Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi Quotes
Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi was a German philosopher whose writings precipitated the so-called pantheism controversy of the 1780s and shaped the philosophical agenda of German Idealism. His Letters on the Doctrine of Spinoza argued, against Mendelssohn and the Enlightenment rationalists, that consistent Enlightenment philosophy leads inevitably to Spinozist pantheism, and that Spinozism leads in turn to fatalism and to nihilism, a term he used in something close to its modern sense. The quotes below are attributed to Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi, organized by topic.
Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi on God
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Attributed to Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi:
“I am a heathen with my reason and a Christian with my heart.”
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Attributed to Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi:
“Reason without faith is suicidal.”
Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi on Truth
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Attributed to Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi:
“All philosophy ends in nihilism if it does not begin in faith.”
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Attributed to Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi:
“Spinozism leads ultimately to fatalism, and fatalism to nihilism.”
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Attributed to Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi:
“We do not so much know being as participate in it.”