Johann Gottlieb Fichte

Johann Gottlieb Fichte (May 19, 1762 - January 27, 1814) was a German philosopher, who has significance in the history of Western philosophy as one of the leading progenitors of German idealism and as a follower of Immanuel Kant.

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Fichte was born in Rammenau, Saxony. In 1780, he attended the University of Jena as theology student. Fichte was originally a follower of Baruch Spinoza but later followed Kant's philosophy. His Attempt at a Critique of All Revelation was published anonymously in 1792 and scholars mistakenly thought the attempt was written by Kant himself. Kant cleared the confusion and openly praised the work, which greatly improved Fichte's reputation in the philosophical community.

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Fichte did not endorse Kant's argument for the existence of noumena, of "things as they are", not just as they are perceived through the categories of human reason. Fichte saw the rigorous and systematic separation of "things as they are" (noumena) and things "as they appear to be" (phenomena) as an invitation to skepticism.

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Rather than invite such skepticism, Fichte made the radical suggestion that we should throw out the notion of a noumenal world and instead accept the fact that consciousness does not have a grounding in a so-called "real world". In fact, Fichte achieved fame for originating the argument that consciousness is not grounded in anything outside of itself. This notion eventually became the defining characteristic of German Idealism and thus an essential underpinning to understanding the philosophies of Hegel, and of Arthur Schopenhauer, though they both reject Fichte's notion that human consciousness is itself sufficient ground for experience, and therefore postulate another "absolute" consciousness.

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In 1806, in a Berlin occupied by Napol?on, Fichte gave a series of Addresses to the German Nation which became an incentive for German nationalism. Here, Fichte indirectly continues his anti-Semitic argumentation from his early works on religion and the French Revolution.

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His son Immanuel Hermann Fichte also made contributions to philosophy.

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At age 51 Fichte died of typhus.

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May 19: May 19 is the 139th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (140th in leap years). There are 226 days remaining....

1762: 1762 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar)....

January 27: January 27 is the 27th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 338 days remaining (339 in leap years)....

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