Synopses & Reviews
"All art should become science and all science art; poetry and philosophy should be made one." Friedrich Schlegel's words perfectly capture the project of the German Romantics, who believed that the aesthetic approaches of art and literature could reveal patterns and meaning in nature that couldn't be uncovered through rationalistic philosophy and science alone. In this wide-ranging work, Robert J. Richards shows how the Romantic conception of the world influenced (and was influenced by) both the lives of the people who held it and the development of nineteenth-century science.
Integrating Romantic literature, science, and philosophy with an intimate knowledge of the individuals involvedand#8212;from Goethe and the brothers Schlegel to Humboldt and Friedrich and Caroline Schellingand#8212;Richards demonstrates how their tempestuous lives shaped their ideas as profoundly as their intellectual and cultural heritage. He focuses especially on how Romantic concepts of the self, as well as aesthetic and moral considerationsand#8212;all tempered by personal relationshipsand#8212;altered scientific representations of nature. Although historians have long considered Romanticism at best a minor tributary to scientific thought, Richards moves it to the center of the main currents of nineteenth-century biology, culminating in the conception of nature that underlies Darwin's evolutionary theory.
Uniting the personal and poetic aspects of philosophy and science in a way that the German Romantics themselves would have honored, The Romantic Conception of Life alters how we look at Romanticism and nineteenth-century biology.
Review
“Romanticism is a complex and many faceted phenomenon, and our understanding of (and wonder at) this fascinating movement can only gain by the multiplicity of perspectives with which scholars have approached it. Nassars book gives us one of the most interesting and insightful philosophical approaches I have read and will no doubt be a landmark in the scholarship for some time to come.”
Review
“An engaging book on the philosophical movement known as German Romanticism. . . . Nassars treatment of her principal subjects is first-rate, and her grasp of both primary texts and recent secondary literature impressive. Her writing is clear and accessible despite the thorny technical vocabulary of her subjects. While this is not a comprehensive history of philosophical Romanticism, Nassar is deeply conversant with the intellectual and cultural milieus of the era and puts this knowledge to good use when contextualizing and illuminating her subjects.”
Review
“The Romantic Absolute is an excellent book. Dalia Nassar has a superb command of the very difficult materials she deals with and makes a strong case for the significance of ‘romantic philosophy’ by offering extensive readings of Novalis (Friedrich von Hardenberg), Friedrich Schlegel, and Friedrich Schelling. Not simply carving out a little niche but addressing the core issue in Germany around 1800, she thinks along with these thinkers, unfolding how they explore different versions of the ‘absolute.’”
Review
“Dalia Nassar’s The Romantic Absolute is an excellent book. It focuses on the still relatively neglected topic of the metaphysical and epistemological foundations of German romanticism. Nassar argues for interpreting the leading romantics as constructive metaphysicians (a reading which leads her to include Friedrich Schelling as one of them). Her historical scholarship is first-rate, her critical discussion of other secondary literature consistently illuminating, and she writes with a rare combination of linguistic mastery and intellectual clarity that makes her book a pleasure to read.”
Review
“In TheRomantic Absolute, Dalia Nassar explores the treacherous philosophical territory between Kant and Hegel, which is the reserve of the early romantics: the poet Friedrich von Hardenberg (Novalis), the classicist Friedrich Schlegel, and the boy-philosopher Friedrich Schelling. Danger lurks here. Without a reliable guide, the reader can quickly tumble into crevasses of incomprehension. Nassar provides such a guide. With articulate verve, she shows how the romantics construed nature and mind as identical, how in Schellings terms nature was the poetry of mind and mind the outgrowth of nature. Following a careful path through thickets of disputing critics, she illuminates the darker areas of German romanticism and protects the reader from sliding into the slough of despond.”
Review
“Modern scholarship on classical German philosophy has demonstrated the role of early Romanticism in defining the post-Kantian intellectual agenda. Dalia Nassar’s excellent study of three members of the movement, Novalis, F. Schlegel, and Schelling, provides an illuminating account of how their common concern to develop a philosophy of the ‘Absolute’, together with the conceptual challenges inherent to such a project, shaped their ideas and generated distinctive profiles. . . . For students approaching the subject for the first time, Nassar’s book provides a highly readable, reliable, and informative introduction to key themes and figures (including discussion of relations to Kant, Fichte, Jacobi, and—notably—Goethe). Seasoned scholars of the period will also find plenty to keep them thinking, in Nassar’s problem-oriented analyses and eye-opening comparisons. Required reading for those interested in the field.”
