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Schopenhauer's Contraction of Reason: Clarifying Kant and Undoing German Idealism

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 October 2012

Sebastian Gardner
Sebastian Gardner*
Affiliation:
University College London
*
Email: sebastian.gardner@ucl.ac.uk
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Abstract

Schopenhauer's claim that the essence of the world consists in Wille encounters well-known difficulties. Of particular importance is the conflict of this metaphysical claim with his restrictive account of conceptuality. This paper attempts to make sense of Schopenhauer's position by restoring him to the context of post-Kantian debate, with special attention to the early notebooks and Fourfold Root of the Principle of Sufficient Reason. On the reconstruction suggested here, Schopenhauer's philosophical project should be understood in light of his rejection of post-Kantian metaphilosophy and his opposition to German Idealism.

Keywords

causalityFichteGerman IdealismKantobjectpost-Kantianprinciple of sufficient reasonrepresentationSchellingSchopenhauerSpinozawill
Type
Articles
Information
Kantian Review , Volume 17 , Issue 3 , November 2012 , pp. 375 - 401
Copyright
Copyright © Kantian Review 2012

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