"The Oldest Systematic Program of German Idealism" () is a fragmentary 1796/97 essay of unknown authorship. The document was first published (in German) by Franz Rosenzweig in 1917. An English translation was made by Diana I. Behler. The German title is: ''Das Älteste Systemprogramm Des Deutschen Idealismus.'' This title was made up by Franz Rosenzweig in 1917, when he first published the manuscript. He found the manuscript in the Royal Library in Berlin in 1913. The manuscript suggested date is around 1796 and was done by handwriting research. However, the manuscript is not dated. The Prussian State Library auctioned in March 1913 from the auction of the house Liepmannssohn in Berlin a single sheet on the front and back with Hegel's cursive handwriting. The manuscript was lost during WWII. But Dieter Henrich found it again in 1979 in the “Biblioteka Jagiellonska” in Krakow (Poland), where it is today. Address: Jagiellonian Library, Jagiellonian University, al. Mickiewicza 22, 30-059 Cracow, Poland. Later research suggests that manuscript had come from the estate of Hegel's student Friedrich Christoph Förster (1791-1868). He was one of the editors of Hegel's posthumous works and most likely had access to a number of Hegel's manuscripts. This text actually being one of them. Hegel traveled around Bohemia with Marie and Friedrich Christoph Förster around the year 1820–21.

Authorship

Although the document is in

G. W. F. Hegel Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (27 August 1770 – 14 November 1831) was a 19th-century German idealism, German idealist. His influence extends across a wide range of topics from metaphysical issues in epistemology and ontology, to political phi ...

's handwriting, it is thought it has been written by either Hegel, F. W. J. Schelling, Friedrich Hölderlin, or an unknown fourth person.Kai Hammermeister, ''The German Aesthetic Tradition'', Cambridge University Press, 2002, p. 76. Yves Bonnefoy writes that it was "certainly inspired by Hölderlin." According to Glenn Magee, most Hegel scholars assume that Hegel is the author of the document.Glenn Magee, ''Hegel and the Hermetic Tradition'', Cornell University Press, 2001, p. 84. In the book ''Martin Heidegger's Path of Thinking'' by Otto Pöggeler, page 265. Reports. “Heidegger owned the Rosenzweig’s edition of the “oldest systematic program” of 1917, but said he could “never reconcile himself with the notion”: “Text by Schelling, notes by Hegel”. At the time the manuscript was drafted, Hegel and Hölderlin were about 26 and Schelling was 21. Three years earlier, the three had been classmates and roommates together at Tübinger Stift, the seminary of the

University of Tübingen The University of Tübingen, officially the Eberhard Karl University of Tübingen (; ), is a public research university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The University of Tübingen is one of eleven German Excellenc ...

, and were then collectively known as the "Tübingen Three". Hegel and Hölderlin were at the seminary from age 18 to 23, and Schelling from age 13 to 18. Scholars on the topic of authorship: * Franz Rosenzweig (1917) – Schelling *Wilhelm Böhm (1926) – HölderlinWilhelm Böhm
“Hölderlin als Verfasser des Ältesten Systemprogramms des deutschen Idealismus”
''Deutsche Vierteljahrsschrift für Literaturwissenschaft Und Geistesgeschichte'', Vol. 4, Issue 3, 1926, pp. 339-426. * Johannes Hoffmeister (1931) - Schelling. *Hans-Gero Boehm (1932) - Schelling. *Johannes Hoffmeister (1932) - Schelling. *Kurt Schilling (1934) - Schelling und Hölderlin. * Jean Hyppolite (1935) - Hegel * Emil Staiger (1935) - Schelling. *Johannes Hoffmeister (1936) - Schelling. * Theodor Haering (1938) - Schelling/Hölderlin/Hegel? *Johannes Jeremias (1938) - Hegel? *Gertrud Jäger (1939) - Schelling. *Kurt Hildebrandt (1939) - Schelling und Hölderlin. *Johannes Hoffmeister (1939) - Schelling. * Hermann Glockner (1940) - Schelling und Hölderlin. *Wilhelm Michel (1940) - Schelling. *Johannes Hoffmeister (1942) - Schelling. *Boris Jakowenko (1943) - Hegel. *Ernst Müller (1944) - Schelling. * Georg Lukäcs (1948) - Schelling. *Richard Geis (1950) - Schelling. *Hermann Zeltner (1954) - Schelling. *

Karl Jaspers Karl Theodor Jaspers (; ; 23 February 1883 – 26 February 1969) was a German-Swiss psychiatrist and philosopher who had a strong influence on modern theology, psychiatry, and philosophy. His 1913 work ''General Psychopathology'' influenced many ...

(1955) - Schelling. * Walter Schulz (1955) - Schelling. *Alexander Hollerbach (1957) - Schelling. *Manfred Schröter (1960) - Schelling. *Friedrich Beißner (1961) - Schelling. *Heinz Otto Burger (1962) - Schelling. *Horst Fuhrmans (1962) - Schelling. *

Jürgen Habermas Jürgen Habermas ( , ; ; born 18 June 1929) is a German philosopher and social theorist in the tradition of critical theory and pragmatism. His work addresses communicative rationality and the public sphere. Associated with the Frankfurt S ...

(1963) - Schelling. * Otto Pöggeler (1965) - Hegel. List from: Frank-Peter Hansen (see Bibliography). *

Martin Heidegger Martin Heidegger (; 26 September 1889 – 26 May 1976) was a German philosopher known for contributions to Phenomenology (philosophy), phenomenology, hermeneutics, and existentialism. His work covers a range of topics including metaphysics, art ...

(1965) - not Schelling. But did not side with any other author. *Martin Oesch (1995) - Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel *Daniel Fidel Ferrer (2021) – Hegel (see Ferrer, page 25).

Content

Raffaele Milani writes that in the essay, "...the idea of Beauty unifies all others in a fusion of the self and nature." Dieter Henrich called the document a "program for agitation." It called for a new mythology to mediate between the present state and the future envisioned poeticized state, in which poetry will function for the arts and sciences, including philosophy. Jason Josephson-Storm has interpreted the essay as a source on Hegel's view of

myth Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...

, especially Hegel's perception (in line with other eighteenth- and nineteenth-century German philosophers) that myth has disappeared and left a cultural vacuum, which Josephson-Storm argues anticipates the idea of

disenchantment In social science, disenchantment () is the cultural rationalization and devaluation of religion apparent in modern society. The term was borrowed from Friedrich Schiller by Max Weber to describe the character of a modernized, bureaucratic, ...

Notes

Bibliography

* Frank-Peter Hansen. ''Das älteste Systemprogramm des deutschen Idealismus''. ''Rezeptionsgeschichte und Interpretation''. 1989, 2014. . Berlin New York: Walter de Gruyter. Page 1–514. Reviews 100s of articles from different periods since 1917. Extensive bibliography.

External links

* Daniel Fidel Ferrer. 2021. '' Oldest Systematic Program of German Idealism: Translation and Notes'', Publisher: Kuhn von Verden Verlag. Languages: English and German. Includes bibliographical references and an index. Pages 1–123.
''eine Ethik''. acc. ms. Biblioteka Jagiellonska
Image of the actual manuscript. Public Domain. (Accessed 17 October 2021) {{DEFAULTSORT:Oldest Systematic Program of German Idealism, The 1796 essays 1797 essays 1917 essays 18th-century manuscripts 1913 archaeological discoveries Aesthetics essays German idealism German essays Modern philosophical literature Philosophy essays Friedrich Hölderlin Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel 1796 documents 1797 documents Unfinished literature Works of uncertain authorship

Authorship

Content

See also

Notes

Bibliography

External links