SCHELLING, FRIEDIC. WILLI. Jos. VON, an illustrious German philosopher, was b. at Leouberg, iu Wilrtemburg, Jan 27, 1775, studied at Tubingen and Leipsic, and in 1793 proceeded to Jena, then tne headquarters of speculative activity in Germany, through the influence of Reinhold and Fichte. Schelling's philosophical tendencies were origin ally determined by Fichte; in fact, he was at tirst only an expounder, though an eloquent and independent one, of the Fichtian idealism, as one may see from his earliest spteula tive writiegs, Ue'ler die B)rni der Philosophie (On the Possibility of a Form of Philosophy, Tub. 1795), ruin leh ids Prince!) der Philosophic (Of the Ego as the Prin ciple of Philosophy, 1 Lib. 1795), and others. Gradually, however, Sehelling diverged from his teacher, and commenced what is regarded as the second phase of his philosophy. Fichte's idealism now seemed to him one-sided and imperfect through its rigorous and exclusive subjectivity, and he sought to harmonize and complete it. The result of his speculations, in this direction, was the once famous Identitatsphilcsophie (Philosophy of Identity), which claimed to show that the only true knowledge, and, therefore, the only philosophy, was that of the infinite-absolute, in which the " real " and ideal," "nature and "spirit," " subject" and "object," are recognized as absolutely the same; and which affirmed the possibility of our attaining to such knowledge by a mysterious process, known ac "intellectual int nilion." The "Philosophy of Identity," though only the second stage in Sebelling's speculative career, is the most important, and is the one by i which he is best known in England—sir William Hamilton having elaborately discussed it, and endeavored to demonstrate its untenableness in his essay on the "philosophy of the conditioned " (see Discussions in Philosophy and Literature, Education and Unirersity Reform, 1852). The principal works iu which it is more or less completely developed, are Ikea zit einer der Xatur (Ideas toward a Philosophy of Nature, Leips. 1797, 2t1 ed. 1803); Von der Weltseele tine llypothese eke Eoltern Physik rue Erlitutc,rung des Allgenteinen Orgunismus (Of the World-soul, an Hypothesis of the higher Physics in eluci dation of the Univers-al Organism, Ilemb. 1798, 3d fal 1809); Erste Entwuif eines Systems der _Nhturphilosophie (First Attempt at a Systematic Philosophy of Nature, Jt na, 1790); and System des Trancendentalen Idealismns (System of Transcendental Idealism, Tub. 1800). In 1803, after the departure of Fiche:: from Jena, Schelling was aprolated to succeed him, but in the following year went to Wurzburg, whence, in 180S, he was (Failed to Munich as secretary to the academy of arts, and was ennobled by king Maxi Here he lived for 33 years, during the last 14 of which he occupied Rio chair of philosophy in the newly-established university of Munich. but in 1841 lie fol lowed a call from Frit-dem•II-Wilhelm IV. to Berlin. where he mainly resided for the rest of his life. lie died at 1116 baths of Ragaz. in Switzerland, Aug. 20, 1854. We now revert to Schelling's philosophical career. What may be regarded as its third period, if not its third phase. is chiefly marked by incessant ecntroversy. With the exception of
Bruno, oder titer dos GiPtliche end Noturliehe Prineip der Dinge (Bruno. a Dialogue con ceraing, the Divine and Natural Principle of Things, Berl. 1802), and the Vorlesengen iiber die des Akudemisehen Stadiums (Lectures on the Method of Academical Study, Stung. and Tub. 1803), most of Sehelling's writings are polemical—often hotly so. The most notable are, his Philosophic end Religion (Tub. 1804). in reply to Eschen mayer; Dent:molder Sehrift von den Gottlichen Dingen (Tub. 1812), in reply to Jacobi: and Darlegeng des WahrenVerhaltnisees der ilraturphilusephie rut' rerbesse•ten Fichte' schen Lehre (Statement of the true relation of the Nature-philosophy to the improved Fichtian Doe - trine, Tub. 180(i). Meanwhile, a most formidable adversary had risen up in his old col. lege friend Hegel (q.v.), who was at first an ardent disciple of Schelling's, just as Schell ing had been of Fichte, but who had, in a similar manner. broken away. and was now pursuing an independent, and professedly antagonistic, course of speculation. Dining the ueign of Hetrelianism, Schilling preserved an almost unbroken silence. For more than 20 years hue published almost nothing, but we know that he Iti,ns far from being idle. He was observing narrowly the practical as well a.dthe speculative results of the rival system, and maturing his own philosophy for the final phase which it assumed. and which he called variously, the " positive," the " historical." and the " system of free dom"=the design of which was to interpret, at once philosophically and revvrentially, the history, and, especially. the religions history of mankind. Schelling admitted that his earlier sp•oulations, though sound in themselves, attained only to "negative" truth, and to show that the most transcendental metaphysician need not be a Pantheist, but might be a believer in a personal God, or even in a Trinity, with a whole Augsburg Confession to boot, he began to apply or develop in a practical way what he conceived to be the principles of his system. It cannot be said that the result Las proved satisfac tory, though many of his contemporaries thought it would—Neander, for example, dedicating to him, in the most eulogistic terms, the first volume of his Kirelangeshichte, on the 'ground that it was .in harmony with Schelliug's new philosophy. The writings that contain the fruits of Schelliug's latest thinking were for the mcst part posthumously published, although a general idea of them had become known to the public through such lectures as those on the Philosophy of Mythology, and the Philosophy of Rerclation. Schelliug's Siinuntliche 1Verke (14 vols. Stuttg. 1856-61) were edited by his sons, Karl Friedr. Aug., and Hermann Schelling. His correspondence was published at Munich in 1863. Various French writers, such as MM. Matter, Remusat, Cousin, Michelet, have tried (with indifferent success) to explain the great mystic to their countrymen; and English philosophical literature is dubiously associated with his name, through what, may be called the somnambular plagiarisms of a kindred genius, Samuel Taylor Coleridge. These were first pointed out by prof. Ferrier in Backwood's Magazine, Mar, 1840.