Spinoza in German Idealism: Rethinking Reception and Creation in Philosophy

It is a widely accepted idea that German Idealism stands on two pillars: Kant and Spinoza. The aim of this essay is to critically reflect on this way of understanding the history of philosophy through a study of the reception of Spinoza in the early writings of Fichte, Schelling, and Hegel. This ana...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inComparative and continental philosophy Vol. 13; no. 1; pp. 21 - 33
Main Author Solé, María Jimena
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Routledge 02.01.2021
Subjects
dogmatism
History of philosophy
idealism
rationalism
Spinozism
theory of reception
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:It is a widely accepted idea that German Idealism stands on two pillars: Kant and Spinoza. The aim of this essay is to critically reflect on this way of understanding the history of philosophy through a study of the reception of Spinoza in the early writings of Fichte, Schelling, and Hegel. This analysis will show that each of them builds a different image of Spinoza that is not based on the scholarly study of his works, but rather deeply conditioned by other readings and controversies of the time. Each assigns a central role to that image of Spinoza in the justification of his own system, and in each case that theoretical function is different: Spinoza is viewed as an enemy (Fichte), a possibility and a source of inspiration (Schelling), and a model of true philosophy (Hegel).
ISSN:1757-0638
1757-0646
DOI:10.1080/17570638.2021.1897181