Walter E. Wright

Because idealism takes mind to be a fundamental reality, one would expect idealistically oriented philosophers to be especially alert to how mind actually occurs. However, like philosophers generally, most idealists study consciousness exclusively from the standpoint of focused and structured states of mind, using such cases as paradigmatic. Whether we examine Plato, Berkeley, Kant, Fichte, Husserl, or any other philosopher with idealistic tendencies, their accounts of mind take concepts like knowing, self, identity, and intentionality to be central. As a result, such accounts virtually always interpret consciousness as unitary and egological. Although this interpretive tradition pervades philosophical understandings of mind, Charles Scott’s radical and important book provides strong reasons for skepticism about its adequacy. This rich and interesting volume consists of five essays, each of which takes up a distinct theme: “Interpreting,” “Being One and Being Many,” “Accord and Discord on the Border,” “Utter Darkness and Utter Light,” and “Being Aware.” Written separately, these essays share a common philosophical approach and a related set of themes: interpretation, difference, wholeness, language, and history, among others. Taken together, they offer a startling and powerful way of conceiving mind.

Spinoza exerted a strong pull on many of the German idealists. This paper explores the evidence of Spinoza's influence on Fichte in the latter's 1804 lectures on his Wissenschaftslehre (the second series). Fichte explicitly mentions Spinoza's names only three times, and each of these references is critical of Spinoza. However, there are other important resonances connecting the thinking of these two philosophers, each of whom faced charges of atheism. These include the priority each grants to practical reason, the accounts each gives of what is genuinely ultimate, and their views about how human beings come into relation with the ultimate.

The studies in this 1996 volume consider Hegel's mature views on ethics and politics and relate them to the classical tradition of Western political thought. Manfred Tiedel brings to the analysis of Hegel's views a high level of scholarship and a thorough knowledge of earlier thinkers. Concentrating on the Philosophy of Right, he reveals connections which clarify Hegel's understanding of his relationship with his predecessors and of the transformation of political philosophy which Hegel wanted to effect. In doing so, he throws much needed light on the structure of Hegel's work and on many of its more obscure doctrines concerning natural law, political economy, civil society and the state. Professor Riedel's work is highly regarded in Germany. The translation of these essays will provide a valuable counterpart to the approach of most English-speaking scholars and will help significantly to extend the understanding and appreciation of Hegel's political philosophy.