Sacrifice and individuality: Lask as a reader of Fichte

Abstract

This paper deals with the relationship between individuality and value in transcendental philosophy based on the analysis of J. G. Fichte’s philosophy by Emil Lask in his 1903 book, Fichtes Idealismus und die Geschichte. The paper aims to demonstrate how the radicalization of transcendentalism guides it toward a non-empirical realism. It also aims to show how this non-empirical realism prevents transcendentalism from realizing itself exclusively in the form of self-reflexive investigation of the structures of consciousness, and translates it into an appreciation of praxis. After a discussion of Lask’s philosophy in general and of Lask’s Fichte-Buch (§ 2), I explain the content and development of Lask’s thesis in relation to three specific authors: Windelband, Rickert, and Liebmann (§ 3-4). Finally, I analyze two questions that are crucial to the development of Fichtean thought: the relationship between philosophy and life (§ 5) and between individuality and sacrifice (§ 6).

Recebido: 23/08/2016
Aceito: 16/06/2017