The concept of life in German Idealism and its Aristotelian roots

Bibliographic Data

ID8124512
AuthorsGerad Gentry (0000-0003-3633-7345, Lewis University, corresponding author)
Year2021
Volume31
Issue3
Pages379-390
Publication date2021-07-03
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueIntellectual History Review (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1749-6977 • E-ISSN: 1749-6985
PublisherRoutledge (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/17496977.2021.1957328
OpenAlexW3194265228
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited24

The aim of this short essay is to sketch an introductory account of the concept of life in German Idealism and to argue that it is both a philosophically robust concept and a productive lens through which to view a range of systematic issues at the heart of Idealism. Here I am interested in why this concept features so prominently in the systematic accounts of the Idealists, from its role in logic and the philosophy of nature to aesthetics and ethics. To establish bearings and gain traction on this multi-faceted concept of life, I focus on its Aristotelian roots in the systems of Idealism. Broadly speaking, this idealist concept involves an inner purposiveness, which can be traced back to Aristotle’s hylomorphic account of the soul as a principle of life, but set to a wider range of systematic uses by some of the Idealists than Aristotle explicitly held of the soul

Aesthetics · Critical philosophy · Epistemology · German idealism · Hegelianism · Idealism · Sketch · Soul · Nietzsche, Schopenhauer, and Hegel · Philosophical Ethics and Theory · Philosophy · Philosophy and Historical Thought

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