Abstraction in Fichte
pp. 143-162
in: Tom Rockmore, Daniel Breazeale (eds), Fichte and transcendental philosophy, Berlin, Springer, 2014Abstract
Recent as well as traditional discussions of Fichte's view of mental acts have been mostly devoted to his doctrine of intellectual intuition. This is understandable because it occupies a central position in Fichte's theory.1 However, a proper understanding of Fichte's notion of abstraction is equally indispensable for grasping the full extent and import of his theory not only because it contrasts sharply with intellectual intuition but also because it reveals an important set of beliefs that underlie Fichte's theory. These beliefs concern none other than a precise understanding of the particular role played by abstraction within the context of Fichte's system of the I, and this is absolutely necessary for conducting a philosophical inquiry into the nature of the I properly. Further, despite the obvious dissimilarities, there are some remarkable 'symbiotic" relations between abstraction and intellectual intuition.
