German Philosophy 1760-1860 : The Legacy of Idealism

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Summary: Excellent Scholarship
Review: As in his lauded biography of Hegel, Pinkard does an amazing job in this book. To those "analytic" philosophers, still under the influence of the cavalier early 20th century rejection of the idealist tradition by Russel et. al., this is a must read. Pinkard presents detailed, cogent, and clear reconstructions of the key positions of the most important philosophers in Germany between Kant and Schopenhauer. Being a Hegel scholar, he understandably devotes a great deal of attention to Hegel's work. But, other figures, included the neglected early Romantics and the later Schelling, are given fair and lucid consideration. Pinkard's work (along with that of some other recent scholars) is a clarion call - the German tradition needs to be taken seriously, and needs to be treated in a fashion that is freed from the post-modernist humbug that it, in part, inspired. If only there were more books like this!

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Summary: Indispensable guide to German Idealism
Review: I have to say this book is an indispensable guide for gaining a background in the philosophy of German idealism. If you read this book, you will learn about the philosophical problems that Kant, Fichte, and Hegel among others were grappling with well enough to be able to describe much of terminology in their philosophical treatises. Also the author's very clear writing style will help you learn the philosophy without a massive headache. This is the real strength of the book because other volumes treating the same topic are are often so dense and confusing that they won't be useful to a beginner. The other strength of the book is that it makes the philosophy relevant by illustrating its impact on German political and cultural identity. One such insight reveals the way the Holy Roman Empire's class of intellectual elites appropriated Kant's Critique of Pure Reason for political ends. These men used the philosophical work to challenge their rulers' claims to absolute authority. By paying attention to German idealism's cultural connections, Terry Pinkard has shown Kant's philosophy to be an important contribution to the social changes of its time rather than merely a set of abstract questions about the nature of reality to be discussed late-at-night by bored college students.

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Summary: A Philosophical Apex
Review: The sudden flowering of German classical philosophy in the generation of Kant and the aftermath of the French Revolution is one of the enigmas of world history. Gestating in Kant and then taking off in the 1780's and 90's this exploration and journey took philosophy to a height it has since lost to the vagaries of prgmatism and analytic philosphy. The author of the recent excellent biography of Hegel surveys the whole terrain up to the time of Schopenhauer, the last thunderclap of this storm. It is hard to cover this difficult and vast terrain, and if one is a student of Hegel, or else Kant, one will end up with half or less of the extraordinarily difficult totality in motion. The author has no Hegelian agenda to color the account and the result is a superb short summary.

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Summary: German Philosophy - Idealism and Romanticism.
Review: _German Philosophy 1760 - 1860: The Legacy of Idealism_ by Terry Pinkard is a unique book which examines the sorts of philosophical systems being proposed in Germany during that time period. Although at first Germany was not united, philosophy came to take on a unique German flavor, often meaning little more than the opaqueness of the language. For a generation of disenfranchised youth, Goethe captured the spirit of the times in his novel (with mistranslated title), _The Sorrows of Young Werther_. The first part of this book deals with the philosophy of Immanuel Kant, who created a "Copernican revolution" in philosophical thought with the writing of his three _Critiques_. Kant provided the foundation that many youth of the period were seeking in terms of philosophical thought. The second part of this book deals with post-Kantians, many of them founders of the Romantic movement, who took off from Kant's philosophy in the _Critiques_. Two issues played a central role for these early post-Kantian figures, one being the French Revolution and the other being the issue of Spinoza's pantheism (and alleged atheism). Two early individuals involved in the controversy over Spinoza were Jacobi, who argued against both Kant and Spinoza and is often associated with a dark kind of irrationalism, and Reinhold who defended Kant against these claims in the 1780s. In the 1790s, Fichte came to play an important role in philosophy, extending the thought of Kant with a form of subjectivism in his _Wissenschaftslehre_. The 1790s also witnessed the Romantic appropriation of Kantianism. Many of these early Romantics wrote for the journal _Athenaum_. These included the poets Holderlin and Novalis, the Protestant theologian of sentimentalism Schleiermacher, the brothers Schlegel who wrote in fragments, and the philosopher Schelling. Originally Schelling came to embrace Spinoza; however, later in his career he would become more conservative and reject him while explicitly defending Christian revelation. In addition, Jacob Fries played some role as a non-Romantic philosopher who appropriated Kant. The third part of this book deals strictly with Hegel. Hegel's _Phenomenology of Spirit_ provided an early groundwork for his _Encyclopedia_ and _Logic_. The book also covers some of Hegel's later lectures including his _Philosophy of Right_. Finally, the fourth part of this book deals with the revolution in question. This includes sections on Schelling's attempts at restoration in the second half of his career and on the philosophers Schopenhauer (a radical pessimist) and Kierkegaard (an early Danish existentialist). Finally, Hegel's philosophy was turned on its head and idealism abandoned for materialism in the writings of the Left Hegelians (who became increasingly radical) including such figures as Feuerbach, Marx, and Engels. This book gives an excellent introduction to German philosophy during a crucial period of years. Mostly this philosophy reflects the influence of Kant as well as the spirit of the times in which large sections of the youth and intelligentsia felt abandoned and left to pursue a life of autonomy.