This is a transition period in the philosophy of Schelling. His greater originality' and independence lie in his Jena period. He now begins to drift towards syncretism and a mystical theosophv. It is an effort to escape from pantheism towards Christianity, or ratli- er to find a system which shall express the truth of both. The works which give expression to this ten-
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dency — thej' appear less frequenth' than previously — are : Dus Verhdltniss der hildenden Kiinste zur Natur (1807) : — Dus Wesen der menschlichen Freihdt (1809) : — the harsh work against Jacobi, Dmkmal der ScliriJ't von den gottlicken Dinyen (1812) ; and essays in the All- gem. Zeitschrift (Munich, 1813),
After the year 1815 there begins an almost uninter- rupted silence of nearly forty years in Schelling's life. In 1820 he lectured for a brief period at Erlangen. In 1826 he was made professor of philosojihy at the new University of Munich. His lectures here formed an epoch in the life of many rising young men. In 1841 he accepted a call to Berlin. The lectures here deliv- ered formed a strong antithesis to the dominant Hege- lianism, and are the best expression of his later system. His last years were devoted to editing his later form of doctrine for the press. Death overtook him in Aug. 1854, while seeking relief at the baths of Ragaz, in Switzerland, at the age of seventy -nine. Soon after his death (185G) the publication of his collective works was begun by his son (a clergyman), K. F. A. Schelling. They embrace a first division of ten volumes and a sec- ond of four volumes (Stuttgart and Augsburg, 185G sq.).
Fkilosophi/. — The phiJosophj' of Schelling does not present a definite, self-consistent unity. It was in an almost constant state of self-modification. But it pre- sents two pretty definite, crystallizing climax-points — his earh' pantheistic idealism and his later Christian theosophy. Between these climax-points lies his long period of almost total retirement from public life. As a whole, however, the growth of his thoughts raaj' be distributed under the following five phases :
(1.) ScheUinfj as a disciple of Fichte. (2.) His philosophy of nature and his transcendental idealism. (.S.) His system of identity. (4. ) His transition period. (5.) His theosophic approach to Christianity.
(1.) Schelling began his thought-system by absorb- ing and championing the reigning philosophy of the day — to wit, the system of Kant as modified by Fichte. By Fichte the idealism of Kant was emphasized into exclusive validity. According to Fichte, there is no other reality than the absolute activity of the Ego. It is true, this activity of the Ego is conditioned b}- an ob- ject— the Not-me. But this Not-me cannot be derived from any reality exterior to the Ego; that is, from any thing per se. On the contrary, the Not-me, the exter- nal world of thought and observation, is really an un- conscious creation of the Ego, which the Ego then sub- sequently raises to an object of conscious contemplation. But which is the absolute reality with Fichte, the Ego as unconscious or as conscious? If as miconscions, ih^n God. the All, is unconscious; and the empirical con- sciousness of man is delusive and unreal, and is destined to vanish into unconsciousness. If as conscimis, then God, the supreme reality, has no existence save in the transitional flux of vanishing, finite Egos: he is in eter- nal process of becoming and of passing awaj'. Between these two consequences Fichte's sj'stem constantly os- cillated, tending at the one pole to self-annihilation, and at the other to self- deification. The latter ten- dency prevailed more in his earlier, and the former in his later, life. It was as an enthusiast for this rigid ideal- ism of Fichte that Schelling made his philosophical debut. With Fichte he denied self-consciousness and personality to the absolute being; and he insisted that for the idea of a divine revelation there can be no place, save in the mythological phraseology of the populace. The histo- ry of religions he regarded as only a " progressive, sym- bolical manifestation of the ideas of the absolute rea- son." The philosophies and religions of the ancient world present in an imperfect and, as it were, uncon- scious form that which modern thought has developed in full consciousness of its own processes. Perhaps tlie chief feature in which Schelling differed from Fichte from the very outset was that he found a deeper sig-
nificance in the different forms of religion than Fichte had done.
(2.) Schelling's second phase (1796-1800) sprang from his growing conviction that a mere subjective idealism could not do justice to the empirical objective world bj' which we are met on every hand. He did not mean by this to give up the results of his idealism ; he onlj' meant to reach the same results upon another path — to rediscover the reason of the subject in the objective reason of the world of nature. Thereby he introduced a new stadium into his philosophy : constructive or cre- ative knowledge was put into the place of the previous critical knowledge. As previously the Ego had con- centrated itself absolutely upon itself, so now this Ego, the sidjject, was to expand itself over the universe and find tlie laws of its own intuitions there reflected. Out o{ subjective idealism sprang, thus, an objective idealism. From the standpoint of this idealism the moral element loses its importance, and speculatii-e knowledge is the one thing important. The intention of Schelling in his Philosophy of Nature was simply to complement the idealism of Fichte; but in reality it grew into a direct antithesis to it. With Fichte, nature was merely a means for the development of the subject. With SchelHng, it was a manifestation-form of the absolute Ego, and had essence and significance in itself. Nature icas spirit visible ; sjnrit was nature invisible. This con- ception seemed strikingly new and important. It was hailed with very great enthusiasm. Nature was to Schelling a perpetual movement of self-balancing force. By the varied interaction of attraction and repulsion are produced the infinitely varied forms of organic life. Matter is balanced force. Nature, when rising above the antithesis of attraction and repulsion, becomes light. Light is, as it were, the soul, the thought of nature. Under the influence of light, matter evolves itself dy, namically in the phenomena of magnetism, electricity, chemistry. The antithesis of crude matter and liglit is harmonized in the higher stage of organic life. Here light inheres in the objects; it is their vitality, their life. Matter becomes here a mere incident of the vital- izing principle. The stages of the dynamic process con- stitute the great divisions of organic life. The prepon- derance of objectivity or of subjectivity determines the characteristics of the three great kingdoms of organic nature — the vegetable, the animal, and the himian or moral. Matter is the background upon which these three kingdoms stand out as higher stages of evolved being. Through it they stand related and are united into a unitary cosmos.