The pantheism controversy (German: Pantheismusstreit), also known as Spinozismusstreit or Spinozastreit, refers to the 1780s debates in German intellectual life that discussed the merits of Spinoza's "pantheistic" conception of God. What became a wider cultural debate in German society started as a personal disagreement between Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi and Moses Mendelssohn over their understanding of Gotthold Ephraim Lessing's Spinozist beliefs. The difference of opinion became a wider public controversy when, in 1785, Jacobi published his correspondence with Mendelssohn.[1] This started a series of public discussions on the matter.
Über die Lehre des Spinoza, 2nd ed. (1789)
Benjamin Crowe of Boston University stated in a 2008 paper that: "The leading luminaries of late eighteenth and early-nineteenth German letters, people such as Herder, Goethe, Hegel, Schelling and Schleiermacher, all, in one way or another, were shaped by the ‘Pantheism Controversy’."[2] And in Michael Forster's own words (2010), "During the last quarter or so of the eighteenth century and then well into the nineteenth century a wave of neo-Spinozism swept through German philosophy and literature: in addition to Lessing and Herder, further neo-Spinozists included Goethe, Schelling, Hegel, Schleiermacher, Hölderlin, Novalis, and Friedrich Schlegel. This wave was largely a result of Herder's embrace of neo-Spinozism in God: Some Conversations (and in Goethe's case, Herder's sympathy with Spinozism even before that work)."[3]
Jacobi's Über die Lehre des Spinozas (1st ed. 1785, 2nd ed. 1789) expressed sharply and clearly his strenuous objection to a dogmatic system in philosophy[citation needed], and drew upon him the vigorous enmity of the Berlin group, led by Moses Mendelssohn. Jacobi claimed that Spinoza's doctrine was pure materialism, because all Nature and God are said to be nothing but extended substance. This, for Jacobi, was the result of Enlightenmentrationalism and it would finally end in absolute atheism. Mendelssohn disagreed with Jacobi, saying that there is no actual difference between theism and pantheism. The entire issue became a major intellectual and religious concern for European civilization at the time, which Immanuel Kant rejected, as he thought that attempts to conceive of transcendent reality would lead to antinomies in thought.
Legacy
Jacobi was ridiculed for trying to reintroduce into philosophy the antiquated notion of unreasoning belief, was denounced as an enemy of reason, as a pietist, and as a Jesuit in disguise, and was especially attacked for his use of the ambiguous term Glaube (German: "belief, faith").
Willi Goetschel argues that Jacobi's publication significantly shaped the reception of Spinoza's doctrine for centuries following its publication, obscuring the nuance of Spinoza's philosophic work.[4]
The Pantheism controversy is also notable for its development of and influence upon prominent philosophical terms in German culture, including the idea of nihilism and claims that God is dead.[5]
Jacobi's next important work, David Hume Über den Glauben, oder Idealismus und Realismus (1787), was an attempt to show not only that the term Glaube had been used by the most eminent writers to denote what he had employed it for in the Letters on Spinoza, but that the nature of the cognition of facts as opposed to the construction of inferences could not be otherwise expressed. In this writing, and especially in the appendix, Jacobi came into contact with the critical philosophy, and subjected the Kantian view of knowledge to searching examination.
The attraction of Spinoza's philosophy to late eighteenth-century Europeans was that it provided an alternative to materialism, atheism, and deism. Three of Spinoza's ideas strongly appealed to them: the unity of all that exists, the regularity of all that happens, and the identity of spirit and nature.[6]
At the dawn of the first remarkable Spinoza revival in history, the break of the Pantheismusstreit marked the moment in which Baruch Spinoza's radical thinking moved from the clandestine underground to the center of the public debate and Spinoza's impact on Western thinking became public.[7]
In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Spinoza's thought was a vital force in the development of German philosophy and culture in general. From the age of Leibniz–Wolff to Lessing–Mendelssohn–Jacobi–Herder to Fichte–Schleiermacher–Hegel–Schelling to Feuerbach–Hess–Marx–Engels to Nietzsche to Haeckel, Spinoza's philosophy was especially both an immense source of inspiration and challenge for almost every major German thinker, including both the idealists and materialists. Spinoza's influence on German literary luminaries, particularly the Romantics, was highly significant from the age of Lessing to Goethe–Hölderlin–Novalis–Schlegel–Heine.
^"The Secret Religion of Germany: Christian Piety and the Pantheism Controversy". The Journal of Religion. 67 (4): 437–455. 1987. doi:10.1086/487625. S2CID 171037746.
^Crowe, Benjamin D. (2008). "On 'The religion of the visible Universe': Novalis and the pantheism controversy". British Journal for the History of Philosophy. 16: 125–146. doi:10.1080/09608780701789335. S2CID 170382946.
^Forster, Michael N.: After Herder: Philosophy of Language in the German Tradition. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010)
^Goetschel, Willi (2004). Spinoza's Modernity: Mendelssohn, Lessing, and Heine. Madison, Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin Press. pp. 12–13. ISBN0299190803.
^Josephson-Storm, Jason (2017). The Myth of Disenchantment: Magic, Modernity, and the Birth of the Human Sciences. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. 74. ISBN978-0-226-40336-6.
