Abstract

Published in 1809, the Philosophical Investigations into the Essence of Human Freedom and Matters Connected Therewith represents a defining turning point within Schelling's philosophy. One of Schelling's fundamental premises is that any theory that concerns human freedom must first deal with the territory in which the very event of freedom takes place. This chapter examines the nature of the relationship between freedom and necessity by discussing the so‐called Pantheism Controversy and setting out the coordinates of the main thesis established by this controversy, namely that any philosophy that aims towards systematic unity ends up with the denial of freedom. The critique by Schelling and Spinoza contains the reproach that this account offers a kind of ‘floating’ freedom, one that implies the moment of indeterminacy. The chapter explains that, according to Schelling, the error should be located not in the idea of pantheism but, rather, in the traditional notion of freedom, that is, its libertarian account.