Der Angstbegriff in der Philosophie der Mythologie Schellings
The concept of Angst in Schelling’s Philosophy of Mythology
2020 年 28 巻 p. 63-73
詳細
2020 年 28 巻 p. 63-73
Although it is usually acknowledged within the Schelling scholarship that the most important formulation for the concept of Angst was given by Schelling in his Freedom essay (AA I, 17, 149 / SW VII, 381), this word also appears with some frequency throughout his mythological texts, particularly in his Historical-Critical Introduction to the Philosophy of Mythology and in the second book of his Philosophy of Mythology (also called The Mythology). In the first one, Schelling refers to the Angst when describing the catastrophe that led to the division of the still undifferentiated humanity into peoples (Völker). There he speaks of the fear (Angst) of losing the original unity with nature, explaining how humans in reaction to this fear created the first religious and social institutions (SW XI, 115). We can find this idea again in his Philosophy of Mythology. In his treatment of Zoroastrianism, for example, Schelling explains the figure of the mother (Urania) as a shelter for the consciousness against the “angustia” from dissolution (SW XII, 211). In addition, Schelling also speaks of the “Gottesangst” (SW XII, 300) created in the consciousness by the conflict of the two confronting divine potencies (B and A2). In this sense, the condition of consciousness itself during the mythological process could be seen as a “feeling of uncertainty” (Gefühl von Zweifelhaftigkeit) (SW XII, 300), an expression that also resembles the existential concept of Angst that will be so important during the 20th century. Starting out from these reflections, the purpose of this article is to investigate a possible relation between Schelling’s enunciation of the Angst in his Freedom essay and his Philosophy of Mythology. We will argue that this continuity is not just terminologically pertinent, but also that the formulation in the Philosophy of Mythology can be seen as a coherent philosophical result of the Angst (product of the original sin) as described in the Freedom essay.
