Fichte's ""Wissenschaftslehre"" of 1794  (English, Paperback, Seidel George Joseph)

Johann Gottlieb Fichte's Wissenschaftslehre arises out of a particularly stormy period in the philosopher's personal, academic, and intellectual life. The work he produced is many things at once: an epistemology or theory of knowledge, a philosophical anthropology, an ethics or metaethics, the foundation for a political theory (Rousseau), the basis for an aesthetic program (Romanticism), perhaps even a philosophy of nature. In the introduction a particular emphasis is placed upon Fichte's relationship to Kant. However, Fichte is viewed not merely as a transitional figure on the march from Kant to Hegel but as a significant philosopher in his own right. Of special interest to students and scholars of literature is Seidel's discussion of the Romantic movement's indebtedness to Fichte. Seidel presents the English and German text of part 1 of the Wissenschaftslehre, followed by a commentary on the text. The work concludes with a summary of parts 2 and 3 of the Wissenschaftslehre. An annotated bibliography surveys the important literature on the philosopher.