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J. Chr. Fr. Schiller: A Life as Mensch of Letters

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The Palgrave Handbook on the Philosophy of Friedrich Schiller

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Abstract

High’s concise biography focuses on the interplay of Schiller’s personal life and his development as an author and philosopher. After an introduction to Schiller’s early years, family, and university studies, the essay portrays the later stations of his relatively short life with a focus on the enduring presence of his education at the Karlsschule during the final two decades of historical change, artistic experimentation, and philosophical growth reflected in his most resonant literary, philosophical, and journalistic creations.

Throughout, the essay likewise traces Schiller’s relationships with those few friends, artists, and thinkers who contributed to his rise from impoverished feudal subject in Württemberg to internationally renowned author and ambivalent nobleman in Weimar. The essay concludes with a summary of Schiller’s lifelong hope for a human and humane republic, and his egalitarian war on tyranny, nationalism, and religion.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    I would like to thank the following scholars for their support in the research for and preparation of this manuscript: Norbert Oellers (Universität Bonn), Luke Beller and Glen Gray (Johns Hopkins University), Elaine Chen and Rebecca Stewart (Harvard University), Danna De Boer and Xochitl San Vicente (California State University, Long Beach), and Natalie Martz (University of Oxford).

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. California State University, Long Beach, CA, USA

    Jeffrey L. High

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  1. Jeffrey L. High
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Correspondence to Jeffrey L. High .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Humanities, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy

    Antonino Falduto

  2. School of Languages and Cultures University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD, Australia

    Tim Mehigan

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High, J.L. (2023). J. Chr. Fr. Schiller: A Life as Mensch of Letters. In: Falduto, A., Mehigan, T. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook on the Philosophy of Friedrich Schiller. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-16798-0_1

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