The Palgrave Handbook on the Philosophy of Friedrich Schiller

Friedrich Schiller is justly celebrated for his dramas and poetry. Yet, above all, he was a polymath, whose writings enriched a range of fields including history and philosophy. Until now, no comprehensive accounting of this philosophy has been undertaken. The Palgrave Handbook on the Philosophy of Friedrich Schiller makes good this desideratum, treating Schiller's poetry, prose, and dramatic work alongside his philosophical writings and reviewing his thought not only in connection with those who influenced him, such as Kant, Reinhold, and Fichte, but also those he anticipated, such as Hegel, Marx, and the Neo-Kantians. Topics treated in this volume include Schiller's philosophical background, his theoretical writings, Schiller's philosophical writing in light of his entire oeuvre, and Schiller's philosophical legacy. The Handbook also includes an overview of the main topics Schiller addressed in his philosophical writings including philosophical anthropology, aesthetics, moral philosophy, politics and political theory, the philosophy of history, and the philosophy of education. Bringing together the latest research on Schiller and his thought by leading scholars in the field, the Handbook draws attention to Schiller's undiminished importance for philosophical debates today. Preface I. II. III. References Contents Notes on Contributors Key to Abbreviations Works by Friedrich Schiller Works by Immanuel Kant Part I: Biographical and Historical Background Chapter 1: J. Chr. Fr. Schiller: A Life as Mensch of Letters References Chapter 2: Schiller and His Philosophical Context: Pleasure, Form, and Freedom Introduction Locating Schiller in His Intellectual Milieu Pleasure and Morality Form and Beauty Freedom or Nature Concluding Remarks References Chapter 3: The Development of Schiller’s Philosophical Attitude: Schiller’s Philosophical Education Philosophy at the Karlsschule Schiller’s Education in Philosophy Key Features of Schiller’s Philosophical Attitude References Part II: Schiller’s Theoretical Writings Chapter 4: Writings from Schiller’s Time at the Karlsschule in Stuttgart (1773–1780) The Karlsschule Speeches “Die Tugend in ihren Folgen betrachtet” (The Consequences of Virtue Considered, 1779–1780) Philosophy in Schiller’s Medical School Writings Philosophie der Physiologie (Philosophy of Physiology, 1779) Versuch über den Zusammenhang der tierischen Natur des Menschen mit seiner geistigen (Essay on the Connection between the Animal and the Intellectual Nature of the Human Being, 1780) Philosophical Significance and Impact References Chapter 5: What Effect Can a Good Permanent Theatre Actually Achieve? (1785) Textual Genesis Contents Philosophical Significance and Impact References Chapter 6: Philosophical Letters (1786) Textual Genesis Contents Philosophical Significance and Impact References Chapter 7: On the Cause of the Pleasure We Derive from Tragic Objects (1792) 1. 1.1 2. 2.1 2.2 (a) (b) (c) 2.3 (a) (b) (c) 2.4 3. On the Cause of the Pleasure We Derive from Tragic Objects (1992) References Chapter 8: On the Art of Tragedy (1792) Textual Genesis Contents Philosophical Significance and Impact References Chapter 9: Kallias, or Concerning Beauty (1793) Toward an Objective Ground for Aesthetics: From the Resistance of Beauty to its Self-Determining Power (Definitions 1 and 2) Toward an Aesthetic Viewpoint: From Freedom in Appearance to the Appearance of Freedom (Definitions 3 and 4) Toward Aesthetic Freedom: Formed Matter and the Power of Beauty (Definitions 5 and 6) References Chapter 10: On Grace and Dignity (1793) References Chapter 11: Concerning the Sublime (1793) / On the Pathetic (1801) 1. 2. 2.1 2.2 On the Pathetic 3. On the Sublime (1793) / On the Pathetic (1801) a. Structural Schema b. Stem Tree References Chapter 12: Detached Reflections on Different Questions of Aesthetics (1793) Genesis and Context Contents Philosophical Significance and Impact Reference Chapter 13: Letters on the Aesthetic Education (1795) Textual Genesis Contents Letters 1–10 Letters 11–16 Letters 17–27 Philosophical Significance and Impact References Chapter 14: Concerning the Necessary Limits in the Use of Beautiful Forms (1795) Semblance and the Supposed Absoluteness of the Aesthetic State The Whole Human Being: Human Vocation Versus Pure Morality Disagreement with Fichte and Beautiful Education Beauty and Goodness The Problem of the Dilettante: Schiller’s Attempt at Keeping the Women at Bay Conclusion References Chapter 15: On Naïve and Sentimental Poetry (1795/96) Introduction Preconditions in Theoretical and Practical Anthropology Structure and Course of the Argumentation The Naive Sentimental Poetry The Relationship Between Naive and Sentimental Poetry Reception and Critical Appraisal References Chapter 16: On the Sublime (1801) 1. 2. 2.1. 2.2. 2.3. 2.4. 2.5. 2.6. 