The Rudolf Steiner Archive

Introduction

[ 1 ] The following discussions have the task of correctly formulating the problem of knowledge through an analysis of the act of cognition going back to the last elements and of indicating the way to a solution of the same. By criticizing the theories of cognition based on Kant's thought, they show that a solution to the relevant questions will never be possible from this standpoint. However, it must be recognized that without the fundamental preliminary work of Volkelt ^{1"Erfahrung und Denken. Critical foundation of epistemology", by Johannes Volkelt. Hamburg and Leipzig 1886} with their thorough investigations into the concept of experience, the precise formulation of the concept of the "given", as we are attempting, would have been made very difficult. However, we give ourselves up to the hope that we have laid the foundation for overcoming the subjectivism inherent in Kant's theories of knowledge. And we believe we have done this by demonstrating that the subjective form in which the world view appears before it is processed by science for the act of cognition is only a necessary transitional stage, which is overcome in the process of cognition itself. For us, so-called experience, which positivism and neo-Kantianism would so much like to present as the only certain thing, is precisely the most subjective thing. And by showing this, we establish objective idealism as a necessary consequence of a self-understanding theory of knowledge. This differs from Hegel's metaphysical, absolute idealism in that it seeks the reason for the division of reality into given being and concept in the subject of knowledge and sees the mediation of these not in an objective world dialectic, but in the subjective process of cognition. The writer of these lines has already represented this point of view in writing in 1885 in his "Basic Lines of an Epistemology of Goethe's World View" on the basis of investigations which, of course, differ substantially from the present ones in terms of method and which also lack a return to the first elements of cognition.

[ 2 ] The more recent literature that comes into consideration for these discussions is as follows. We cite not only that to which our account directly refers, but also all those writings which deal with questions similar to those we are discussing. We refrain from specifically citing the writings of the actual philosophical classics.

[ 3 ] For epistemology in general, the following can be considered:

