Sabine Roehr

This essay provides a systematic as well as chronological account of Schiller's concepts of freedom and autonomy. Its main thesis is that the duality of Schiller's moral/aesthetic ideal in the Letters on the Aesthetic Education of Man - of beauty and the sublime, of play and the moral law - is a result of his use of conflicting concepts of autonomy. While it is widely accepted that Schiller took over Kant's concept of autonomy, I argue that he simultaneously employed another concept of autonomy, that of the contemporary philosopher Karl Leonhard Reinhold, whose criticism of Kant's concept of free will and alternative formulation of the concept of a neutral will influenced Schiller.

In the past, Schiller has often been underestimated as a philosopher in his own right. Fortunately, this has been changing, beginning with the bicentennial commemoration of his death in 2005, which has since then produced a fair number of volumes, mostly in French, German, Italian, and Spanish. Unfortunately, Frederick Beiser's 2005 Schiller the Philosopher: A Re-Examination, one of the still rare book-length treatments by a single author, has failed to lead to a similar "new wave" in the English-speaking world. Thus, it is heartening to have here a volume of essays focusing on his philosophical writings and bringing together titans of the fields of philosophical Schiller-studies, German early romantic...

This work consists of three parts: an English translation of Karl Leonhard Reinhold's Verhandlungen uber die Grundbegriffe und Grundsatze der Moralitat vom Standpunkt des gemeinen und gesunden Verstandes, zum Behufe der Beurtheilung der sittlichen, rechtlichen, politischen und religiosen Angelegenheiten, published in 1798; the original German text; and a historical-analytical introduction. The introduction provides a survey of the historical and philosophical background of the enlightenment and systematically discusses some of Reinhold's concepts. The historical phenomenon of the enlightenment in its national contexts and, particularly, of the enlightenment in Germany give the necessary background for an evaluation of the Fundamental Concepts. In the book, Reinhold defines major concepts of that movement in a layman's terms. The comparison of his concept of the enlightenment with Kant's and Mendelssohn's shows that Reinhold's is Kantian, but has its origin in morality. ;Both Kant and Reinhold have similar ethical concepts, although Reinhold deviates from the older philosopher by distinguishing between practical reason and free will. This results in a new theory of freedom. ;Religious movements in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and, especially, religious controversies of the late eighteenth century were important for the development of the enlightenment. Reinhold participated in the "pantheism controversy," in which the rational enlightenment clashed with the romantic counter-enlightenment. As a resolution to this conflict, Reinhold offers Kant's concept of rational faith based on practical reason. Reinhold was a political moderate in the socio-political controversies in Germany and in the German reaction to the French revolution. His theoretical political concepts were based on his ethical ones. ;After a brief description of the phenomenon of Freemasonry and its connection to enlightenment, there follows a discussion of Reinhold's involvement with that movement and his attempt to reform it--of which the Fundamental Concepts was the outgrowth. ;Reinhold's theoretical philosophy is discussed in terms of eighteenth century-rationalism, German "popular philosopy," Scottish Common Sense Philosophy, and Kant's critical philosophy. With his own "Fundamental Philosophy," Reinhold provided a systematic foundation for all philosophy and, in particular, for his version of popular philosophy