Noncompete agreements are among the most commonly used methods to restrict employment. Upwards of 38% of American workers, many of which are low-wage workers, have signed noncompete agreements. These agreements effectively hold those workers hostage to their current employer. This project analyzes the use of noncompete clauses in employment contracts with low-wage workers. We show that noncompetes with low-wage workers are not enforceable in the U.S.; employers nevertheless continue to include noncompete clauses in employment contracts with low-wage workers. We survey (...) states’ attempts to regulate the use of (even unenforceable) noncompetes and argue that current legislation is ineffective at preventing employers from including noncompetes in low-wage worker contracts. We argue that employers’ use of (even unenforceable) noncompete agreements with low-wage workers is wrongfully exploitative of those workers, and we provide suggestions for how states can effectively regulate the use of noncompetes, and thus protect low-wage workers from exploitation, using Virginia’s recently passed noncompete bill as a model. (shrink)

From the contents: Hoelderlins Trennung von Fichte (Sven Juergensen).- Die Deduktion der Philosophie nach Fichte und Friedrich von Hardenberg (Frank Ruehling).- Fruehromantische Subjektkritik (Christian Iber).- Das Verhaeltnis des Selbst zu Gott in Fichtes Wissenschaftslehre (Akira Omine).- Das Wir in der spaeten Wissenschaftslehre (Urs Richli).- Etre et Apparition selon la doctrine de la science de 1812 (Miklos Veto).

Fichte’s Ethical Thought follows a format familiar to those who have read Allen Wood’s books on the ethical thought of Immanuel Kant and G. W. F. Hegel: Wood integrates Johann Gottlieb Fichte’s work into topical chapters, each discussing an important component of Fichte’s ethical system. The text he focuses on, of course, is Fichte’s 1798 System of Ethics, but Fichte scholars will likely be pleased to find that Wood discusses a wide range of Fichte’s (...) Jena-era writings. Wood makes use of Addresses to the German Nation, The Closed Commercial State, and earlier works such as Some Lectures Concerning the Scholar’s Vocation, especially in the final two chapters, which cover Fichte’s thought on public life, the... (shrink)

When we reconstruct Fichte's philosophy of nature of the Jena period, we notice striking similarities between the conception of organism in theDoctrine of Scienceand Schelling's corresponding developments in his earlyNaturphilosophie.Even though both thinkers agree to consider organic nature within the framework of transcendental idealism, it is nevertheless possible at this stage to discover slight differences in their interpretation which announce their future disagreement on the status of a philosophy of nature. If, for instance, organism for both Fichte and (...) Schelling can be considered as ananalogonof the absolute, much depends on whether they conceive this analogy from a practical or theoretical point of view. (shrink)

A founding figure of German idealism, Johann Gottlieb Fichte developed a radically new version of transcendental idealism. The Bloomsbury Handbook of Fichte follows his intellectual life and presents a comprehensive overview of Fichte's dynamic philosophy, from his engagement with Kant to his rigorously systematic and nuanced Wissenschaftslehre and beyond. Covering a variety of topics and issues in epistemology, ontology, moral and political philosophy, as well as philosophy of right and philosophy of religion, an international team of experts (...) on Fichte explores his important contributions to philosophy. Arranged chronologically, their chapters map Fichte's intellectual and philosophical development and the progression of his thought, identifying what motivated his philosophical inquiry and revealing why his ideas continue to shape discussions today. Alongside wide-ranging chapters advancing new insights into Fichte, there are topical discussions of conceptions and issues central to his philosophy. Featuring a chronology of Fichte's life, as well as a timeline of his publications and lectures, this is an invaluable research resource for all Fichte scholars and a reliable guide for anyone undertaking a study of Fichte and German idealism. (shrink)

This paper is concerned to take a closer look at the relations between Paul Tillich and Fritz Medicus, his philosophical teacher in Halle. The center of attention is on their orientation within neo-Kantianism and the Fichte and Schelling renaissance. A collection of letters and other documents reflects their involvement in events of contemporary history, their respective literary works, and an ongoing friendship.

