»Wir alle werden im Egoismus erzeugt und geboren…«: Fichtes Grundzüge des gegenwärtigen Zeitalters als Selbstreflexive Kritik der Moderne

In the paper I try to interpret Fichte’s Grundzüge des gegenwärtigen Zeitaltersas a reflective self-critique of the Enlightenment. Identifying the ›third historical period‹ of Fichte with the time of Enlightenment, I try to read his lectures as an ambitious and differentiated critique of it. The aim of Fichte’s devastating criticism on dominant characteristics of the Enlightenment (egoism, superficiality and self-interest) is in my opinion not to refuse it entirely. It is rather to continue it with an increased sense of self-criticism. The proposed reading enables to place Fichte’s arguments in the context of today’s debates over issues like the role of religion in civil society, or the meaning and fundamental values of Europe’s integration. For all his critique on modernity, Fichte refrains from treading a conservative, communitarian or collectivist path. This can be seen as the great advantage of his standpoint. What he intends is rather the »enlightenment of Enlightenment«, the continuous differentiation of knowledge and liberating the human being from the constrained form of modern consciousness.