Fichte's Moral Philosophy

Owen Ware here develops and defends a novel interpretation of Fichte's moral philosophy as an ethics of wholeness. While virtually forgotten for most of the twentieth century, Fichte's System of Ethics (1798) is now recognized by scholars as a masterpiece in the history of post-Kantian philosophy, as well as a key text for understanding the work of later German idealist thinkers. This book provides a careful examination of the intellectual context in which Fichte's moral philosophy evolved, and of the specific arguments he offers in response to Kant and his immediate successors. A distinctive feature of this study is a focus on the foundational concepts of Fichte's ethics--freedom, morality, feeling, conscience, community--and their connection to his innovative but largely misunderstood theory of drives. By way of conclusion, the book shows that what appears to be two conflicting commitments in Fichte's ethics--a commitment to the feelings of one's conscience and a commitment to engage in open dialogue with others--are two aspects of his theory of moral perfection. The result is a sharp understanding of Fichte's System of Ethics as offering a compelling resolution to the personal and interpersonal dimensions of moral life

Table of Contents:
Preface Abbreviations Epigraph Chapter 1. Origins Chapter 2. Freedom Chapter 3. Morality Chapter 4. Drive Chapter 5. Conscience Chapter 6. Evil Chapter 7. Community Chapter 8. Perfection Conclusion Bibliography

About the Author :
Owen Ware is Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto. He has published extensively on Kant and post-Kantian philosophy, with a focus on questions of freedom, morality, and normativity. He is the author of Kant's Justification of Ethics, forthcoming from Oxford University Press.

Review :
Fichte's Moral Philosophy is a major contribution not just to Fichte scholarship but to normative ethical theory as such. Specialists will be impressed by Ware's meticulous scholarship and familiarity with all the relevant primary and secondary literature, as well as by his judicious engagement with (as well as anticipation of) opposing interpretations of Fichte's moral philosophy...It is a rare pleasure to encounter a treatise as well written, carefully argued, and broadly informed as this landmark contribution to both Fichte studies and ethical theory. Owen Ware's book...is a first-class contribution to the Fichte scholarship...It will be a staple of the conversation on Fichte for years to come. This is simply an exceptional book, clearly written and argued and a delight to read. It is required reading for anyone interested in German Idealism or in normative ethics in general. Ware has opened a line of interpretation that presents a less austere Fichte, a Fichte for whom we are fully embodied and situated in a world. The ethics of wholeness Ware emphasizes will be congenial to many contemporary philosophers. Fichte's Moral Philosophy should become a key text in coming years, and I look forward to seeing how Fichte scholarship builds upon this work. Owen Ware's book is impressively multifaceted... This is a splendid study: historically informed, neatly organized, carefully argued, and on many points appreciably innovative... Specialists in Kantian moral philosophy and post-Kantian thought need to read this book; so, too, should anyone interested in conceptually creative, incisive ethical thinking along distinctly post-Kantian (and pre-Hegelian) lines. Ware's aim in this book is to rectify this. From the start, his goal in this masterful addition to Anglophone literature on Fichtean ethics is to reaffirm theimportance of Fichte's appeal to the original fundamental unity from which we are alienated, and the ethical vocation of the individual as a project of strivingtowards this unity. Ware's work dually serves as a clear and engaging exegetical work, that both situates and clarifies the minutiae of Fichte's moral theory against a rich background of post-Kantian thought, and as an erudite contribution to scholarly interpretation. Fichte's Moral Philosophy is an exemplar in modern Fichte scholarship whose consequences will, I expect, continue to reverberate for years to come. Fichte's Moral Philosophy is, to conclude, an exemplar in modern Fichte scholarship whose consequences will, I expect, continue to reverberate for years to come.