Interpretations and Transformations of the Doctrine of Postulates in the Debate between Neo-Kantianism, Materialism, Spiritualism, and Parapsychology around 1900

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Friedemann Stengel
• Subject Area: Protestant Theology
• Term: from 2016 to 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 289659582

The project´s goal is the investigation of the treatment of Kant´s doctrine of postulates by well-known authors within the intellectual and cultural conflicts surrounding Neo-Kantianism, occultism, materialism, (para) Psychology, and (national) Protestantism around 1900. The point of departure is the observation that in opposition to the debates of the eighteenth and early nineteenth century one radical new interpretation of Kant was carried out by authors within the above-mentioned contexts. Up to this day, this new interpretation shapes the historical and systematic classification of Kantian philosophy. These conjunctions have received scant consideration in previous research. The project investigates those conflicts in which decisive points relevant to metaphysics within the doctrine of postulates were innovatively transformed and re-interpreted. This will take place on the basis of central texts of the relevant authors who also influenced the interpretation of the doctrine of postulates against the rigid lines drawn between the spheres of knowledge. For spiritualism/occultism/parapsychology: du Prel, Bormann, Seiling, Gubalke, Aksakow. For materialism (or monism): Haeckel. For the psychologisation of Kantian moral philosophy: Hartmann, W. Wundt, and Drews. And for Neo-Kantianism: Windelband, Bauch, Cohen, Natorp, Riehl, Vaihinger, Eucken, and W. Wundt. In order to ensure its feasibility, this inquiry into the widespread reception of Kant´s moral philosophy around 1900 will primarily focus on the doctrine of postulates. It will address one central element in the later reception of Kant´s writings, which, for most part, has remained unresearched. The study roughly spans the period around 1900, starting with the last third of the nineteenth century and extending right up to the eve of the First World War. In light of the general trend among the authors to define and distinguish themselves in relation to competing interpretations that emerged in the context of materialism, occultism, and Neo-Kantianism, the analysis will include not just the reception and interpretations of the doctrine of postulates but also the theory of the dual nature of man and the world. The goal of this work is the contextualization of Kant interpretations around 1900, which emerged through selection practices and modifications to the doctrine of postulates between these fronts, but also through the overlapping of concrete positions. From these points, the birth of Neo-Kantianism will also be integrated within the debate about the interpretation and assessment of the doctrine of postulates. This represents a historical-theological inquiry into a strand of Kant reception that has been accorded scant scholarly attention. Derived from its historical context, this source material is being contextualized to aid further research in fields, such as history of theology, philosophy as well as systematic theology. The results of the project will be summarized in a monograph.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants