Friedrich Schleiermacher

Definition

Friedrich Schleiermacher was a prominent German philosopher and theologian who played a significant role in the development of Continental philosophy and its challenge to Enlightenment theories. He is known for his influential contributions to the fields of hermeneutics, the theory of interpretation, and his unique approach to understanding religious experience.

5 Must Know Facts For Your Next Test

1. Schleiermacher challenged the Enlightenment's emphasis on reason and rationality by arguing that religious experience, not just intellectual understanding, is the foundation of religion.
2. He developed a hermeneutical approach that focused on the importance of context, language, and the subjective experience of the interpreter in understanding religious and other texts.
3. Schleiermacher's ideas on religious experience and hermeneutics were influential in the development of Continental philosophy, particularly in the fields of phenomenology and existentialism.
4. His concept of the 'feeling of absolute dependence' (Gefühl der schlechthinnigen Abhängigkeit) was central to his understanding of religious experience as an immediate, intuitive connection with the divine.
5. Schleiermacher's work was a significant departure from the Enlightenment's emphasis on universal, objective truths and paved the way for a more subjective and contextual approach to understanding human experience and knowledge.

Review Questions

• Explain how Schleiermacher's concept of religious experience challenged Enlightenment theories.
  • Schleiermacher's idea of religious experience as an immediate, intuitive connection with the divine stood in contrast to the Enlightenment's emphasis on reason and rationality as the primary means of understanding the world. By placing religious experience at the center of his philosophy, Schleiermacher argued that human knowledge and understanding are not solely based on universal, objective truths, but also on the subjective, contextual, and emotional dimensions of human experience. This challenged the Enlightenment's pursuit of universal, scientific knowledge and paved the way for the development of more subjective and interpretive approaches in Continental philosophy.
• Describe Schleiermacher's contributions to the field of hermeneutics and how they relate to Continental philosophy's challenge to Enlightenment theories.
  • Schleiermacher's hermeneutical approach, which focused on the importance of context, language, and the subjective experience of the interpreter in understanding religious and other texts, was a significant departure from the Enlightenment's emphasis on universal, objective truths. By emphasizing the role of the interpreter in the process of understanding, Schleiermacher challenged the idea of a single, fixed meaning inherent in a text. This paved the way for more interpretive and contextual approaches in Continental philosophy, such as phenomenology and existentialism, which sought to understand human experience and knowledge in a more subjective and situated manner, rather than through the lens of universal, rational principles.
• Analyze how Schleiermacher's ideas on religious experience and hermeneutics influenced the development of Continental philosophy and its challenge to Enlightenment theories.
  • Schleiermacher's ideas on religious experience and hermeneutics were highly influential in the development of Continental philosophy and its challenge to Enlightenment theories. By placing emphasis on the subjective, emotional, and contextual dimensions of human experience, Schleiermacher's work undermined the Enlightenment's reliance on reason and universal, objective truths as the sole basis for knowledge and understanding. His concept of religious experience as an immediate, intuitive connection with the divine, and his hermeneutical approach that focused on the role of the interpreter, paved the way for more interpretive and phenomenological approaches in Continental philosophy. This shift towards a more subjective and situated understanding of human experience and knowledge was a significant departure from the Enlightenment's quest for universal, scientific principles, and laid the groundwork for the development of influential philosophical movements, such as phenomenology and existentialism, that would further challenge the Enlightenment's theoretical foundations.

Related terms

Hermeneutics:

The theory and methodology of interpretation, particularly in the context of understanding religious, historical, or literary texts.

Romanticism: A cultural, artistic, and intellectual movement that emphasized emotion, imagination, and individualism, as a reaction against the rationalism of the Enlightenment.

Religious Experience: Schleiermacher's concept of the direct, intuitive, and immediate experience of the divine or sacred, which he saw as the essence of religion.