Erich Herbert Fuchs

In an analysis of Fichte’s theoretical reflections read in the light of decisive biographical events, the present paper examines the following question: to what extent are we to assent to Fichte’s own assertion that his system is from the very outset a system of freedom? Kant’s philosophy provided the catalyst for the young Fichte because it promised a way out of the impasse of determinism. I will argue that the ultimate goal of Fichte’s lifelong struggle was to furnish a foundation for genuine freedom. In reaction to both Jacobi and Schelling, Fichte’s philosophical and political investigations pursue at once the problem of grounding the “Absolute” and the relationship between individual freedom and reason as a whole.—These tensions are especially visible in Fichte’s path from the Addresses To the German Nation to the virtually unknown “Philosophical Diaries” of the final days of his life.

Fichte, who always philosophized with a view to the practical and political spheres, reacted to the events of 1813 with an offer to the government to intervene in the course of events as a “speaker for the state”. After this offer was rejected, he took up his pen to reflect on a political structure that would allow Germany – which would be united sometime in the future – to become a kingdom of reason. The internal logic of this thought led him in his philosophical diaries back to the second major goal of his life: to discover a final version of the ultimately foundation of his philosophical system, the Wissenschaftslehre. He was torn away from this endeavor by death. Fichtes Philosophieren hatte immer auch die Realisierung der sich daraus ergebenden politi-schen Konsequenzen im Blick. Im Jahr 1813 bot er sich der preußischen Regierung als eine Art Staatsredner an, um die Entwicklung in Richtung des von ihm erhofften Vernunftreichs befördern zu helfen. Als dieses Angebot nicht angenommen wurde, widmete er sich neben den politischen Reflexionen wieder der vertieften Begründung der Wissenschaftslehre. Über diesen Arbeiten verstarb er Ende Januar 1814.

The basic problem of Fichte, both in his philosophy and in his life, is the problem of freedom. Kant’s criticism frees Fichte from the deterministic conceptions of his youth. The Doctrine of science is for Fichte the system of freedom. After the year 1800 the idea of freedom seems to have a less significant role in comparison to the doctrine of the absolute; but the subsequent Fichte’s reflections show that the problem of reconciling individual freedom with the ultimate aim of reason remains a central one. Fichte’s aim is to realize the freedom not only on a philosophical level but on the political one as well; yet he doesn’t find a solution that satisfies him under this respect