Summary |
Johann Gottlieb Fichte is a key figure in the landscape of post-Kantian idealism. From 1794 up to the final year of his life in 1814, Fichte attempted to formulate a unified philosophical programme that would combine, in a single system, the main branches of theoretical and practical philosophy. At the heart of this programme we find Fichte’s idea of a ‘doctrine of science’ (Wissenschaftslehre) that tries to articulate the fundamental principles of human cognition on the basis of the ‘I’ and its self-positing activity. In subsequent years he worked to articulate a ‘doctrine of right’ (Rechtslehre) in the Foundations of Natural Right (1795/96), and a ‘doctrine of ethics’ (Sittenlehre) in the System of Ethics (1798), both of which Fichte published under the subtitle ‘according to the principles of the Wissenschaftslehre.’ In later years he also worked and lectured on a doctrine of religion (Religionslehre). In addition to his philosophical writings, Fichte produced numerous popular works, such as Some Lectures Concerning the Scholar’s Vocation, the Vocation of Human Beings (1800), and The Way Towards the Blessed Life (1806). |