Mit dem Untertitel »Streitfragen« bringt dieser Band 44 der Fichte-Studien eine Gruppe von Beiträgen, die das Hauptthema »Fichte und seine Zeit« behandeln und es aus unterschiedlichen Gesichtspunkten entfalten.

The Attempt at a Critique of All Revelation was the first published work of Johann Gottlieb Fichte, the founder of the German idealist movement in philosophy. It predated the system of philosophy which Fichte developed during his years in Jena, and for that reason - and possibly also because of its religious orientation - later commentators have tended to overlook the work in their treatments of Fichte's philosophy. It is, however, already representative of the most interesting aspects (...) of Fichte's thought. It displays an affinity with his later moral psychology, introduces Fichte's distinctively 'second-person' conception of moral requirements, and employs the 'synthetic method' which is crucial to the transcendental systems Fichte developed during his Jena period. This volume offers a clear and accessible translation of the work by Garrett Green, while an introduction by Allen Wood sets the work in its historical and philosophical contexts. (shrink)

What I call in this paper “the sociality of subjectivity thesis” lies at the very center of what is now called “Continental philosophy”. According to this thesis, the subject is necessarily socially constituted. In other words, it is not the case that there are first some isolated subjects, who then get into relation with each other; rather, the subjects from the beginning are formed through their interrelation. The first philosopher who systematically argued for this thesis is Johann Gottlieb Fichte. (...) In this paper, I reconstruct Fichte’s argument, as it appears in his 1796 Foundations of Natural Right. The central idea of this reconstruction is the following: for Fichte, the subject can regard herself as the genuine author of her actions, only when she presupposes that there are other subjects who can ascribe those actions to her. That is, the activity of self-ascription, which constitutes the subject, is only possible with the presupposition that there are other subjects. (shrink)

El propósito de este artículo consiste en mostrar el carácter social del contractualismo de Fichte. Para realizar ese propósito se comienza examinando la conexión entre trabajo y ciudadanía como una condición de la legitimidad política. Luego se presenta esa conexión en el marco del siempre posible desarrollo histórico de la naturaleza humana. Por último, se indican las razones de la recepción de Fichte como un precursor del socialismo germánico.

I propose solutions to two longstanding interpretive questions about J.G. Fichte’s 1796–97 Foundations of Natural Right: 1. What does Fichte mean when he describes the theory of right as ‘independent’ of moral theory, and what motivates that independence thesis? 2. What does Fichte mean when he describes requirements of right and the principle of right as ‘hypothetical’ imperatives, and how is that characterization consistent with his claim to have derived the concept of right as a condition of (...) possibility of self-consciousness? Answers to both questions are motivated by an approach to the text that looks at it through the lens of Fichte’s 1798 System of Ethics, into which its results must fit if, as Fichte believes, the possibility of morally sanctioned interactions with others requires standing in some law-governed political relationship with them. (shrink)

I argue that Fichte (rather than Kant or Hegel or some amalgam of the two) was the primary historical model for the ethical standpoint described in Kierkegaard's Either/Or II. I then explain how looking at Kierkegaard's texts with Fichte in mind helps in interpreting the criticism of the ethical standpoint in works like The Sickness unto Death and Concluding Unscientific Postscript, as well as the significance of the discussion of secular ethics in Fear and Trembling. I conclude with (...) a brief look at the relevance for contemporary Kantian ethics of Kierkegaard's characterization and his criticism. (shrink)

Originally published in 1939 under title: Der Aufbruch der Freiheit zur Gemeinschaft.

Der Begriff »Klassische Deutsche Philosophie« setzt sich zusehends gegenüber der alten Bestimmung »Deutscher Idealismus« durch. Dies geschieht vollkommen zu Recht, denn letztere führt in die Irre. Tatsächlich verfolgen Fichte, Schelling und Hegel zusammen mit Kant das Anliegen, Idealismus und Realismus als einseitige Positionen zu überwinden. Ausgehend von diesem gemeinsamen Vorhaben entspinnt sich zwischen ihnen eine Kontroverse, die in unterschiedlichen Lösungskonzepten mündet. Die vorliegende Arbeit stellt die unterschiedlichen Ansätze zur Vermittlung von Idealismus und Realismus, die in der Forschung bisher eher (...) vage präsent sind, erstmals systematisch anhand ihrer historischen Entwicklung dar. Ein Anhang zur Analytischen Philosophie belegt die Relevanz der Fragestellung auch für die Philosophie der Gegenwart. (shrink)

Inleidende monografie over de Duitse filosoof (1762-1814).