1. R. Avenarius, Philosophy as thinking of the world according to the principle of the smallest measure of force etc.; Leipzig 1876
   ___Critique of Pure Experience; 1st vol. Leipzig 1888
2. J. F. A. Bahnsen, Der Widerspruch im Wissen und Wesen der Welt; 1st vol. Leipzig 1882
3. J. Baumann, Philosophy as orientation about the world; Leipzig 1872
4. J. 5. Beck, Einzig möglicher Standpunkt, aus welchem die kritische Philosophie muß werden beurteilt werden; Riga 1796
5. F. E. Beneke, System of Metaphysics and Philosophy of Religion etc.; Berlin 1839
6. Julius Bergmann, Sein und Erkennen etc.; Berlin 1880 A. E. Biedermann, Christliche Dogmatik; 2nd ed. Berlin 1884/85
7. H. Cohen, Kant's Theory of Experience; Berlin 1871
8. P. Deussen, The Elements of Metaphysics; 2nd edition, Leipzig 1890
9. W. Dilthey, Einleitung in die Geisteswissenschaften etc.; Leipzig 1883 - especially the introductory chapters dealing with the relationship of epistemology to the other sciences. - Also worth considering by the same author: Beiträge zur Lösung der Frage vom Ursprung unseres Glaubens an die Realität der Außenwelt und seinem Recht; Sitzungsberichte der Kgl. Preuß. Academy of Sciences in Berlin, Berlin 1890, p.977
10. A. Dorner, Das menschliche Erkennen etc.; Berlin 1887
11. E. Dreher, On Perception and Thinking; Berlin 1878
12. G. Engel, Sein und Denken; Berlin 1889
13. W. Enoch, The Concept of Perception; Hamburg 1890
14. B. Erdmann, Kants Kriticismus in der ersten und zweiten Auflage seiner Kritik der reinen Vernunft; Leipzig 1878
15. F. v. Feldegg, Das Gefühl als Fundament der Weltordnung; Vienna 1890
16. E. L. Fischer, Die Grundfragen der Erkenntnistheorie; Mainz 1887
17. K. Fischer, System der Logik und Metaphysik oder Wissenschaftslehre; 2nd edition, Heidelberg 1865
    . ___Geschichte der neueren Philosophie; Mannheim 1860 (especially the parts relating to Kant)
18. A. Ganser, The Truth; Graz 1890
19. C. Göring, System of Critical Philosophy; Leipzig 1874
    ___On the Concept of Experience; Vierteljahrsschrift für wissenschaftliche Philosophie; Leipzig 1st vol. 1877, p.384
20. E. Grimm, Zur Geschichte des Erkenntnisproblems usw.; Leipzig 1890
21. F. Grung, The Problem of Certainty; Heidelberg 1886
22. R. Hamerling, The Atomistics of the Will; Hamburg 1891
23. F. Harms, The Philosophy since Kant; Berlin 1876
24. E. v. Hartmann, Kritische Grundlegung des transzendentalen Realismus; 2nd ed. Berlin 1875
    ___J. H. v. Kirchmann's epistemological realism; Berlin 1875
    ___Das Grundproblem der Erkenntnistheorie etc.; Leipzig 1889
    ___Kritische Wanderungen durch die Philosophie der Gegenwart; Leipzig 1889
25. H. L. F. v. Helmholtz, The Facts in Perception; Berlin 1879
26. G. Heymans, The Laws and Elements of Scientific Thought; Leyden 1890
27. A. Hölder, Presentation of Kant's epistemology; Tübingen 1874
28. A. Horwicz, Analysis of Thought, etc.; Halle 1875
29. F. H. Jacobi, David Hume on Faith or Idealism and Realism; Breslau 1787
30. M. Kappes, Der " Common Sense " als Prinzip der Gewißheit in der Philosophie des Schotten Thomas Reid; Munich 1890
31. M. Kauffmann, Fundamente der Erkenntnistheorie und Wissenschaftslehre; Leipzig 1890
32. B. Kerry, System einer Theorie der Grenzgebiete; Vienna 1890
33. J. H. v. Kirchmann, The Doctrine of Knowledge as an Introduction to the Study of Philosophical Works; Berlin 1868
34. E. Laas, Die Kausalität des Ich; Vierteljahrsschrift für wissenschaftliche Philosophie; Leipzig, 4th year (1880) p.1 ff, 185ff, 311 ff
    ___Idealism and Positivism; Berlin 1879
35. FA. Lange, History of Materialism; Iserlohn 1873/75
36. A. v. Leclair, Contributions to a Monistic Epistemology; Breslau 1882
37. Das kategorische Gepräge des Denkens; Vierteljahrsschrift für wissenschaftliche Philosophie, Leipzig, 7th year (1883) p.257 ff
38. O. Liebmann, Kant and the Epigones; Stuttgart 1865
    ___On the Analysis of Reality; Strasbourg 1880
    ___Thoughts and Facts; Strasbourg 1882
    ___The Climax of Theories; Strasbourg 1884
39. Th. Lipps, Grundtatsachen des Seelenlebens; Bonn 1883 H. R. Lotze, System of Philosophy, Part 1: Logic; Leipzig 1874
40. J. V. Mayer, Vom Erkennen; Freiburg i. Br. 1885
41. A. Meinong, Hume-Studien; Vienna 1877
42. J. St. Mill, System of Inductive and Deductive Logic; 1843; German Brunswick 1849
43. W. Münz, Die Grundlagen der Kantschen Erkenntnistheorie; 2nd edition, Breslau 1885
44. G. Neudecker, Das Grundproblem der Erkenntnistheorie; Nördlingen 1881
45. F. Paulsen, Versuch einer Entwicklungsgeschichte der Kantschen Erkenntnistheorie; Leipzig 1875
46. J. Rehmke, The world as perception and concept etc.; Berlin 1880
47. Th. Reid, Untersuchungen über den menschlichen Geist nach Prinzipien des gesunden Menschenverstandes; 1764, German Leipzig 1782
48. A. Riehl, Philosophical Criticism and its Significance for Positive Science; Leipzig 1887
49. J. Rülf, Wissenschaft des Weltgedankens und der Gedankenwelt, System einer neuen Metaphysik; Leipzig 1888
50. R. v. Schubert-Soldern, Foundations of a Theory of Knowledge; Leipzig 1884
51. G. E. Schulze, Aenesidemus; Helmstädt 1792 W. Schuppe, Zur voraussetzungslosen Erkenntnistheorie; Philosophische Monatshefte, Berlin, Leipzig, Heidelberg 1882, Volume XVIII, Issue 6 and 7
52. R. Seydel, Logik oder Wissenschaft vom Wissen; Leipzig 1866
53. Christoph v. Sigwart, Logik; Freiburg i. Br. 1878
54. A. Stadler, Die Grundsätze der reinen Erkenntnistheorie in der Kantischen Philosophie; Leipzig 1876
55. H. Taine, De l'Intelligence; 5th edition, Paris 1888
56. A. Trendelenburg, Logical Investigations; Leipzig 1862
57. F. Ueberweg, System der Logik; 3rd edition, Bonn 1882
58. H. Vaihinger, Hartmann, Dühring and Lange; Iserlohn 1876
59. Th. Vambühler, Refutation of the Critique of Pure Reason; Leipzig 1890
60. J. Volkelt, Immanuel Kant's epistemology etc.; Hamburg 1879
    ___Erfahrung und Denken; Hamburg 1886 R. Wahle, Brain and Consciousness; Vienna 1884
61. W. Windelband, Preludes; Freiburg i. Br. 1884
    ___Die verschiedenen Phasen der Kantschen Lehre vom " Ding an sich"; Vierteljahrsschrift für wissenschaftliche Philosophie, Leipzig, 1st year (1877), p.224 ff
62. J. H. Witte, Contributions to the Understanding of Kant; Berlin 1874
    ___Vorstudien zur Erkenntnis des unerfahrbaren Seins; Bonn 1876
63. H. Wolff, Über den Zusammenhang unserer Vorstellungen mit den Dingen außer uns; Leipzig 1874
64. J. Wolff, Consciousness and its object; Berlin 1889
65. W. Wundt, Logic, 1st vol.: Theory of cognition; Stuttgart 1880

For Fichte the following can be considered:

1. F. C. Biedermann, De Genetica philosophandi ratione et methodo, praesertim Fichtii, Schellingii, Hegelii, Dissertationis particula prima, syntheticam Fichtii methodum exhibens etc.; Lipsiae 1835
2. F. Frederichs, Der Freiheitsbegriff Kants und Fichtes; Berlin 1886
3. O. Gühlhof, The transcendental idealism; Halle 1888
4. P. P. Hensel, Über die Beziehung des reinen Ich bei Fichte zur Einheit der Apperception bei Kant; Freiburg i. Br. 1885
5. G. Schwabe, Fichte's and Schopenhauer's Doctrine of the Will with its Consequences for the Understanding of the World and the Conduct of Life; Jena 1887

[ 4 ] The numerous writings published for the Fichte anniversary in 1862 are of course not included here. At most, Trendelenburg's speech (A. Trendelenburg, Zur Erinnerung an J. G. Fichte; Berlin 1862), which contains more important theoretical points of view, may be mentioned.