^Lange, Frederick Albert (1880). History of Materialism and Criticism of its Present Importance, Vol. II. Boston: Houghton, Osgood, & Co. p. 147. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
^Boehm, Omri: Kant's Critique of Spinoza. (Oxford University Press, 2014) ISBN9780199354801
January 31, 2023
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The pantheism controversy German Pantheismusstreit also known as Spinozismusstreit or Spinozastreit refers to the 1780s debates in German intellectual life that discussed the merits of Spinoza s pantheistic conception of God What became a wider cultural debate in German society started as a personal disagreement between Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi and Moses Mendelssohn over their understanding of Gotthold Ephraim Lessing s Spinozist beliefs The difference of opinion became a wider public controversy when in 1785 Jacobi published his correspondence with Mendelssohn 1 This started a series of public discussions on the matter Uber die Lehre des Spinoza 2nd ed 1789 Benjamin Crowe of Boston University stated in a 2008 paper that The leading luminaries of late eighteenth and early nineteenth German letters people such as Herder Goethe Hegel Schelling and Schleiermacher all in one way or another were shaped by the Pantheism Controversy 2 And in Michael Forster s own words 2010 During the last quarter or so of the eighteenth century and then well into the nineteenth century a wave of neo Spinozism swept through German philosophy and literature in addition to Lessing and Herder further neo Spinozists included Goethe Schelling Hegel Schleiermacher Holderlin Novalis and Friedrich Schlegel This wave was largely a result of Herder s embrace of neo Spinozism in God Some Conversations and in Goethe s case Herder s sympathy with Spinozism even before that work 3 Contents 1 History 2 Legacy 3 See also 4 ReferencesHistory EditA conversation between the German philosopher Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi and the German dramatist Gotthold Ephraim Lessing in 1780 led Jacobi to a protracted study of Baruch Spinoza s works Lessing had avowed that he knew no philosophy in the true sense of that word save Spinozism Jacobi s Uber die Lehre des Spinozas 1st ed 1785 2nd ed 1789 expressed sharply and clearly his strenuous objection to a dogmatic system in philosophy citation needed and drew upon him the vigorous enmity of the Berlin group led by Moses Mendelssohn Jacobi claimed that Spinoza s doctrine was pure materialism because all Nature and God are said to be nothing but extended substance This for Jacobi was the result of Enlightenment rationalism and it would finally end in absolute atheism Mendelssohn disagreed with Jacobi saying that there is no actual difference between theism and pantheism The entire issue became a major intellectual and religious concern for European civilization at the time which Immanuel Kant rejected as he thought that attempts to conceive of transcendent reality would lead to antinomies in thought Legacy EditJacobi was ridiculed for trying to reintroduce into philosophy the antiquated notion of unreasoning belief was denounced as an enemy of reason as a pietist and as a Jesuit in disguise and was especially attacked for his use of the ambiguous term Glaube German belief faith Willi Goetschel argues that Jacobi s publication significantly shaped the reception of Spinoza s doctrine for centuries following its publication obscuring the nuance of Spinoza s philosophic work 4 The Pantheism controversy is also notable for its development of and influence upon prominent philosophical terms in German culture including the idea of nihilism and claims that God is dead 5 Jacobi s next important work David Hume Uber den Glauben oder Idealismus und Realismus 1787 was an attempt to show not only that the term Glaube had been used by the most eminent writers to denote what he had employed it for in the Letters on Spinoza but that the nature of the cognition of facts as opposed to the construction of inferences could not be otherwise expressed In this writing and especially in the appendix Jacobi came into contact with the critical philosophy and subjected the Kantian view of knowledge to searching examination The attraction of Spinoza s philosophy to late eighteenth century Europeans was that it provided an alternative to materialism atheism and deism Three of Spinoza s ideas strongly appealed to them the unity of all that exists the regularity of all that happens and the identity of spirit and nature 6 At the dawn of the first remarkable Spinoza revival in history the break of the Pantheismusstreit marked the moment in which Baruch Spinoza s radical thinking moved from the clandestine underground to the center of the public debate and Spinoza s impact on Western thinking became public 7 In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries Spinoza s thought was a vital force in the development of German philosophy and culture in general From the age of Leibniz Wolff to Lessing Mendelssohn Jacobi Herder to Fichte Schleiermacher Hegel Schelling to Feuerbach Hess Marx Engels to Nietzsche to Haeckel Spinoza s philosophy was especially both an immense source of inspiration and challenge for almost every major German thinker including both the idealists and materialists Spinoza s influence on German literary luminaries particularly the Romantics was highly significant from the age of Lessing to Goethe Holderlin Novalis Schlegel Heine See also EditAtheism dispute SpinozismReferences Edit The Secret Religion of Germany Christian Piety and the Pantheism Controversy The Journal of Religion 67 4 437 455 1987 doi 10 1086 487625 S2CID 171037746 Crowe Benjamin D 2008 On The religion of the visible Universe Novalis and the pantheism controversy British Journal for the History of Philosophy 16 125 146 doi 10 1080 09608780701789335 S2CID 170382946 Forster Michael N After Herder Philosophy of Language in the German Tradition Oxford Oxford University Press 2010 Goetschel Willi 2004 Spinoza s Modernity Mendelssohn Lessing and Heine Madison Wisconsin University of Wisconsin Press pp 12 13 ISBN 0299190803 Josephson Storm Jason 2017 The Myth of Disenchantment Magic Modernity and the Birth of the Human Sciences Chicago University of Chicago Press p 74 ISBN 978 0 226 40336 6 Lange Frederick Albert 1880 History of Materialism and Criticism of its Present Importance Vol II Boston Houghton Osgood amp Co p 147 Retrieved 11 November 2015 Boehm Omri Kant s Critique of Spinoza Oxford University Press 2014 ISBN 9780199354801 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Pantheism controversy amp oldid 1131351535, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
