Brings Schelling's ontology into conversation with contemporary analytic metaphysics of powersContributes to the recent revival of interest in Schelling as a historical figure as well as being relevant to contemporary concernsOffers a unique account of Schelling's philosophy and conception of freedomLinks Schelling's work to current debates in the analytic traditionCharlotte Alderwick presents Schelling's ontology as fundamentally power-based. She demonstrates that this ontology enables his unique conception of human freedom outlined in the 'Freedom' essay.This distinctive reading demonstrates that Schelling's power-based ontology can usefully problematise and supplement contemporary work on power-based ontologies. First, where current work focuses on powers in relation to specific areas of metaphysics, Schelling provides a holistic picture, encompassing these areas into a single ontological story. Secondly, engagement with Schelling's work points to problems (and to possible solutions) that will arise for any power-based metaphysics, but have not been examined in the literature.
Charlotte Alderwick is a Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of the West of England, Bristol.
IntroductionPowers: Contemporary AccountsFreedom: The Post-Kantian PerspectivePowers: Schelling’s NaturphilosophieAbsolute Identity: Between the Naturphilosophie and the Freedom essayPowers and Freedom I: Schelling’s Freedom essayFreedom and Powers II: The Trouble with PowersConclusionsBibliography
Schelling is a contemporary metaphysician. Immediately involving his philosophy of nature in twenty-first-century powers ontologies, Alderwick’s avowedly "big picture", post-tribal philosophising compellingly reminds us why it is important that Schellingians engage with contemporary problems. She thus exemplifies a philosophy contemporary not by the auto-amputation of resource but when its history shows us the future through it.