The Eccentric I.

Contributions to Hölderlin’s understanding of Fichte’s Foundations of the Doctrine of Science

Abstract

The significance of Hölderlin’s judgement of Fichte’s work during the poet’s stay in Jena (1794-1795) is one of the most widely discussed topics in the literature on German idealism. On the one hand, there is a tendency to recognize in Hölderlin a position that goes beyond Fichte’s thought; on the other hand, the poet’s judgement is regarded as a misinterpretation. However, the peculiar reading of Hölderlin is today undoubtedly a fertile ground for debate. Based on the comparison of the sources and the interpretation of the texts, our paper will seek to show how the metrical version of the Hyperion presents its own solution to the problem of transcendental philosophy at the end of the eighteenth century. In the first part of our paper (Titanomachy) we will understand the importance of Fichtean thought for Hölderlin, in the second part (Circle and centre) we will analyse the poet’s critique of Fichte, in the third part (Hyperbola and asymptote) we will explore the way in which Hölderlin assumes the movement of the Foundation of the whole doctrine of science within his early work, and in the last part (The eccentric I) we will try to understand how this movement is modified by Hölderlin himself.