Papers by Gabriel Gottlieb
Fichte on Self-Sufficiency and Teleology, 2023
In this paper I clarify what it means to consider self-sufficiency a conception of freedom for Fi... more In this paper I clarify what it means to consider self-sufficiency a conception of freedom for Fichte and how his conception of freedom entails a teleological theory of action.
The Bloomsbury Handbook of Fichte , 2020
In this essay, I argue that Fichte's political philosophy, in response to the problem of social c... more In this essay, I argue that Fichte's political philosophy, in response to the problem of social cooperation, defends a conception of political society as a system of mutual recognition. I examine his theory of right, recognition, property, contracts, and family right.
The Palgrave Fichte Handbook, 2019
This chapter examines Fichte’s conception of the Anstoβ in his theory of subjectivity. I argue th... more This chapter examines Fichte’s conception of the Anstoβ in his theory of subjectivity. I argue that Fichte has a relational conception of the I that should be distinguished from Descartes’s and Kant’s views of the I. After providing an overview of the Anstoβ’s role in Fichte’s Jena writings, I examine two interpretations of the Anstoβ: the standard interpretation holds that the concept of the Anstoβ as an Aufforderung (or summons) is not found in Fichte’s 1794/95 Foundations of the Entire Wissenschaftslehre; the intersubjective interpretation holds that the concept of the Anstoβ as an Aufforderung is present in this work. I sketch an alternative interpretation, the normative interpretation, that suggests the Anstoβ possesses a normative content that is evident in the 1794/95 text, but this does not entail that the Anstoβ is an Aufforderung in the technical sense.
A Companion to Nineteenth Century Philosophy (Blackwell), 2019
This essay examines Fichte's and Schelling's conception of a theory of science or Wissenschaftsle... more This essay examines Fichte's and Schelling's conception of a theory of science or Wissenschaftslehre. The essay covers the Kantian background of their conceptions of science, the influence of Reinhold, and the development of their views in the 1790s. The essay concludes with a examination of Schelling's philosophy of nature and the philosophical break between Fichte and Schelling which centers on their different conceptions of the foundations of science and the place of nature in science.
Kant and his German Contemporaries, Vol. II (ed. Daniel Dahlstrom) [ Cambridge University Press], 2018
In this essay, I argue that Fichte's theory of recognition takes shape in the context of Kantian ... more In this essay, I argue that Fichte's theory of recognition takes shape in the context of Kantian debates about how to apply Kant's moral philosophy to questions of right and its foundations. I identify three Kantian approaches: Kantian perfectionism, pure Kantianism, and theoretical Kantianism. According to each approach, right is grounded in Kantian moral philosophy. I then show how Fichte's approach to the foundations of right separates right from morality. The outcome of his view is that foundations of right require recognition of others as right-bearing subjects. I compare his views on recognition to J. B. Erhard.
Fichte's Foundations of Natural Right: A Critical Guide, 2016
In this paper, I argue that Fichte has a developmental conception of self-consciousness. My main ... more In this paper, I argue that Fichte has a developmental conception of self-consciousness. My main goal is to explain why he considers the concept of the summons a type of upbringing. This involves identifying the sense in which self-consciousness is developmental and the sense in which it is not. This also requires explaining the sense in which the I is intersubjective, and the implications this has for his conception of individuality. Part of my aim is to connect Fichte's remarks about the summons as upbringing to his remarks about child-parent relationships.
Fichte’s Addresses to the German Nation, I argue, constitute a response to what I call the proble... more Fichte’s Addresses to the German Nation, I argue, constitute a response to what I call the problem of stability: how in the moment of crisis can a rational state stably be realized. The crisis, for Fichte, is both political and philosophical. I argue, by employing the concept of an imagined community, that Fichte’s response to the problem of stability is a philosophical nationalism that understands an existential commitment to freedom, as developed in his Wissenschaftslehre, to define what it means to be German. I suggest that his view of the German language resembles that of sacred languages which were understood as giving expression to a divine reality. Likewise, the German language gives expression to rational life so that spiritual culture, or Wissenschaftslehre, can intervene in the life of a people. In conclusion I compare Fichte’s response to the problem of stability to Rawls’s reflections on stability.
International Philosophical Quarterly, 2015
The essay provides a new interpretation of Fichte’s deduction of the external world that consider... more The essay provides a new interpretation of Fichte’s deduction of the external world that considers the argument to be motivated not by epistemic concerns, but by concerns about the possibility of freedom. In defending this view, I critically examine Frederick Beiser’s reconstruction of Fichte’s deduction, which characterizes the argument as refuting external world skepticism, exactly the threat I argue Fichte is not troubled by. I claim Fichte is troubled by ethical skepticism, the view that the freedom required for self-consciousness is not possible. Establishing the possibility of the freedom involved in self-consciousness requires an external world suitable for such a form of freedom. An implication of this claim is that the world that Fichte deduces is an intersubjective or social world.
Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences, Jun 2015
The paper argues for distinguishing between two models of choking: representationalist and anti-r... more The paper argues for distinguishing between two models of choking: representationalist and anti-representationalist models. I critically examine Dreyfus's anti-representationalist model of choking by comparing it to models developed by sport psychologists. I establish that the two models make different claims about knowledge in action, and suggest that the representationalist model has some advantages over Dreyfus's model.
Hubert Dreyfus has defended a novel view of agency, most notably in his debate with John McDowell... more Hubert Dreyfus has defended a novel view of agency, most notably in his debate with John McDowell. Dreyfus argues that expert actions are primarily unreflective and do not involve conceptual activity. In unreflective action, embodied know-how plays the role reflection and conceptuality play in the actions of novices. Dreyfus employs two arguments to support his conclusion: the argument from speed and the phenomenological argument. I argue that Dreyfus's argumentative strategies are not successful, since he relies on a dubious assumption about concepts and reflection. I suggest that Dreyfus is committed to a minimal view of conceptuality in action.
Books by Gabriel Gottlieb
Book Reviews by Gabriel Gottlieb
British Journal for the History of Philosophy, 2016
This review essay examines the Palgrave Habdbook of German Idealism.
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Papers by Gabriel Gottlieb
Books by Gabriel Gottlieb
Book Reviews by Gabriel Gottlieb