Lebensphilosophie Before the 19th Century: The Influence of Early Life Philosophy on Classical German Philosophy

Abstract

In this article I provide a reading of the 18th century German discourse of life philosophy (Lebensphilosophie, Philosophie des Lebens) and its importance for classical German philosophy. I draw a line of influence between (A) Lessing, Mendelssohn, Feder, and Moritz’s uses of the concept of “life” (Leben) and criticisms of the “distanced from life” (lebensfern) character of school philosophy (Schulphilosophie), and (B) Fichte, Schelling, Hegel’s uses of the concept of “life” and efforts to reenvision the organization of the modern university at the turn of 19th century. My thesis in this article is that classical German philosophy should be viewed as having both radicalized and overcome the tendencies of 18th century life philosophy. While Fichte, Schelling, and Hegel similarly sought to oppose the tendency of philosophy to become problematically “distanced from life,” they moved beyond the opposition of “life” and “reason” seen with 18th century popular philosophers and came to view “life” as the practical foundation on which all knowledge is founded. With classical German philosophy, then, the concept of “life” was no longer asserted against systematic and scientific forms of reasoning, but instead used to represent the shared ground of all scientific forms of reasoning: the unity of practical life.

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Christopher R. Myers
Fordham University

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