3. On the Sublime (1801) Schema References Part III: Schiller’s Philosophical Topics Chapter 17: Schiller and Philosophical Anthropology Conceptual History “Anthropology” in German Enlightenment Reception of the New Anthropology at the Hohe Karlsschule Schiller as Anthropological Thinker References Chapter 18: Schiller’s Aesthetics: Beauty Is Freedom The Stage as a Public Place to Mirror and Enact Freedom Schiller’s Aesthetics of Autonomy as Purposiveness Without Purpose and the Education Towards Freedom: A Contradiction? Freedom in and Through the Play of Faculties: Beauty as Active Determinability References Chapter 19: Schiller on Morals Morals in Schiller’s Pre-Kantian Writings Morals in Schiller’s Post-Kantian Writings On Grace and Dignity On the Aesthetic Education of Man References Chapter 20: Schiller on Politics and Political Theory Some Basic Assumptions: Theses on Schiller’s Realm of Politics Politics in Theory: Education, Character, and the Aesthetic State Political Intentions in Practice: The Case of Schiller’s Plays References Chapter 21: Schiller’s Philosophy of History Schiller’s Philosophy of History Philosophy of History and Universal History Providence in History Schiller and Kant The Ends of History Philosophy of History and Schiller’s “Lifetime-Project” Conclusion References Chapter 22: “Upward to Freedom”: Schiller on the Nature and Goals of Aesthetic Education Why Aesthetic Education? What Is Aesthetic Education? Two Problems Part IV: The Relevance of Schiller’s Philosophical Thought in the Context of His Entire Work Chapter 23: The Role of Philosophy in Schiller’s Plays Philosophical Anthropology: The Robbers Moral Principles and Political Order: Don Carlos From the Stage to Philosophy and Back: Kant Studies Drama As a Theory of Action: Wallenstein, Mary Stuart Between Stoicism and Pessimism On Myth and History: The Last Years References Translations Chapter 24: The Role of Philosophy in Schiller’s Poetry Introduction Ode to Joy The Gods of Greece The Artists The Realm of Shadows The Worldly Wise The Metaphysician References Chapter 25: The Role of Philosophy in Schiller’s Prose Aesthetic Education, Free Will, and the Three Drives A Magnanimous Act and the Three Drives Aesthetic Education and the Individual-as-Citizen The Beautiful Soul and the Ideal of Art References Part V: Kant, the Kantian Tradition, and Schiller Chapter 26: Schiller and Kant on Grace and Beauty References Chapter 27: Karl Leonhard Reinhold’s Influence on Schiller’s Reception of Kant Schiller’s First Encounter and Unsteady Friendship with Reinhold The Reception of Reinhold’s Texts: Not a One-Way Street Under the Spell of Reinhold, Illuminist and Enlightenment Philosopher Kant’s Philosophy of History as a Common Starting Point and Disagreement on the Question of a Morality of Benevolence Pleasure as the Basis of the Faculty of Taste and Demarcating Limits in the Relationship Between Morality and Aesthetics The Doctrine of Drives and the Doctrine of Freedom According to Reinhold’s Theory of the Faculty of Desire Glossary References Chapter 28: The Controversy Between Schiller and Johann Gottlieb Fichte With Kant Beyond Kant The Horen-Dispute The Philosophical Ground of the Controversy References Chapter 29: Schiller on the Aesthetics of Morals and Twentieth-Century Kant Scholarship and Philosophy The Value of Inclination The Ideal of Harmony The Significance of Grace References Part VI: Schiller’s Philosophical Legacy Chapter 30: Schiller and the Birth of German Idealism Early Anthropology History of Philosophy and Historiography Reception of Kant’s Aesthetics The Objectivity of Beauty Consequences Aesthetic Education Political Aesthetics References Chapter 31: Schiller and Early German Romantics (Kleist, Hölderlin, Goethe) Introduction The Oldest System Program of German Idealism Hölderlin Kleist The Beautiful Soul Goethe References Chapter 32: The Neo-Kantians and Schiller’s Transcendental Idealism The Other Side of the Tracks Cassirer on Schiller’s Adoption of Transcendental Idealism Lange and the Poetry of the Thing-in-Itself Remaining True to Kant by Contradicting Him Chapter 33: Schiller’s Horen, Humboldt’s Rhodian Genius, and the Development of Physiological Ideas in Mythical Form Journals and the Task of the Editor in the Age of Goethe and Schiller The Transformative Power of a New Mythology: Humboldt’s Life Force and Schiller’s Aesthetic Empire The Rhodian Genius: Humboldt’s Search for Nature’s Beautiful Harmony Concluding Remarks References Chapter 34: Friedrich Schiller and Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel References Works by Friedrich Schiller Further Literature Chapter 35: Schiller and Marx on Alienation Schiller on Alienation Mankind and State: Conservative and Radical Positions Schiller’s Letters as a Political Work: A New Approach to the Problem of Alienation? Marx on Alienation: Contribution to the Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Law and on the Jewish Question Final Remarks References Chapter 36: Schiller and Critical Theory References Author Index Subject Index