''Foundations of the Science of Knowledge'' () is a 1794/1795 book by the German philosopher

Johann Gottlieb Fichte Johann Gottlieb Fichte (; ; 19 May 1762 – 29 January 1814) was a German philosopher who became a founding figure of the philosophical movement known as German idealism, which developed from the theoretical and ethical writings of Immanuel Ka ...

. Based on lectures he had delivered as a professor of philosophy at the

University of Jena The University of Jena, officially the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (, abbreviated FSU, shortened form ''Uni Jena''), is a public research university located in Jena, Thuringia, Germany. The university was established in 1558 and is cou ...

Scruton 2000. p. 208. Fichte created his own system of transcendental philosophy in this book.

Ideas

''Science of Knowledge'' first established Fichte's independent philosophy. The contents of the book, divided into eleven sections, were crucial in the way the thinker grounded philosophy as – for the first time – a part of

epistemology Epistemology is the branch of philosophy that examines the nature, origin, and limits of knowledge. Also called "the theory of knowledge", it explores different types of knowledge, such as propositional knowledge about facts, practical knowle ...

. In this book Fichte also claimed that an "experiencer" must be tacitly aware that he is experiencing in order to lead to "noticing". This articulated his view that an individual's experience is essentially the experiencing of the act of experiencing so that his so-called "Absolutely Unconditioned Principle" of all experience is that "''the I posits itself''".

Reception

In 1798 the German romantic

Friedrich Schlegel Karl Wilhelm Friedrich (after 1814: von) Schlegel ( ; ; 10 March 1772 – 12 January 1829) was a German literary critic, philosopher, and Indologist. With his older brother, August Wilhelm Schlegel, he was one of the main figures of Jena Roma ...

identified the ''Wissenschaftslehre'' together with the French Revolution and

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on Western literature, literary, Polit ...

's ''

Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship ''Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship'' () is the second novel by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, published in 1795–96. Plot The novel is in eight books. The main character Wilhelm Meister undergoes a journey of self-realization. The story centers ...

'', as "the most important trend-setting events (''Tendenzen'') of the age." Michael Inwood believes that the work is close in spirit to the works of

Edmund Husserl Edmund Gustav Albrecht Husserl (; 8 April 1859 – 27 April 1938) was an Austrian-German philosopher and mathematician who established the school of Phenomenology (philosophy), phenomenology. In his early work, he elaborated critiques of histori ...

, including ''Ideas'' (1913) and '' Cartesian Meditations'' (1931). Inwood 2005. p. 410. The ''Wissenschaftslehre'' has been described by

Roger Scruton Sir Roger Vernon Scruton, (; 27 February 194412 January 2020) was an English philosopher, writer, and social critic who specialised in aesthetics and political philosophy, particularly in the furtherance of Conservatism in the United Kingdom, c ...

as being both "immensely difficult" and "rough-hewn and uncouth".

References

Notes

Bibliography

* * * 1794 non-fiction books Books by Johann Gottlieb Fichte Epistemology literature Philosophy of science literature {{science-philo-book-stub

Ideas

Reception

See also

References

Notes

Bibliography