Philosophy Graduate Student Portfolio Papers Guide

Editions

Fichte fixated on finding an absolute basis for knowledge, and his life's work reflected this. Since his focus remained on that task, the titles of his works did not vary: he wrote a dozen versions of the Science of Knowledge over the course of his life. These are typically distinguished by referencing the date they were originally published. The edition specified by the Graduate Student Handbook is the 1794 work.

The series edited by Fuchs et al., above, is the standard critical edition of Fichte's works. It is divided into four series: (1) published works (2) unpublished works (3) correspondence and (4) lecture transcripts (written by his students). The 1794 Wissenschaftslehre (which includes references to later editions and their variations) is in volume 1.2.

Note that there was an earlier edition of Fichte's Complete Works which was edited by his son. This edition was used for many years and one can still find some references to it in select literature. However, it is generally not considered standard since Fichte's son occasionally added sentences or words where he thought them necessary.

Online Resources:

• Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy Entry
• Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy Entry
• Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy Entry
• PhilPapers - Johann Gottlieb Fichte Category Page​

Bibliographies:

• Oxford Bibliographies Page
• Baumgartner, Michael, and Wilhelm Jacobs G. J. G. Fichte: Bibliographie. Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt: Frommann, 1968.
  • Covers material published on or related to Fichte up to 1968.
• Doyé, Sabine, ed. J. G. Fichte-Bibliographie (1969–1992). Amsterdam: Rodopi, 1993.
  • Continues the Baumgartner bibliography through 1993.

Secondary Literature:

Items in Bold are available via online access from Emory's collections.

[Note: Writings on Fichte are much more common in French and German; the journal Fichte-Studien regularly published articles on Fichte, but most of them are in German.]

• Beiser, Frederick C. German Idealism: The Struggle Against Subjectivism, 1781-1801. Harvard University Press, 2002.
  • Part of a larger series that examines German Idealism's reaction to (and critique of) subjectivism. Part 2 is devoted entirely to Fichte.
• ​Breazeale, Daniel, and Tom Rockmore, eds. Fichte: Historical Context/Contemporary Controversies. Humanities Press, 1993.
  • A thorough overview of Fichte's philosophy and major ideas. Also includes a complete bibliography of works on Fichte in English up through 1993.
• Breazeale, Daniel. Thinking through the Wissenschaftslehre: Themes from Fichte’s Early Philosophy. Oxford University Press, 2013.
  • A focused study of some of the more obscure parts of the Wissenschaftslehre, including the relation between the finite self and the pure I, the Anstoß, intellectual intuition, and more.
• Everett, Charles Carroll. Fichte's Science of Knowledge: A Critical Exposition. S. C. Griggs and Company, 1884.
  • Dated, to be sure, but nonetheless the only monograph in English devoted to studying the Wissenschaftslehre in its entirety.
  • Also available in scanned form from Archive.org
• Fuchs, Erich, et al., eds. J. G. Fichte Im Gespräch: Berichte der Zeitgenossen. Frommann-Holzboog, 1978.
  • Collects the report's of Fichte's contemporaries on his life, work, and writings.
• Henrich, Dieter. “Fichte’s Original Insight.” Contemporary German Philosophy, vol. 1., 1982, pp. 15–52.
  • Originally published in German in 1967. An influential article and interpretation that argues Fichte expounds the issue of self-reflection while simultaneously failing to adequately address it. At the same time, Fichte gave us tools to think through the matter.
• James, David, and Günter Zöller, eds. The Cambridge Companion to Fichte. Cambridge University Press, 2016.
  • Aims more at an undergrad audience, but a solid introduction to the major themes of Fichte's work for someone new to his thought.
• Lauth, Reinhard. Die Transzendentale Naturlehre Fichtes Nach Den Prinzipien Der Wissenschaftslehre. F. Meiner, 1984.
  • A careful and nuanced exegesis of Fichte's transcendental approach to the philosophy of nature.
• Neuhouser, Frederick. Fichte’s Theory of Subjectivity. Cambridge University Press, 1990.
  • An influential study that examines the self-positing structure of subjectivity.
• Philonenko, Alexis. La liberté humaine dans la philosophie de Fichte. Vrin, 1980.
  • Though (somewhat) controversial, a very influential work, especially in the French reception of Fichte. Argues for the centrality of finitude in Fichte's thought.
• Rockmore, Tom. Fichte, Marx, and the German Philosophical Tradition. Southern Illinois University Press, 1980.
  • Argues for the importance and influence of Fichte on Marx, focusing in particular on separating out Hegel's philosophy (and its influence) from Fichte's.

