F.W.J. Schelling
| Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling | |
|---|---|
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Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling F.W.J. Schelling, c. 1835
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| Identity | |
| Lifespan | 1775–1854 |
| Nationality | German |
| Epistemic Position | |
| Tradition | German Idealism, Romanticism |
| Methodology | Philosophy, Naturphilosophie, Metaphysics |
| Fields | Philosophy, Metaphysics, Nature, Aesthetics |
| Conceptual Payload | |
| Core Concepts | |
| Associated Concepts | Drive (Trieb), Repression, Split subject, Symbolic order, Dialectics |
| Key Works | Ideas for a Philosophy of Nature (1797); System of Transcendental Idealism (1800); Philosophical Investigations into the Essence of Human Freedom (1809); Ages of the World (1811/1813/1815) |
| Theoretical Cluster | Subjectivity, Nature, The Unconscious |
| Psychoanalytic Relation | |
| Schelling’s theorization of the unconscious as a constitutive dimension of subjectivity, his dialectic of nature and spirit, and his analysis of freedom and repression provided a conceptual matrix for psychoanalytic notions of the unconscious, repression, and the split subject. His influence is especially marked in Lacanian theory, where the structural logic of the unconscious and the dialectic of negativity are central. | |
| To Lacan | Lacan explicitly references Schelling’s account of the unconscious and negativity, particularly in relation to the symbolic and the real. |
| To Freud | Freud’s metapsychology echoes Schelling’s Naturphilosophie and the notion of unconscious drives, though Freud does not cite Schelling directly. |
| Referenced By | |
| Lineage | |
| Influences | |
| Influenced | |
Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling (1775–1854) was a German philosopher whose work in German Idealism, Naturphilosophie, and metaphysics established foundational concepts—such as the unconscious, the dialectic of nature and spirit, and the split subject—that would later be structurally and conceptually appropriated by psychoanalysis, especially in the theories of Freud and Lacan.
Intellectual Context and Biography
Schelling emerged as a central figure in the constellation of German Idealism, occupying a pivotal position between Kant, Fichte, and Hegel. His philosophical trajectory is marked by a persistent interrogation of the relationship between nature and spirit, freedom and necessity, and the conscious and unconscious dimensions of subjectivity.
Early Formation
Born in 1775 in Württemberg, Schelling was educated at the Tübinger Stift, where he formed intellectual alliances with Hegel and Hölderlin. Early exposure to Kantian philosophy and the radical subjectivism of Fichte shaped his initial orientation, but Schelling soon diverged by foregrounding nature as an active, productive principle rather than a mere object of the subject’s cognition.[1]
Major Turning Points
Schelling’s philosophical development is often divided into three phases: the early Naturphilosophie, the middle period’s philosophy of identity, and the late “negative philosophy.” The 1809 Philosophical Investigations into the Essence of Human Freedom marks a decisive turn, introducing the problem of evil, the unconscious, and the split within subjectivity—concepts that would later resonate in psychoanalytic theory.[2]
Core Concepts
The Unconscious
Schelling was among the first philosophers to theorize the unconscious not merely as a lack of consciousness but as a positive, productive force within subjectivity and nature. In his Freedom essay, he describes the unconscious as the “dark ground” of spirit, a necessary condition for the emergence of self-consciousness.[3] This anticipates the psychoanalytic notion of the unconscious as both constitutive and disruptive of the ego.
Nature as Subject and Process
Schelling’s Naturphilosophie posits nature as a dynamic, self-organizing process, not a passive backdrop to human activity. Nature is “visible spirit,” while spirit is “invisible nature”—a dialectical formulation that prefigures psychoanalytic accounts of the psyche as traversed by natural, non-conscious drives.[4]
Freedom and Repression
In his analysis of freedom, Schelling introduces the idea that freedom is inseparable from the possibility of evil, which arises from a primordial split within the subject. This split is not merely moral but ontological, generating the conditions for repression and the return of the repressed—key themes in psychoanalytic theory.[5]
Negative Philosophy and Dialectics
Schelling’s later work develops a “negative philosophy” that emphasizes the limits of rational systematization and the irreducibility of negativity, contingency, and absence. This logic of negativity would become central to Lacanian psychoanalysis, especially in the theorization of lack, the real, and the impossibility of full symbolization.[6]
Relation to Psychoanalysis
Schelling’s influence on psychoanalysis is primarily structural and mediated, rather than direct. Freud does not cite Schelling, but the psychoanalytic concepts of the unconscious, repression, and drive echo Schelling’s philosophical innovations.
