From Critical to Speculative Idealism The Philosophy of Solomon Maim
This volume is the first part of a larger work on the philosophy of Solomon Maimon and its systematic place in the history of thought. Here we deal with so me of the fundamental themes of Maimon's philosophy, including his examination of Kant's philosophy
- PDF / 39,558,096 Bytes
- 347 Pages / 439.36 x 666.14 pts Page_size
- 3 Downloads / 211 Views
-
P LI 1111 S HER
-
T H E HAG LI E
Recel111y J1l1hlished.
SAMUEL ATLAS Hehre\\' lJl1i()11 Colle8l'-Jewish Illstitllte of ReliHiO/l Nell' York Cit)'
FROM CRITICAL
TO SPECULATIVE IDEALIS11 rhe PhilOSOph)' of Solomon Maimon This boo!" deals with problems that arme in connection with the origin of critical philosophy as formulated hy Kant in his first "Critique." Maimon is both a foliower and a critic 01' Kant. His criticism 01' some Kantian doctrines is not that of an antagonist but of a folIower of critical philosophy. Historically Maimon belongs to the period between Kant and the rise of the speculative idealism of Fichte ami the philosophy of deintity (Schelling and HegeI). The genesis and developll1ent of speculative idealism can be better understood as a consequence of the problematic which grew out of an analysis of the "Critique.'ยท Maill1on's idea uf an infinite mi nd is the beginning of the speculative trend of thnught as it evolved in the great ll1etaphysical systems. This is, hnwever ,:only one side of the story, for Maimon also anticipated some central doctrines of Neo-Kantianism as it developed in the second half 01' the nineteenth century. He initiated a line of thought leading to a system nf critical philosophy eliminating dogmatic assumptions . The attl'mpt is made to bring out the dialectic involved in the various trends
MARTINlJS NIlHOFF
PlIlHISHER
THE HAGllE
of Maimon 's thought, and his designation 01' his philosophy as "rational skepticism" is shown to be a conse(luence of this dialeetic. The term "rational" means the reality of a I'r;or; conel'pts; the term "skepticism" implies the impossihility of convincingly proving the application of these purt' coneepts to the partieular objects of expt'rience. The problems dealt with are not only of historical but also of systematie interest. Philosophy reeognizes no diseontinuity between the historieal and the systematie; they are organieally interconnected. History of philosophy is not only history but primarily philosophy. The enterprisl' of the history of philosophy is not confined to the transmission of historieal facts in the form 01' doctrines and idt.'as evolved in the past. but rather in the experienee and the living understanding of the relevance of the philosophieal problems \\'hich occur and rt'occur in the history of thought under different forms and disguises. The movement from eritieal to speelilative thollght is not eonfint'd to the period dealt with here. It is not an isolated phenomenon. The presentation is intended as an illustration of a reeurring phenoml'llon. The Soeratic seareh tor the meaning 01' the uni\"t'rsal ethical eoncepts led to a metaphysical eoneeption 01' the lInivt'rsals as ontologieal entities beyond and abo\'l' the partieulars. The priority of "eogito" in the philosophy of Ikseartes ga\'e way to a metaphysieal eoneeption of thought as a suhstanee or an attribute of God alongside of extension. Ami in reeent times \\'e obser\'t:' a similar phenomenon in the movement from Neo-Kantianism with its l'mphasis on the
