Ethics
Fichte’s ethics depends exclusively on Fichte’s conception of freedom and the relation of the I to the not-I. In particular, it deals with the conception of a free activity situated among things in relation to itself. One of the main relations between the I and the not-I used in Fichte’s ethics is his positing of the not-I as a limitation on the I. Fichte’s philosophy particularly deals with the notion of a “summons” that is issued forth by other I’s and calls for a limitation of the I’s behavior.
Fichte’s ethics is also equally about the ability to transform oneself into a free individual independent of empirical motives. One always has a “desire” in which there is a strong wish or wanting of something in the physical world. This is a accompanied by a “drive” or the person’s sensational experience of the desire and a “longing” which is a consciousness of this desire. There are two types of drives: the lower or empirical drive which is a person’s desire for something in the material world and the higher or pure drive which is the drive resulting directly from a person’s pure will. But Fichte does not believe that it is the pure drive that should take full precedence over the lower drive. It is the goal of the I to make his higher drive conform to his lower drive. People become aware of the ethical drive through the conviction that something is their duty; and this arises out of a person’s conscience. One can never be certain that their conscience is correct- i.e. our conscience is subject to fallacy- but one can know that he is not doing something wrong. And this is supplemented by the empirical drive.
Political theory
Fichte advocates a unitary government in which to enforce laws. As such Fichte is against the splitting of the government into judicial, legislative, and executive branches.
Fichte’s advocates a property contract made in agreement between the state and the people. The property contact gives the person’s rights involving their body and their property. The person is given a set of rights in regards to their sphere of action and the limits on their sphere of action. This contract is mutually agreed upon by all. In addition, the individual signs a protection contract which prohibits their interference in the external sphere of others. In regards to personal rights, Fichte regards the home to be the personal property of the owner. As such, the state does not have the ability to enter except with permission. Although against Fichte’s ethics, the state cannot punish for things such as prostitution, adultery, fornication, and suicide. On Fichte’s view, the validity of a marriage comes from the woman. The woman’s love for a man decides the validity of a marriage. However, once the marriage is instantiated the woman’s rights are subordinated to the man.
Next, we turn to criminal law and economic justice. All crimes committed are in violation of the social contract and the criminals are thus removed of their rights in proportion to the magnitude of the crime; they are, however, given a chance to reenter society. Murder, being the most severe crime, leads to a removal of all rights; however, Fichte is against the death penalty. The property contract guarantees that the person will have a sufficient sphere of action in which to act freely. But if the person does not have enough money to support their household the government can redistribute the property. Fichte outlines other redistributive properties of the government, e.g., the ability to redistribute the wealth of a diseased person or the ability to redistribute trade and commerce. Fichte’s later political thought took on a nationalist direction that has had an impact but has been much criticized.
Fichte’s views on women
Fichte tends to have more liberal views toward women than some of his predecessors. For example, Fichte bases marriage on the woman and believes woman should have the right to vote. This is indicative of the shift toward feminism that occurred the modern and contemporary period. However, Fichte’s philosophy, like the rest of German idealism, tends to be male dominant- which is demonstrated with for example, Fichte’s famous doctrine of property where he believes women are not allowed to have property. This probably should not be adopted in the Western world today, but is an indicator of Fichte’s idealism in which things are as they appear. In other words, women according to the idealist appear to be less intelligent than men, therefore, they probably are so. Of course, women could appear to be more intelligent than men- in which case idealism would confirm that result. But the general idea is that idealism is removing the brain which would potentially allow empirical elucidations as to exactly what the women’s position in the world is. Additionally, Fichte is removing the neuroplastistic element of things meaning although women are given lower status than men, they are still expected to come up to the men as much as the men go up to the women.
Idealism Studies 