Editions

For a long time, there was only one English translation of Schelling's "Philosophische Untersuchungen über das Wesen der menschlichen Freyheit," by Gutmann (1936). A much-needed updated translation was finally completed in 2006, by Love and Schmidt, and has since become the standard.

The critical edition of Schelling's works is found in his Historisch-kritische Ausgabe, edited by Baumgartner et al. The Human Freedom piece is found in Series 1 (Werke), Volume 17.

Online Resources:

• Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy Entry
• Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy Entry
• Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy Entry
• PhilPapers - Friedrich Schelling Category Page​

Bibliographies:

• Sandkühler, Hans-Jörg. Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling. Metzler, 1970.
  • Complementary bibliography to that of Schneeberger's
• Schneeberger, Guido. Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Von Schelling: Eine Bibliographie. Francke, 1954.
  • ​The standard bibliography of works on/about Schelling, through 1954.​

Secondary Literature:

Items in Bold are available via online access from Emory's collections.

• ​Beiser, Frederick C. German Idealism: The Struggle Against Subjectivism, 1781-1801. Harvard University Press, 2002.
  • Part 4 situates Schelling and Absolute Idealism relative to Kant, Fichte, and others on the topic of subjectivism.
• Bowie, Andrew. Schelling and Modern European Philosophy: an Introduction. Routledge, 1993.
  • The first study in English to focus on Schelling as a philosopher in his own right, rather than relative to Hegel or other figures in German Idealism. Situates Schelling's reflections as sensitive to issues in/of metaphysics that became more apparent in the late 19th Century/20th Century.
• Frank, Manfred. Der Unendliche Mangel an Sein: Schellings Hegelkritik Und Die Anfänge Der Marxschen Dialektik. Wilhelm Fink, 1992.
  • Originally published in 1975, Frank's account of Schelling's critique of Hegel has become a fairly standard reading.
• Heidegger, Martin. Schelling's Treatise on the Essence of Human Freedom. Translated by Joan Stambaugh, Ohio University Press, 1985.
  • By no means an easy read and thoroughly embedded in Heidegger's own projects, but an interesting account of Schelling on freedom, evil, and the groundless. Focuses entirely on the "Essence of Human Freedom" piece.
• Marx, Werner. The Philosophy of F.W.J. Schelling: History, System, and Freedom. Indiana University Press, 1984.
  • A somewhat general account of Schelling's overall project(s) and philosophy. The last chapter focuses on the "Essence of Human Freecom" piece.
  • Available to read online through Archive.org
• ​Snow, Dale E. Schelling and the End of Idealism. State University of New York Press, 1996.
  • Sees Schelling's myriad attempts at a "systematic" philosophy not as indicative of failure, but as bringing into question the tenability of systematic philosophy itself.
• Wirth, Jason M. The Conspiracy of Life Meditations on Schelling and His Time. State University of New York Press, 2003.
  • Consists of a series of eight meditations on Schelling qua "philosopher of life." Focuses on Schelling's use of the concept of conspiracy in the Freedom essay as a situatedness of life within life and death.
• Žižek, Slavoj. The Indivisible Remainder: an Essay on Schelling and Related Matters. Verso, 1996.
  • Focuses on the role of finitude, contingency, and temporality in Schelling's thought and uses them to confront both Hegel and phenomena of late 20th Century life.