This book seeks to draw attention to Friedrich Schiller (1759-1805) as a philosophical thinker in his own right. For too long, his philosophical contribution has been neglected in favor of his much-deserved reputation as a political playwright. The essays in this collection make two arguments. First, Schiller presents a robust philosophical program that can be favorably compared to those of his age, including Rousseau, Kant, Schelling, and Hegel, and he proves to be their equal in his thinking on morality, aesthetics, and politics. Second, Schiller can also guide us in our more contemporary philosophical concerns and approaches, such as phenomenology, hermeneutics, aesthetics, and politics. Here, Schiller instructs us in our engagement with figures such as Walter Benjamin, Michel Foucault, Jacques Rancière, Roberto Esposito, and others.

Introduction Maria del Rosario Acosta Lopez and Jeffrey L. Powell Part I: Schiller's Historico-Philosophical Significance 1. Schiller, Rousseau, and the Aesthetic Education of Man Yvonne Nilges 2. Schiller on Emotions: Problems of (In)Consistency in His Ethics Laura Anna Macor 3. Schiller's Aesthetics between Kant and Schelling Manfred Frank, translated by Christina M. Gschwandtner 4. The Violence of Reason: Schiller and Hegel on the French Revolution Maria del Rosario Acosta Lopez 5. Schiller and Pessimism Frederick Beiser Part II: Imagining Schiller Today 6. Naive and Sentimental Character: Schiller's Poetic Phenomenology Daniel Dahlstrom 7. Schiller and the Aesthetic Promise Jacques Ranciere, translated by Owen Glyn-Williams 8. On the Fate of the Aesthetic Education: Ranciere, Posa, and The Police Christoph Menke, translated by Eliza Little 9. Kant, Schiller, and Aesthetic Transformation Jeffrey L. Powell 10. Aesthetic Dispositifs and Sensible Forms of Emancipation Maria Luciana Cadahia Friedrich Schiller's Works Cited Bibliography Contributors Index