Abstract
In this chapter, Acosta shows that the well-known Horen-Dispute—the epistolary polemic in the summer of 1795 initiated by Schiller’s rejection of an article submitted by Fichte for publication in Die Horen—actually represents the tip of the iceberg in the philosophical disagreement between Schiller and Fichte. According to Acosta, this controversy is better understood as a confrontation between two ways of resolving the Kantian antinomy between freedom and necessity after Kant and after the French Revolution. Whereas Fichte develops a dialectic based on the primacy of practical reason and the principle of absolute identity, Schiller’s dialectic is guided by the primacy of aesthetical reason and by the postulate of an original irreducible duality in human nature. In doing so, both thinkers contribute to the foundation of so-called German idealism.
Einer, das höret man wohl, spricht nach dem andern, doch keiner
Mit dem andern; wer nennt zwei Monologen Gespräch?
—(Das philosophische Gespräch)
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
Fichte published this article a few years later in the journal he edited with F. Niethammer: “Ueber Geist und Buchstab in der Philosophie. In einer Reihe von Briefen”, in: Philosophisches Journal einer Gesellschaft Teutscher Gelehrten, Bd. IX, H. 4, (1800), pp. 199–232 and 291–305. There is an English translation: “On the Spirit and the Letter in Philosophy”, in: Simpson, D. (ed.) German Aesthetic and Literary Criticism: Kant, Fichte, Schelling, Schopenhauer, Hegel. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1984, pp. 74–93. Quotation from Fichte follows (üGB) the edition by I. H. Fichte in: Fichtes Werke Bd. VIII. Berlin: De Gruyter, 1971, pp. 270–300.
- 2.
For a more detailed study, see Acosta (2011).
- 3.
The epigram “Fichte und Er” serves as example of Schiller’s admiration of Fichte as philosopher: ““Freilich tauchet der Mann kühn in die Tiefe des Meeres,/Wenn du, auf leichtem Kahn, schwankest und Heringe fängst”.
- 4.
Die Horen, (1795) 1. Bd. 1. St., p. VIII.
- 5.
Fichte, J. G., “Ueber Belebung und Erhöhung des reinen Interesse für Wahrheit”, in: Die Horen, (1795) 1. Bd. 1. St., pp. 79–93 (GA I/3: 83–90).
- 6.
Epigram “Ein sechster” is an example of this criticism of Schiller: “Ich bin ich und setze mich selbst, und setz ich mich selber/Als nicht gesetzt, nun gut! Setz ich ein Nicht-Ich dazu”.
References
Acosta, Emiliano (2011): Schiller versus Fichte. Schillers Begriff der Person in der Zeit und Fichtes Kategorie der Wechselbestimmung im Widerstreit. Fichte-Studien-Supplementa 27, Leiden: Brill.
Acosta, E. (2019): “Observaciones acerca del estudio de la relación entre Kant y Fichte”. pp. 9–17 in Anuario Filosófico. 52 (1).
Breazeale, Daniel (2022): “Freedom and Duty: Kant, Reinhold, Fichte”. pp. 118–137 in: James A. Clarke and Gabriel Gottlieb, eds., Practical Philosophy from Kant to Hegel. Freedom, Right, and Revolution. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Hegel, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1970): Werke in 20 Bänden. Frankfurt a. M.: Suhrkamp (HW)
Reinhold, Karl Leonhard (1790): Beyträge zur Berichtigung bisheriger Missverständnisse der Philosophen. 1. Bd. Jena: Johann Michael Mauke.
Schelling, F. W. J. (1980): New Deduction of Natural Right, pp. 221–252 in: Schelling, F.W.J., The Unconditional in Human Knowledge. Four Early Essays (1794–1796), trans. by F. Marti, Lewisburg, PA: Bucknell University Press, 1980.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Acosta, E. (2023). The Controversy Between Schiller and Johann Gottlieb Fichte. In: Falduto, A., Mehigan, T. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook on the Philosophy of Friedrich Schiller. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-16798-0_28
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-16798-0_28
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-031-16797-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-031-16798-0
eBook Packages: Religion and PhilosophyPhilosophy and Religion (R0)