Voegelin, Schelling, and the Philosophy of Historical ExistenceIn this important new work, Jerry Day brings to light the need for an extensive reinterpretation of the mature philosophy of Eric Voegelin, based on Voegelin's published and unpublished appreciation for nineteenth-century German philosopher F. W. J. Schelling. Schelling, whom Day maintains was one of the most important guides to Voegelin's mature philosophy of consciousness and historiography, has been described as the father of several disparate movements and schools of continental philosophy-chief among them being "Hegelian" idealism and existentialism. This characterization implies that Schelling was a scattered thinker with little or no appreciation for philosophy as a disciplined inquiry into the nature of human affairs. Voegelin was critical of this portrayal of Schelling. He argued that it lacked proper sensitivity for the impressive extent to which this giant of continental thought was able to rise above the "creed communities" of his time and recover the abiding concern of mature philosophers everywhere: the philosophia perennis. Those who claim that Schelling was scattered have failed, according to Voegelin, to appreciate the nonideological breadth of this great philosopher, misled by the splinter movements and schools that arose from mere fragments of his thought. In truth, Schelling founded no school and launched no movement. Instead, he reasoned with the disciplined integrity and wonder of a "spiritual realist." Day argues that Voegelin was a fine interpreter of Schelling, particularly during the decisive years when the central orientation of Voegelin's mature thought was beginning to take hold-between the writing of his History of Political Ideas and its eventual transformation into Order and History. Day gathers an impressive array of evidence to interpret Voegelin's little-known support for Schelling's achievements, while offering detailed analyses and helpful summaries of a vast body of literature that has yet to be translated into English. Day's partial agreement with Voegelin's uncommon assessment of Schelling provides him with the point of departure that leads to one of this book's most distinctive contributions to contemporary thought. It has the rare ability to help clear the way for philosophical realists to make peace with many of their contemporaries, giving them further grounds for accepting the strongest anthropological and psychological insights of recent continental philosophy, while helping them to avoid its tendencies toward nihilistic despair or fideistic historicism. By reading each philosopher through the eyes of the other, Day provides an analysis that will be illuminating for Voegelin scholars and Schelling scholars alike. The book will also appeal to readers with more general interests in the history and development of continental philosophy, political theory, and comparative religion over the past century. |
From inside the book
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Page 16
... human consciousness ; and Schelling's claim that the best place to look for this story of God is not in the consciousness of Hegel. My study finds that all of these suggestions have some merit , but they turn out to be more ...
... human consciousness ; and Schelling's claim that the best place to look for this story of God is not in the consciousness of Hegel. My study finds that all of these suggestions have some merit , but they turn out to be more ...
Page 17
... consciousness . Suffice it to say , at present , that Webb has failed to appreciate the impartial character of Voegelin's scientific investigation of structures in human consciousness . His reading makes Voegelin seem more conventional ...
... consciousness . Suffice it to say , at present , that Webb has failed to appreciate the impartial character of Voegelin's scientific investigation of structures in human consciousness . His reading makes Voegelin seem more conventional ...
Page 19
... human consciousness , and the broader sense of order that the latter manifests in his- tory . But the published praise of Schelling at the beginning and end of Voegelin's career indicates otherwise . It allows for three periods to be ...
... human consciousness , and the broader sense of order that the latter manifests in his- tory . But the published praise of Schelling at the beginning and end of Voegelin's career indicates otherwise . It allows for three periods to be ...
Page 20
... consciousness in “ particularist communities , ” Voegelin says that ... humanity , presupposed as an original unity . A people's or nation's ground of being ... human unity and drives apart individuals and their groups , eventually to ...
... consciousness in “ particularist communities , ” Voegelin says that ... humanity , presupposed as an original unity . A people's or nation's ground of being ... human unity and drives apart individuals and their groups , eventually to ...
Page 21
... humanity was monotheistic , according to Schelling's speculation , and “ the means of separating [ peoples ] is ... human consciousness , seems to have been especially important for persuading Voegelin , as it did his teacher Othmar ...
... humanity was monotheistic , according to Schelling's speculation , and “ the means of separating [ peoples ] is ... human consciousness , seems to have been especially important for persuading Voegelin , as it did his teacher Othmar ...
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Common terms and phrases
Alfred Schütz Anam Anamnesis appears Aristotle attempt become beginning chapter Christ Christian claim cosmological critical critique death differentiated discussion Ecumenic Age emerge Eric Voegelin existence existential experience and symbolization faith freedom Glenn Hughes Gnosticism Greek Hegel historiography human consciousness Iakchos Ibid identity philosophy immanent immortality insight intellectual interpretation knowledge Last Orientation later metaxy Mysteries myth mythic symbols mythological religion nature noesis noetic notion okeanos Order and History order of history Paul Philosophie der Mythologie Philosophie der Offenbarung philosophy of consciousness philosophy of history Philosophy of Mythology Plato positive philosophy potencies Potenzenlehre problem process theology reality reason reflective relatively Resurrection Revelation Schelling argues Schelling's Schelling's account Schellingian Science sciousness sense soul specifically spiritual structure substantial identity T]he tension term theology theophanies thinking thought tion Trans transcendence truth unconscious understanding University of Missouri Voegelin's philosophy volume of Order Werke