One of the defining characteristics of Kant’s “critical philosophy” is what has been called the “critique of immediacy” or the rejection of the “myth of the given.” According to the Kantian position, no object can count as an object for a human knower apart from the knower’s own activity or spontaneity. That is, no object can count as an object for a human knower on the basis of the object’s givenness alone. But this gives rise to a problem: how is (...) it possible to accept the Kantian critique of immediacy while also giving an epistemologically adequate account of the constrained or finite character of human knowing (i.e., an account that does not rely on some appeal to what is simply “given”)? This paper examines how this crucial question is addressed (with more or less success) in the “critical philosophies” of Kant, Lonergan, and Fichte. (shrink)

Die Idee eines "Systems der Freiheit" gehört zu den zentralen Errungenschaften der klassischen deutschen Philosophie. Sie findet sich insbesondere bei Fichte und Hegel. Ein adäquates Verständnis der Freiheit in beiden Konzeptionen setzt somit eine intensive Auseinandersetzung mit deren Systemgedanken voraus. Auf dieser Grundlage unternimmt es die Studie, den Stellenwert der Freiheit in der praktischen Philosophie von Fichte und Hegel auf systematisch umfassende Weise zu ermitteln und miteinander zu vergleichen. Trotz mannigfaltiger struktureller und inhaltlicher Gemeinsamkeiten, die Fichtes Einfluss auf (...) Hegel dokumentieren, zeigt sich die wesentliche Differenz, die auf folgende Alternative hinausläuft: Entweder leistet ein System der Freiheit die vollständige genetische Begründung der Freiheit - wie bei Hegel - oder es bewahrt deren ursprüngliche Grundlosigkeit. In diesem Fall kann Freiheit nur in einem offenen, nicht letztbegründenden System dargestellt werden. Anhand dieser Alternative wird ausführlich geklärt, worin die Vor- und Nachteile der hegelschen und der fichteschen Freiheitstheorie liegen. (shrink)

Fichte wie auch später Sartre gewinnen vergleichbare Resultate auf der theoretischen Ebene hinsichtlich der ethischen Fundierung der Intersubjektivität im Selbstbewusstsein. Die Rolle der Ästhetik wird von beiden Denkern aufgrund ethischer Implikationen so bestimmt, dass sie die durch sie bestimmte Intersubjektivität auf praktischer Ebene zum Vorschein bringt. Die Ästhetik stellt bei beiden Autoren nicht einen Selbstzweck dar, sondern spielt eine herausragende Rolle für die Bildung der Menschen. Sartre wie auch Fichte brauchen die Ästhetik, um die Ethik zu fundieren. Während (...) Sartre ein unmittelbar lebensbezogenes ästhetisches Denken hat, in dem er ethische Aspekte in seiner Literatur anhand konkreter Beispiele verarbeitet, geht es Fichte in seinen Ausführungen zur Ästhetik vornehmlich um die Frage nach der Bedingung der Möglichkeit des ästhetischen Bewusstseins und darum, dieses als Voraussetzung des ethischen Bewusstseins zu bestimmen. Sartres Ethik offenbart sich vor allem in seinem ästhetischen Schaffen. Dem ästhetischen Moment in Sartres Ethik kommt die zentrale Aufgabe für die Entwicklung des ethischen Individualismus des Menschen und der gesamten Menschheit zu. Die Analogie zu Fichtes transzendentalkritischem Idealismus liegt in der Fundierungsrolle der Ästhetik für die Ethik in beiden philosophischen Konzeptionen, woraus eine aussagefähige Ethik in Sartres Existenzphilosophie resultiert. So zeigt sich In Sartres Literatur der direkte Wechselbezug zwischen praktischer Ethik und produktiver Ästhetik. Die Funktion der Ästhetik wird von Sartre dadurch bestimmt, dass in seinem Konzept mittels der Ästhetik die Vermittlung zwischen theoretischer und praktischer Vernunft geleistet wird. (shrink)