Table of Contents

Introduction: Jacobi: at the crux of modernity Alexander J. B. Hampton; Part I. The Critique of Reason: Debates on Rationalism, Empiricism, and Skepticism: 1. Jacobi and philosophy: rationalism and skepticism Benjamin Crowe; 2. Jacobi and Spinoza Birgit Sandkaulen; 3. Jacobi on the nature of mind and intuitive certainty Brady Bowman; 4. Jacobi and Kant: freedom, reason, faith James J. DiCenso; Part II. Faith and Revelation: Debates on Theism, Atheism, and Nihilism: 5. Jacobi's argument and dilemma: Theism and Christianity Ariberto Acerbi; 6. The Jacobi–Schelling debate Sean J. McGrath; 7. Jacobi's response to religious nihilism Peter Jonkers; 8. Jacobi and the German protestant tradition Jörg Lauster; Part III. Jacobi and the Revival of Socraticism: The Muenster Circle and Existentialism: 9. Jacobi and Hemsterhuis Daniel Whistler; 10. Dioscuri: Hamann and Jacobi John Betz; 11. Jacobi and Kierkegaard Anders Moe Rasmussen; Part IV. Jacobi's Impact on Idealism and Romanticism: 12. Jacobi and German idealism Ernst-Otto Onnash; 13. Jacobi's philosophy of faith in Fichte's 1794 Wissenschaftslehre David W. Wood; 14. Jacobi and the romantics Alexander J. B. Hampton; 15. Jacobi as literary author George di Giovanni.

Promotional Information

Places Friedrich Jacobi as figure at the crux of modernity, showing how he shaped German idealism, Romanticism and existentialism.

About the Author

Alexander J. B. Hampton is an Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto, specialising in metaphysics, poetics and nature. His publications include Romanticism and the Re-Invention of Modern Religion (Cambridge 2019), and Christian Platonism: A History (ed.) (Cambridge, 2021), and the Cambridge Companion to Christianity and the Environment (Cambridge 2020). He is currently writing a study of nature and the metaphysics of participation.

Reviews

'In the past fifty years, Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi has proved his great importance for the study of German philosophy in its great formative years (1780–1830). Jacobi was behind every important controversy and he was a central influence upon every major thinker of the era. Despite his great importance, the anglophone world has been very slow to appreciate Jacobi. Now, with Alexander Hampton's excellent anthology, we can say that it has finally got up to speed. This volume contains first-rate articles by some fifteen specialists on every aspect of Jacobi's thought; it is indispensable for every student of Jacobi and German Idealism.' Frederick C. Beiser, Professor of Philosophy, Syracuse University

'Despite his enormous importance for the development of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century German intellectual history, F. H. Jacobi remains a relatively under-explored figure within anglophone philosophical scholarship. This volume makes a significant contribution to remedying that gap, with a cross-disciplinary set of essays exploring Jacobi's role in central debates over issues such as scepticism, nihilism, and the relation between faith and reason. A vital new resource for those interested in key debates that shaped Enlightenment and post-Enlightenment German thought.' Allen Speight, Professor of Philosophy, Boston University

'In recent years, philosophy in the Anglo-American world has broadened its scope to include consideration of more than just the work of Kant and Hegel from the 'classical' German tradition. Fichte, Schelling, and the 'early German Romantics' are now quite well established as part of contemporary philosophical debate. The work of Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi (1743–1819), in contrast, has been largely absent from much of that debate. As this volume shows, Jacobi was a crucial figure in the development of German Idealist and Romantic philosophy, and German theology, who also plays an important, but often neglected, role in subsequent debates. This collection of essays will serve as a valuable introduction to an original and provocative thinker.' Andrew Bowie, Emeritus Professor of Philosophy and German, Royal Holloway University of London

'This exciting volume honors George DiGiovanni, professor of philosophy at McGill University, whose pathbreaking translation of Jacobi's philosophical and literary work launched the 18th-century German intellectual's reception in the Anglophone world. The volume's 15 essays, all excellent … This welcome collection will further understanding of Jacobi and of modernity … Highly recommended.' E. Millán, Choice