Abstract

"Invisible Harmony": Identity and dissimulation in Schelling's philosophy Topic of the dissertation is the concept of Identity in the philosophy of Schelling. The aim is to show that such a concept - through its various modifications - is nonetheless a fundamental and a unifying feature of Schelling's entire philosophical production and it represents what could be called the "speculative structure" of Schelling's thought. In order to achieve such aim, I have taken into account all of the three fundamental stages of Schelling's work - the "Philosophy of Identity" period (1801 - 1806), the "Philosophy of Freedom" period (after 1809) and in particular the so-called "Positive Philosophy" period (after 1827). In the central chapters of the dissertation (capp. I-IV), I have spelled out in detail the peculiarities that the concept of identity presents in each of such stages but, at the same time, I have identified some fundamental features that remain unchanged throughout Schelling's philosophical enterprise. One of these features is, for example, Schelling's conception of identity as the "point of indifference" between unity and distinctness. Particular attention is given to the relationships between this notion of Identity/Indifference (assimilated by Schelling to the Absolute) and the temporal dimension of Becoming. In particular I will show that the notion of Identity/Indifference can only be understood with respect to Eternity, that dimension where all possible and actual living systems co-exist. In the last chapter, particular attention is devoted to Schelling's doctrine of Gelassenheit where the notion of Identity/Indifference is related to the notions of Liberty and the purity (Lauterkeit) of the Spirit. Men will be really free, Schelling claims, just in case they will be able to receive opposite determinations without properly belonging to none