Talk:Friedrich von Schelling

Schelling, Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph von (1775-1854), German idealistic philosopher, born at Leonberg, in Wurttemberg. Studied at Tubingen and Leipzig and joined Immanuel Hermann von Fichte as lecturer at Jena (1798-1803). From 1803 to 1806 he lectured at Wurzburg. In 1806, after moving to Munich, he became secretary of the academy of art, and later of the academy of science while lecturing at Erlangen from 1820-1827. In 1841 he was appointed a member of the academy of Berlin, where he lectured for four years at the university. His early writings (1794-1796),influenced by Fichte, were followed by the more significant 'Ideas for a Philosophy of Nature' (1797); 'System of Transcendental Idealism' (1800); and 'The Nature of Human Freedom' (1809). His system, objective idealism, considered nature-phlosophy and spirit-philosophy as co-ordinated and equal factors in the complete system of philosophy, instead of subordinating the objective (real, material) to the subjective (transcendental, ideal) as Fichte had done. Schopenhauer said von Schelling was the conciliator of idealism and realism; therefore artistic genius, which combines the expressions of objective and subjective, appeared to him to be the highest type of human consciousness. Von Schelling was greatly influenced by Spinoza and no doubt the Rosicrucians in his philosophy of the fundamental source from which both real and ideal are derived, i.e., the Infinite, which contains both real and transcendental ideals in harmony with an evolving and eternal universe. This Infinite, or God, is something akin to the will-to-live of Schopenhauer. Original complete works (14 vols., 1856-1861; new edition 1927) issued by his sons. See C. Frantz, 'Schelling's Positive Philosophy', 1879-80; J. Watson, 'Schelling's Transcendental Idealism', 1883; H. Knittermeyer, 'Schelling und die romantische Schule', 1928; and H. Fuhrmans, 'Schellings letzte Philosophie', 1940.