Carlyle and Jean Paul

This scholarly work tackles the long-debated question of Thomas Carlyle's philosophical foundations, tracing the intellectual lineage between the Scottish essayist and German philosopher Jean Paul Richter. J. P. Vijn centers the analysis on Carlyle's personal experience of a spiritual 'conversion,' arguing this inner transformation is the key to understanding his entire worldview. The book directly confronts the historical controversy over whether Carlyle maintained a theistic conception of the universe, a debate that has persisted since the publication of Sartor Resartus. By prioritizing this core philosophy, the text offers a timely reappraisal for a new generation of readers.

Vijn’s comparative approach provides a distinctive lens, illuminating how Jean Paul's thought shaped Carlyle's unique brand of transcendental idealism. Readers with a serious interest in 19th-century intellectual history, particularly the cross-currents between British and German Romanticism, will find this analysis deeply compelling. The book successfully reframes Carlyle not merely as a social critic but as a systematic thinker whose work is anchored in a profound personal metamorphosis. This focused study ultimately delivers a clarifying perspective on a famously elusive philosophical stance.