The notion of the will plays an important role in modern German philosophy. In recent years work has been done on developing a general overview of the concept of the will in ethics, politics and...Show moreThe notion of the will plays an important role in modern German philosophy. In recent years work has been done on developing a general overview of the concept of the will in ethics, politics and metaphysics from Kant to 20th century thought. This thesis seeks to give a new impetus for exploring this topic by looking at Schelling’s account of the will in his later philosophy. Schelling is of particular interest for exploring the significance of the will in (post)Kantian thought because he uses the concept of the will to solve the fundamental problem he sees with the Kantian notion of intelligibility. In this thesis I attempt to show how Schelling uses his notion of the will to critically reevaluate the notion of fundamental intelligibility which Kant represents in his discussion of the ideal of pure reason. The main argument of this thesis is that the concept of the will allows Schelling to reconceptualize how the intelligibility of reality is grounded. First Schelling’s distinction between positive and negative philosophy is discussed in relation to what idea of intelligibility is behind modern philosophy. Then, using Markus Gabriel and Wolfram Hogrebe their explications of Schelling’s ontology, the concept of the will is introduced as the only way to think the ground of existence as self-grounded. In the last part of the thesis, I show how this notion of the will allows Schelling to rethink the transcendental ideal in a way which combines the affirmative nature of external reality with the fact that thought itself comes to constitute the potency for thought. In this way the will can help us rethink the notion of intelligibility, which is grounded in fundamental affirmation, as not merely ideal, as in Kant or negative philosophy, but as an actual element grounding all conceptual and ontological determinations. The conclusion of my research is that Schelling’s notion of the will in his late philosophy reveals an important way of reconceptualizing Kant’s insights in his discussion on the transcendental ideal of reason which makes the idea presented there, of the necessary fundamental affirmation by reality of all concepts, more ontologically plausible and true to actual knowing. This reinterpretation of the transcendental ideal shows Schelling’s relevance in the attempt to make Kantian thought of greater importance for modern philosophy in both its analytic and continental forms.Show less
