Freedom and Nature in Schelling's Philosophy of Art

Devin Zane Shaw currently teaches at the University of Ottawa, Canada. He has published on topics in political philosophy and the philosophy of art in venues such as Filosofski vestnik and Radical Philosophy Today.

• Introduction; 1. Dogmatism, Criticism and Art; 2. From Nature-philosophy to the 'Mythology of Reason'; 3. Artistic Activity and the Subversion of Transcendental Idealism; 4. Substance and History: Art and the System of Identity; 5. From Art and Nature to Revelation and Freedom; Conclusion; Bibliography; Index.

"Philosophy of art provides a privileged opening onto the complexities and metaphysical dimensions of Schelling's system, an amorphous construction that extends through the diverse productions of the philosopher's lifetime. Fittingly, Devin Shaw has adopted a genetic approach, following the philosopher's virtually inchoate accounts of art in his early writings, through its explicit embodiment in his philosophy of identity, to the later writings on art, which, because of their apparently marginal character, are usually overlooked. Dr. Shaw's original and important contribution shows how Schelling's philosophy of art is informed by his earlier philosophy of nature, while anticipating his later work on the metaphysics of freedom and his crepuscular writings on mythology." - Jeffrey Reid, Associate Professor, Philosophy, University of Ottawa, Canada