The Popular Works of Johann Gottlieb Fichte (1889 ed)

Johann Gottlieb Fichte (1762-1814) was the forerunner of the post-Kantian idealists and remains one of the most important figures in German philosophy.

Throughout his career, Fichte published, in addition to his systematic or "scientific" treatises, the best known of which is the "Foundation of the Entire Wissenchaftslehre (1794-5), a series of works directed at the general public.

The purpose of these "popular" writings was to indicate, in a non-technical manner, some of the characteristic features of the new transcendental philosophy and to explicate some of its more significant implications. William Smith translated most of these "popular writings" in the 19th century and published them individually and in the various editions of "The Popular Works of Johann Gottlieb Fichte".

Each edition included corrections and improvements in the translation.

The fourth and final edition is the one reprinted here. The texts tranlated by Smith included such well-known popular works as "The Vocation of Man", which is, arguably, Fichte's most successful effort to present his philosophy as a whole to non-specialists.

Also included are early and late versions of his lectures on the nature and vocation of "the scholar", works of great interest not only as indications of Fichte's theory of education, but as summaries of his philosophical standpoint.

The two published lecture series of 1806 are of particular interest, since Fichte did not publish any of the more technical versions of his philosophy after arriving in Berlin in 1800.

Instead he announcedhis new standpoint in his popular workks, "Characteristics of the Present Age", and "The Way Towards the Blessed Life", the former of which is explicitly concerned with the philosophy of history, and the latter of which is explicitly concerned with the philosophy of religion. "The Way Towards the Blessed Life" is often read as evidence of a more "mystical" turn in Fichte's later thought.

In addition to these translated texts, "The Popular Works" also includes a lengthy and valuable intellectual biography of Fichte by Smith.