Synopsis
Includes bibliographical references (p. 555-571) and index.
Synopsis
"All art should become science and all science art; poetry and philosophy should be made one." Friedrich Schlegel's words perfectly capture the project of the German Romantics, who believed that the aesthetic approaches of art and literature could reveal patterns and meaning in nature that couldn't be uncovered through rationalistic philosophy and science alone. In this wide-ranging work, Robert J. Richards shows how the Romantic conception of the world influenced (and was influenced by) both the lives of the people who held it and the development of nineteenth-century science.
Integrating Romantic literature, science, and philosophy with an intimate knowledge of the individuals involvedfrom Goethe and the brothers Schlegel to Humboldt and Friedrich and Caroline SchellingRichards demonstrates how their tempestuous lives shaped their ideas as profoundly as their intellectual and cultural heritage. He focuses especially on how Romantic concepts of the self, as well as aesthetic and moral considerationsall tempered by personal relationshipsaltered scientific representations of nature. Although historians have long considered Romanticism at best a minor tributary to scientific thought, Richards moves it to the center of the main currents of nineteenth-century biology, culminating in the conception of nature that underlies Darwin's evolutionary theory.
Uniting the personal and poetic aspects of philosophy and science in a way that the German Romantics themselves would have honored, The Romantic Conception of Life alters how we look at Romanticism and nineteenth-century biology.
Synopsis
The absolute was one of the most significant philosophical concepts in the early nineteenth century, particularly for the German romantics. Its exact meaning and its role within philosophical romanticism remain, however, a highly contested topic among contemporary scholars. In
The Romantic Absolute, Dalia Nassar offers an illuminating new assessment of the romantics and their understanding of the absolute. In doing so, she fills an important gap in the history of philosophy, especially with respect to the crucial period between Kant and Hegel.
Scholars today interpret philosophical romanticism along two competing lines: one emphasizes the romantics’ concern with epistemology, the other their concern with metaphysics. Through careful textual analysis and systematic reconstruction of the work of three major romantics—Novalis, Friedrich Schlegel, and Friedrich Schelling—Nassar shows that neither interpretation is fully satisfying. Rather, she argues, one needs to approach the absolute from both perspectives. Rescuing these philosophers from frequent misunderstanding, and even dismissal, she articulates not only a new angle on the philosophical foundations of romanticism but on the meaning and significance of the notion of the absolute itself.
About the Author
Robert J. Richards is the Morris Fishbein Distinguished Service Professor of the History of Science and Medicine; professor in the Departments of History, Philosophy, and Psychology and in the Committee on Conceptual and Historical Studies of Science; and director of the Fishbein Center for the History of Science and Medicine, all at the University of Chicago. In 2011, he was awarded the George Sarton Medal in recognition of distinguished scholarship and contributions to the advancement of the History of Science.
Table of Contents
AcknowledgmentsAbbreviations Introduction
Part One: Novalis1. Interpreting the
Fichte-Studien2. Beyond the Subjective Self: Hemsterhuis, Kant, and the Question of the Whole3. Romanticizing Nature and the Self4. A Living Organon of the Sciences Conclusion to Part 1: Romanticism and Idealism
Part Two: Schlegel5. New Philosophical Ideals: Schlegel’s Critique of First Principles6. From Epistemology to Ontology: The Lectures on Transcendental Idealism7. Becoming, Nature, and Freedom8. Presenting Nature: From the System of Fragments to the Romantic Novel Conclusion to Part 2: Schlegel as Philosopher
Part Three: Schelling9. The Early Schelling: Between Fichte and Spinoza10. The Philosophy of Nature11. From the
System of Transcendental Idealism to the Identity Philosophy12. Identity Philosophy and the Philosophy of Art Conclusion to Part 3 Conclusion: The Romantic Absolute NotesWorks Cited