Freud and the Unconscious
Freud’s metapsychology, especially the dynamic unconscious and the theory of repression, can be read as a secularized transformation of Schelling’s “dark ground” of subjectivity.[7] The notion that the psyche is structured by forces inaccessible to conscious reflection is a Schellingian inheritance, mediated through Romanticism and 19th-century German thought.
Lacan and the Logic of Negativity
Lacan explicitly references Schelling in his seminars, particularly in relation to the logic of the unconscious, the dialectic of negativity, and the real.[8] The Lacanian split subject, barred from full self-coincidence, is structurally homologous to Schelling’s subject divided by the unconscious ground.
Mediated Influence: Hyppolite, Kojève, and the French Reception
Schelling’s ideas entered French psychoanalytic discourse through the mediation of Hegelianism (especially via Jean Hyppolite and Alexandre Kojève), German Romanticism, and the existentialist tradition. The dialectic of negativity and the primacy of the unconscious were central to the theoretical apparatus Lacan inherited and transformed.[9]
Reception in Psychoanalytic Theory
Schelling’s legacy in psychoanalysis is most pronounced in Lacanian and post-Lacanian theory. Lacan’s seminars repeatedly invoke Schelling’s theorization of the unconscious and negativity, especially in relation to the real and the symbolic order. Slavoj Žižek has foregrounded Schelling as the “vanishing mediator” between German Idealism and psychoanalysis, arguing that Schelling’s account of the subject, drive, and negativity anticipates key psychoanalytic insights.[10] Julia Kristeva and Alain Badiou have also engaged Schelling’s work in their rearticulations of the unconscious, negativity, and subjectivity.[11][12]
Debates persist regarding the extent to which Schelling’s metaphysical commitments are compatible with the clinical and materialist orientation of psychoanalysis. Nonetheless, his theorization of the unconscious as a constitutive negativity remains a touchstone for contemporary psychoanalytic and philosophical inquiry.
Key Works
- Ideas for a Philosophy of Nature (1797): Schelling’s foundational text on Naturphilosophie, positing nature as a dynamic, self-organizing process. Anticipates psychoanalytic theories of drive and the unconscious as natural forces.
- System of Transcendental Idealism (1800): Develops the dialectic of subject and object, introducing the productive unconscious as the ground of self-consciousness.
- Philosophical Investigations into the Essence of Human Freedom (1809): Explores the split within subjectivity, the problem of evil, and the “dark ground” of the unconscious—concepts central to psychoanalytic theory.
- Ages of the World (1811/1813/1815): Schelling’s unfinished magnum opus on the temporal and ontological structure of being, emphasizing the role of negativity, repetition, and the unconscious in the unfolding of history.
Influence and Legacy
Schelling’s conceptualization of the unconscious, the dialectic of nature and spirit, and the primacy of negativity profoundly shaped the theoretical landscape in which psychoanalysis emerged. His influence is evident not only in Freud’s metapsychology and Lacan’s structuralism but also in the broader currents of existentialism, phenomenology, and contemporary critical theory. Schelling’s legacy endures in ongoing debates about the nature of subjectivity, the limits of rationality, and the irreducible role of the unconscious in psychic life.[10]
See also
References
- ↑ Andrew Bowie, Schelling and Modern European Philosophy (Routledge, 1993).
- ↑ Manfred Frank, The Philosophical Foundations of Early German Romanticism (SUNY Press, 2004).
- ↑ F.W.J. Schelling, Philosophical Investigations into the Essence of Human Freedom, trans. Love and Schmidt (SUNY Press, 2006).
- ↑ Robert Richards, The Romantic Conception of Life: Science and Philosophy in the Age of Goethe (University of Chicago Press, 2002).
- ↑ David Farrell Krell, The Tragic Absolute: German Idealism and the Languishing of God (Indiana University Press, 2005).
- ↑ Slavoj Žižek, The Indivisible Remainder: An Essay on Schelling and Related Matters (Verso, 1996).
- ↑ Paul Bishop, The Unconscious, the Psychoses and the Limits of Philosophy: Schelling, Freud, Jung (Routledge, 2020).
- ↑ Seminar XI: The Four Fundamental Concepts of Psychoanalysis (1964) Lacan draws on Schelling’s account of the “impossible” and the “unprethinkable” as analogues to the real and the traumatic kernel of subjectivity.
- ↑ Judith Butler, Subjects of Desire: Hegelian Reflections in Twentieth-Century France (Columbia University Press, 1987).
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Slavoj Žižek, The Indivisible Remainder: An Essay on Schelling and Related Matters (Verso, 1996).
- ↑ Julia Kristeva, Powers of Horror: An Essay on Abjection (Columbia University Press, 1982).
- ↑ Alain Badiou, Logics of Worlds (Continuum, 2009).