German Classical Philosophy

The Philosophy of J.G. Fichte

The Doctrine of Man, Society, and Its History

Fichte dedicated a number of works to the issues of man, society, and history, including "Some Lectures on the Purpose of the Scholar," "The Vocation of Man," "The Closed Commercial State," and "The Fundamental Features of the Modern Era." He linked the question of the essence of humanity with his teachings on morality. The human desire to know oneself is rooted in the reflective capacity of consciousness, in the ability to ponder: "What is the I?" when the I itself wishes to know itself. On one hand, man is a mere phenomenon of nature; however, only man possesses awareness of his own existence, perceiving it as an active part of nature. This awareness of one's activity is termed will. From the resolve or indecision of the will arises remorse and conscience. A person does not wish to be merely a product of nature; they desire to act, to be a free being. The system of nature denies freedom, thus contradicting the system of freedom embodied by humanity.

Fichte proceeds along this path: How does man come to know nature? His experience is not the experience of things as they are in themselves. Initially, man lacks the experience of consciousness, yet he possesses a desire for knowledge, which is fulfilled through self-awareness. Subsequently, in experience, we recognize things as existing independently of ourselves, yet we can only be certain of our own being. The transition to the practical essence of humanity then occurs. We cannot derive the purpose or aim of human life through theoretical knowledge; these arise from our original self-determined practical essence.

Regarding society and its history, we will reference material from Fichte's work "The Fundamental Features of the Modern Era," published in 1806 based on lectures delivered in Berlin. Fichte perceives the purpose of human life as striving to establish all its relations in earthly existence freely and in accordance with reason. Although freedom is inherently part of man, the path to true freedom is long. Since humanity develops within and alongside the family, we are thus concerned with the freedom of the collective. We can distinguish two principal epochs or periods in the history of humanity's earthly life: the epoch of the dominance of instinctual reason, wherein reason manifests not through freedom, and the epoch of the freedom of reason (ultimately leading from blind existence to enlightened awareness). This framework serves as a foundation for identifying other stages. Thus, between the first and second epochs lies a transitional stage—the epoch of consciousness or the science of reason—while between it and the preceding epoch is the epoch of liberation from instinctual reason. Yet, even here, there are intermediary epochs: the dominance of the authority of reason and liberation from its oppression. With the emancipation from the authority of reason, a period of the decline of all dominion of reason ensues, ushering in freedom, which may be celebrated as the epoch of "the art of reason." Each epoch bears its own moral characteristics: 1) the state of innocence; 2) the state of initial sinfulness; 3) the state of complete sinfulness; 4) the onset of justification; 5) complete justification and sanctification.

Fichte emphasizes that the entire path humanity traverses in earthly life is, in essence, a return to the beginning, to the original state; this constitutes the goal of the historical process. However, humanity must traverse this path on its own feet; individuals must transform themselves into what they were originally granted.