Johann Gottlieb Fichte 1762 – 1814
Johann Gottlieb Fichte was a German philosopher and one of the founding figures of German Idealism. Beginning from Kant's critical philosophy, he developed the Wissenschaftslehre, an attempted derivation of the structure of experience from the self-positing activity of an absolute I. His Addresses to the German Nation, delivered under French occupation, helped to shape modern German nationalism, while his ethics emphasized vocation, freedom, and the moral mission of the rational will. He was a decisive influence on Schelling, Hegel, and the early Romantics.
Key facts
- Nationality
- German
- Era
- Modern
- Movements
- German Idealism
Selected quotes
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Attributed to Johann Gottlieb Fichte:
“The kind of philosophy one chooses depends on the kind of man one is.”
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Attributed to Johann Gottlieb Fichte:
“I am free; I cannot do other than be free.”
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Attributed to Johann Gottlieb Fichte:
“The educated man knows the world is ruled by law; the uneducated man does not.”
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Attributed to Johann Gottlieb Fichte:
“To act, then, to act, that is what we are here for.”
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Attributed to Johann Gottlieb Fichte:
“Be free, and see free people around you.”