Volume 6, Issue 2

In this paper I focus on the unique challenge to provide a systematic account of the difference between human and diabolical evil in Kant’s philosophy – a theme that, as I show, lies at the core of Kant’s moral theory. I explain why I think Kant’s structural account, which cannot be refuted on grounds of future historical (contingent) events by definition, has been misunderstood in the literature hitherto. I then propose a novel account of Kant’s essential exclusion of diabolical evil from the realm of human freedom, showing how this exclusion is related to relevant epistemic limitations concerning the origin of the moral law.

In this paper, I explore the role of the history of intelligence in relation to the realization of the ideal in F.W.J. Schelling’s System of Transcendental Idealism (1800) . To this end, I examine Schelling’s concept of history as an unfolding process and analyze his division of history into three “periods”. A central theme here is how Schelling’s depiction of consciousness evolves throughout these periods and how it relates to the concepts of death and God, with dead nature functioning both as a remnant and a necessary condition for historical progress. Additionally, I engage with the problem Schelling poses concerning how the self can become conscious of the original harmony between subjective and objective, offering a novel interpretative approach. I conclude by arguing that Schelling’s concept of history should be understood as the development of an overarching self reflecting on itself, ultimately striving toward the attainment of full self-knowledge.