Philosophical Investigations Into The Essence Of Human Freedom (s U N Y Series In Contemporary Continental Philosophy)

F. W. J. Schelling Translated and with an Introduction and Notes by Jeff Love and Johannes Schmidt Philosophical Investigations into the Essence of Human Freedom PHILOSOPHICAL INVESTIGATIONS INTO THE ESSENCE OF HUMAN FREEDOM SUNY series in Contemporary Continental Philosophy Dennis J. Schmidt, editor PHILOSOPHICAL INVESTIGATIONS INTO THE ESSENCE OF HUMAN FREEDOM F. W. J. SCHELLING Translated and with an Introduction by Jeff Love and Johannes Schmidt S T AT E U N I V E R S I T Y O F N E W Y O R K P R E S S Published by State University of New York Press, Albany © 2006 State University of New York All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission in writing of the publisher. For information, address State University of New York Press, 194 Washington Avenue, Suite 305, Albany, NY 12210-2384 Production by Michael Haggett Marketing by Michael Campochiaro Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Schelling, Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph von, 1775–1854. [Philosophische Untersuchungen u(ber das Wesen der menschlichen Freiheit. English] Philosophical investigations into the essence of human freedom / F.W.J. Schelling ; translated and with an introduction by Jeff Love and Johannes Schmidt. p. cm. — (Suny series in contemporary continental philosophy) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: 978-0-7914-6873-9 (hardcover : alk. paper) ISBN-10: 0-7914-6873-9 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Liberty. 2. Free will and determinism. 3. Good and evil. I. Title. II. Series. BJ1463.S345 2006 123'.5—dc22 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 2005031384 Contents Acknowledgments, vii Introduction, Schelling’s Treatise on Freedom and the Possibility of Theodicy, ix Translators’ Note, xxxi Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling: Philosophical Investigations into the Essence of Human Freedom and Matters Connected Therewith, 1 Supplementary Texts Introductory Note, 81 Jacob Boehme: Mysterium Pansophicum or Thorough Report on the Earthly and Heavenly Mysterium, Franz Xaver von Baader: “On the Assertion That There Can No Wicked Use of Reason”, Ephraim Gotthold Lessing: “A Parable”, 85 99 103 Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi: From On the Doctrine of Spinoza in Letters to Mr. Moses Mendelssohn, 106 Johann Gottfried Herder: From God. Some Conversations, Notes, 131 125 This page intentionally left blank. Acknowledgments It is our distinct pleasure to acknowledge the support provided by the College of Arts, Architecture and Humanities at Clemson University in the form of a substantial research grant that allowed us to begin work on the translation in the spring of 2004. We should also like to thank Bill Maker for his help and encouragement in the early stages of the project and Todd May for reading an initial draft of the Introduction. Concentrated work on projects of this nature often makes considerable demands on one’s immediate colleagues, and we should like to convey our special thanks to Margit Sinka for her determined and unflagging commitment to our completing the project in a timely manner as well as to Lee Ferrell for taking on many responsibilities with promptness and good cheer. For the reproduction of Schelling’s handwriting on the cover, we wish to acknowledge the kind permission of the Archive of the BerlinBrandenburg Acad