Abstract

The article focuses on Carl August Eschenmayer, who was a philosopher and a significant interlocutor of Schelling, and particularly on his work: Philosophy in its Transition to Non-Philosophy. This work presents his own philosophical system, which is articulated in four faculties, conceived of as mathematical powers: Sensitivity, Intellect, Reason, and Soul. In doing so, Eschenmayer recognizes the limits of Reason, still conferring on it a paramount role for knowledge and human life in general. The notion of limit entails further possibilities of speculative analysis and discovery. On the other hand, the conception of the Soul as a faculty exceeding knowledge implies the integration of the extra-rational into the system. According to Eschenmayer, this helps us to explain some complex theoretical issues such as the origin of difference and the possibility of freedom.