‘‘Altars to the beautiful necessity’’: The significance of F. W. J. Schelling’s ‘‘philosophical inquiries in the nature of human freedom’’ in the development of Ralph Waldo emerson’s concept of fate

Greenham, David

Abstract

Ralph Waldo Emerson’s 1860 essay “Fate” has long been recognised as one of his most important essays. This paper is the first to examine the significance for Emerson of his reading of F. W. J. Shelling’s “Inquiry into the Nature of Human Freedom” using the unpublished manuscript of James Elliot Cabot’s translation of Schelling from the 1840s (Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe). I locate Emerson’s reading of the MS against the backdrop of his own intellectual development as recorded in his journals from 1822 to 1859, working out in what ways Schelling’s work influenced and supported his ever changing conception of fate.

Citation

Greenham, D. (2015). ‘‘Altars to the beautiful necessity’’: The significance of F. W. J. Schelling’s ‘‘philosophical inquiries in the nature of human freedom’’ in the development of Ralph Waldo emerson’s concept of fate. Journal of the History of Ideas, 76(1), 115-137. https://doi.org/10.1353/jhi.2015.0001

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Jan 1, 2015
• Journal: Journal of the History of Ideas
• Print ISSN: 0022-5037
• Electronic ISSN: 1086-3222
• Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 76
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 115-137
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/jhi.2015.0001
• Keywords: Ralph Waldo Emerson, F.W.J. Schelling, fate, free will, necessity, transcendentalism, Romanticism, transatlantic, compatibilism
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/840018
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1353/jhi.2015.0001
• Additional Information: Additional Information : (C) 2015 Journal of the History of Ideas. All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations used for purposes of scholarly citation, none of this work may be reproduced in any form by any means without written permission from the publisher. For information address the University of Pennsylvania Press, 3905 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104-4112