Educated at the University of Jena, Fichte studied philosophy and theology but did not receive a degree since he was forced to leave school because of financial difficulties. He moved to Zurich where he worked as a tutor and married Johanna Rahn. They returned to Leipzig in 1790 and he was employed by a wealthy family to instruct their son in Kant's philosophy. Unfamiliar with Kant, Fichte immersed himself in his writings which had a decisive influence on him and his own philosophy. In 1792, he published anonymously An Attempt of the Critique of All Revelation, which many at the time attributed to Kant. Kant himself was impressed by the work and promoted Fichte in academic circles. Fichte's reputation was finally established. From 1794 to 1799, he taught philosophy at the University of Jena. It was during this time that he developed and published his Wissenschaftslehre (or Science/Doctrine of Knowledge) in a series of works. In 1799, Fichte was accused of being an atheist and his reply to his detractors in the form of a series of papers caused a scandal that forced the Weimar government to remove him from his post at Jena. Unable to teach because of the scandal, Fichte moved to Berlin where he lectured and wrote a number of books. During the French occupation of Germany by Napoleon in 1806-1808, Fichte gave a series of lectures which appealed to German patriotism. These were collected into Addresses to the German Nation in 1808. In 1810, he was appointed to a chair at the newly established University of Berlin. In 1814, his wife, working as a nurse at a military hospital, contracted typhus. She survived, but Fichte was infected and died. Fichte is considered to be one of the most important proponents of German idealism and a leader of philosophical thought between the eras of Kant and Hegel. Fichte's other works include Foundations of Natural Right (1797), System of Ethical Theory (1798), The Vocation of Man (1800), Machiavelli as Author (1807), Outlines of the Doctrine of Knowledge (1810), Logic and Philosophy (1812) and The Facts of Consciousness (1813). |
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