German Classical Philosophy

The Philosophy of F. W. J. Schelling

Life and Work of F. W. J. Schelling

Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling was born in 1775 in the town of Leonberg, near Stuttgart, into the family of a church official. At the age of ten, Wilhelm was sent to a Latin school, and just five years later, he became a student at the University of Tübingen. Of the five years he spent at the university, Schelling devoted the first two to philosophy and the subsequent three to theology. While in Tübingen, he became friends with Hegel, who was five years his senior. In 1791, Schelling read Kant's "Critique of Pure Reason" for the first time and became deeply engaged with the essence of critical philosophy. He obtained his Master’s degree in philosophy in 1792. After graduating from the university and until 1798, he worked as a private tutor. During this time, he evolved from an interest in epistemological issues to concerns in natural philosophy, a transition marked by the publication of several works that offered him hopes for an academic career. By the age of 24, Schelling was invited to occupy a professorship at the University of Jena.

His teaching career in Jena lasted four years, during which the young professor lectured on courses in the philosophy of nature and transcendental idealism. The following three years, Schelling served as an ordinary professor at the University of Würzburg.

At the age of 31, Schelling moved to Munich. Creatively, this Munich period was characterized by his transition to the philosophy of religion, although initially, he had no academic duties in Munich. In the autumn of 1826, one of the oldest universities in Germany relocated to Munich, where Schelling was invited to join the faculty. During his inaugural lecture, addressing the Bavarian youth, he emphasized that the educational process must embody the spirit of freedom; one can compel a person to learn anything, but philosophy is an act of free love, and it cannot be taught or forced upon anyone.

In the autumn of 1841, Schelling moved to Berlin at an invitation, where he lectured at Berlin University on the philosophy of mythology and the philosophy of revelation. Five years later, following a scandal regarding the publication of his lecture course without his consent, Schelling's teaching activities virtually came to an end. He passed away in Ragaz on August 20, 1854.