La Vopa A. Fichte: The Self and the Calling of Philosophy, 1762-1799

Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2001. — 464 p. ISBN10: 0521791456; ISBN13: 978-0521791458In this biographical study of the German philosopher Johann Gottlieb Fichte from his birth in 1762 to the crisis in his university career in 1799, Professor La Vopa uses Fichte's life and thought to deepen our understanding of German society, culture, and politics in the age of the French Revolution. This is the first biography to explain thoroughly how Fichte's philosophy relates to his life experiences as reconstructed from the abundant material in his published and unpublished writings and papers. The approach is primarily historical, but should be of interest to philosophers.The WanderjahreAlienation
The road to Kant
The German machine
Revolution: the popular tribune
Jews, Christians, and freethinkers
Love and marriageThe Jena YearsThe self and the mission of philosophy
The politics of celebrity
Philosophy and the graces
Law, freedom, and authority
Men and women
The atheism conflict: reason and the absolute
The atheism conflict: selfhood, character, and the public