J. G. Fichte: Foundation of the Entire Wissenschaftslehre and Related Writings, 1794-95

The Wissenschaftslehre or "doctrine of science" was the great achievement of the German idealist philosopher J. G. Fichte. Daniel Breazeale presents accessible new translation of three works in which Fichte developed this philosophical system. The centerpiece of this volume is a new English translation of Fichte's only full-scale presentation of the principles of his philosophy, the Foundation of the Entire Wissenschaftslehre (1794/95). Accompanyingthis are new translations of the work in which Fichte first publicly introduced his new system, Concerning the Concept of the Wissenschaftslehre (1794) and the Outline of what is Distinctive of the Wissenschaftslehre with respect to the Theoretical Power (1795), which was intended as a companion to the Foundation. Inaddition Breazeale includes the transcripts of Fichte's unpublished "Zurich lectures" on his system (1794), translated here for the first time in English.Breazeale supplements his translations with an extensive historical and systematic introduction, detailed outlines of the contents and structure of the Foundation and Outline, and copious scholarly annotation of the translated texts, helping to orient readers who may otherwise find themselves lost in the wilderness of Fichte's complex "derivations."

Review from previous edition The[se] translations are at once reliable and readable. They render faithfully Fichte's often idiosyncratic vocabulary and facilitate understanding his frequently complex syntax by simplifying sentence construction. Particularly noteworthy is the rendition of Fichte's technical term "Tathandlung" as "fact/act," designed to capture the term's ambivalence between designating a given fact (Tatsache) and a done deed (Handlung).

Daniel Breazeale is Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at the University of Kentucky.