The New International Encyclopædia/Fichte, Immanuel Hermann

FICHTE, fīK'te, Immanuel Hermann (1797-1879). A German philosopher, son of Johann Gottlieb Fichte. He early devoted himself to philosophical studies, being attracted by the later views of his father, which he considered essentially theistic. He also attended the lectures of Hegel, but felt averse to what he deemed to be his pantheistic tendencies. Occupied at first as a teacher, Fichte was appointed professor of philosophy in Bonn in 1836, and from 1842 to 1863 held a chair in the University of Tübingen. His chief works are: Beiträge zur Charakteristik der neuern Philosophie (1829; 2d ed. 1841); System der Ethik (1850-53); Anthropologie (1856). The great aim of his speculations was to find a philosophic basis for the personality of God, and for his theory on this subject he proposed the term concrete theism. The regeneration of Christianity, according to him, would consist in its becoming the vital and organizing power in the State, instead of being occupied solely, as heretofore, with the salvation of individuals.