Dialectics

Schleiermacher's Dialectics lies at the very center of his philosophical, hermeneutical and theological views, yet there has never been a comprehensive rendering of this material in English. The present volume, which remedies this lacuna, is made possible by the recent publication of the definitive German critical edition of this material as part of the Kritische Gesamtausgabe (De Gruyter). This exhaustive range of manuscripts available in German is here rendered in a consolidated and readable study edition of Schleiermacher's Dialectics that serves both the uninitiated reader who seeks an accessible entrée to his philosophical thought as well as the reader who is looking to bring exacting scholarship to their understanding of Schleiermacher's views. This edition includes a general introduction to the material, while also providing a restrained use of critical apparatus for scholars.

This volume is centered on Schleiermacher's 1822 lecture series on dialectics, which reflects his mature re-working of the material and for which the most complete textual record is available. In addition to the 1822 material, the volume is anchored by a translation of an "Introduction" composed by Schleiermacher in the closing months of his life in anticipation of publishing this material. Schleiermacher held lectures on the topic six times before large audiences within the department of philosophy at the University of Berlin providing a counterpoint to related lectures by Hegel, who was his contemporary and rival at the University of Berlin.