Edited by Johanna Hueck and Harald Schwaetzer

The present volume is devoted to philosopher Karl Joël’s approach, which he presented under the title “Der Ursprung der Naturphilosophie aus dem Geiste der Mystik” in 1906. Even though times have changed, it seems worth pointing out the sources from which Joël drew, according to the conviction that gave rise to the present volume. Just as Joel himself asks about the origin of the philosophy of nature, the contributions to this volume will enquire about the origin of his own thought. After a basic presentation of his concept (Schwaetzer), the three epochs to which Joël primarily recurs will be considered: Antiquity (Schneider), the Renaissance (Cuozzo) and German Idealism (Hueck), including Late Idealism (Hernández). A contemporary perspective (Thomas) concludes the volume. In a narrower sense, the question of the present volume situates in the area of a philosophy of nature of the Anthropocene. It discusses the thesis that the philosophy of nature arises from mysticism without dissolving in it, but that the former must not deny its origin. Joël thus offers a concept of science that productively questions current conceptions while it has been, at the same time, embedded in an anthropology that also takes seriously the mental and spiritual in humans and in the cosmos.

ISSN 2698-492X  (Print)
ISSN 2698-4938  (Online)