three-volume Edinburgh Edition of the Complete Philosophical Works of Francois Hemsterhuis, The Schelling-Eschenmayer Controversy, 1801: Nature and Identity (EUP, 2020), The Edinburgh Critical History of Nineteenth-Century Christian Theology, The Schelling Reader (Bloomsbury, 2020) and the forthcoming Oxford Handbook of Modern French Philosophy (Oxford University Press, 2022).
Content
Preface; Abbreviations
Translators' Note
Introduction: Schelling and Eschenmayer in 1801
Part I: Texts
A. K. A. Eschenmayer, Spontaneity = World Soul, or the Highest Principle of Philosophy of Nature
F.W.J. Schelling, On the True Concept of Philosophy of Nature and the Correct Way of Solving its Problems
Part II: Commentaries
1. Quality
2. Potency
3. Identity
4. Drive
5. Abstraction
Part III: Appendices
1. A. K. A. Eschenmayer and F.W.J. Schelling, Correspondence, 1799-1801
2. A. K. A. Eschenmayer, Principles of Nature-Metaphysics Applied to Chemical and Medical Subjects [Extracts]
3. A. K. A. Eschenmayer, Deduction of the Living Organism [Extracts]
4. A. K. A. Eschenmayer, Review of Schelling's First Outline and Introduction to the Outline
Translators' Note
Introduction: Schelling and Eschenmayer in 1801
Part I: Texts
A. K. A. Eschenmayer, Spontaneity = World Soul, or the Highest Principle of Philosophy of Nature
F.W.J. Schelling, On the True Concept of Philosophy of Nature and the Correct Way of Solving its Problems
Part II: Commentaries
1. Quality
2. Potency
3. Identity
4. Drive
5. Abstraction
Part III: Appendices
1. A. K. A. Eschenmayer and F.W.J. Schelling, Correspondence, 1799-1801
2. A. K. A. Eschenmayer, Principles of Nature-Metaphysics Applied to Chemical and Medical Subjects [Extracts]
3. A. K. A. Eschenmayer, Deduction of the Living Organism [Extracts]
4. A. K. A. Eschenmayer, Review of Schelling's First Outline and Introduction to the Outline