The Twenty-Five Years of German Idealist Philosophy

Details

Welcome everyone to this meetup presented by Scott and Philip. Every second Friday we will get together to talk about this book: The Twenty-Five Years of Philosophy: A Systematic Reconstruction (2017, Harvard University Press) by Eckart Förster.

Here is the description from the back cover of the book: ⬇️

Kant declared that philosophy began in 1781 with his Critique of Pure Reason. In 1806 Hegel announced that philosophy had now been completed. Eckart Förster examines the reasons behind these claims and assesses the steps that led in such a short time from Kant’s “beginning” to Hegel’s “end.” He concludes that, in an unexpected yet significant sense, both Kant and Hegel were indeed right.

“Presents a novel interpretation of the development of German idealism that is rich in both historical depth and philosophical insight… Förster sets forth a historically nuanced and philosophically discerning interpretation of the central debates of the era.” ― Peter Yong, Philosophy in Review

“[Förster’s] book does not disappoint… The amount of material covered by Förster is impressive… Förster’s book is rich in specificity… Wherever the discussion goes, it is going to have to go on by taking Förster’s big picture and all his detailed accounts into account.” ― Terry Pinkard, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews

“Förster’s command of the historical sources is most impressive. Moreover, this book is clearly written, and Bowman’s translation is commendable. Scholars and graduate students will welcome this masterpiece.” ―J. M. Fritzman, Choice

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The format will be Philip's usual "accelerated live read" format. What this means is that each participant will be expected to read roughly 10-15 pages before each session. Each participant will have the option of picking a few paragraphs they especially want to focus on. We will then do a live read on the paragraphs that the participants found most interesting when they did the assigned reading.

People who have not done the reading are welcome to attend this meetup. However if you want to TALK during the meetup it is essential that you do the reading. We mean it! It is essential that the direction of the conversation be influenced only by people who have actually done the reading. You may think you are so brilliant and wonderful that you can come up with great points even if you do not do the reading. You probably are brilliant and wonderful – no argument there. But you still have to do the reading if you want to talk in this meetup. REALLY.

Please note that this is a "raise hands" meetup and has a highly structured format, not an anarchy-based one. This is partly for philosophical reasons: We want to discourage a simple-minded rapid fire "gotcha!" approach to philosophy. But our highly structured format is also for disability related reasons that Philip can explain if required.

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Here is the reading schedule for the first few get togethers (pdf here):