Weyl’s ‘agens theory’ of matter and the Zurich Fichte
Date Issued
2007-03
Author(s)
Abstract
This paper investigates Hermann Weyl’s reception of philosophical concepts stemming from the German Idealist Johann Gottlieb Fichte. In particular, Weyl’s ‘agens theory’ of matter, which he held around 1925, will be looked at. In the extant literature, the admittedly also important—influence of Husserl on Weyl has mainly been addressed. Thus, apart from investigating some detailed Fichtean inheritances in Weyl’s concepts of causality, chance and continuity, the general difference which Weyl saw between the philosophies of Fichte and Husserl will also be discussed. For Weyl this is above all a difference between an active constructivism and a rather passive phenomenological seeing (Schau). Further, the paper shows in some detail the way Weyl was drawn into a certain reading of Fichte by his Zurich colleague, the philosopher Fritz Medicus. The methodological frame of the paper is that of Konstellationsforschung, a historical and systematic approach which proves to be particularly fruitful when investigating a (broadly speaking) German Idealist context and which allows special attention to be given to the acting subjects within the constellation under investigation. Conversely, Weyl’s agens theory suggests amendments to this methodology.
Subjects
Philosophy of Science
;
Philosophy of Economics
;
Methodology
;
Empiricism
;
Pragmatism
;
Postmodernism
;
Anything goes
;
Relativism
;
Normativity
Institution
Institute
Type
journal article
Journal/Edited collection
Band
38
Issue
1
Start page
84
End page
107
Secondary publication
No
Language
English
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