4. Fourth Lecture: Second Potency - (A=B)=A², and Third Potency - A³.
In this lecture, we will explore the creation of two equal and opposing forces. In this context, balance is achieved through the interplay of equally strong opposing forces, such as state and nature, masculinity and femininity, order and chaos, rules and creativity—the list goes on. Schelling emphasizes the vitality of this balance as essential for the continuation of a temporal world. We will also delve into the first clear articulation of the "irreducible remainder," which holds far greater significance than most students initially realize. This remainder is central to understanding Schelling's philosophy, as it represents the aspect of the absolute that resists full integration or resolution within the system.
Furthermore, we will examine how Schelling conceptualizes the emergence of consciousness, particularly as it develops the capacity to comprehend good and evil. This understanding marks a pivotal moment in his philosophical system, as it ties the dynamic interplay of opposing forces to the formation of self-awareness and moral agency Finally, I would like to express my gratitude to Sean J. McGrath, whose insights have significantly deepened my understanding of the Weltformel and Schelling's philosophy in general. I will also provide some recommended readings for further study.
Second Potency: (A=B)=A²
The gap created in the absolute has to be filled; the imbalance has to be counterbalanced. An expanding, altruistic, outreaching, outpouring opposing force must arise to counteract the selfish drive. The lack created will be filled by a positive force—something possessing all the necessary qualities to react with the first force, neutralize the excess, and fill the gap.
Schelling describes this moment: "The unground divides itself into the two exactly equal beginnings, only so that the two, which could not exist simultaneously or be one in it as the unground, become one through love, that is, it divides itself only so that there might be life and love and personal existence."
What is this second "selfless, altruistic, expanding" drive of Schelling's, which Boehme, in his original theogony, called the "Light principle"? When the initial excess was created by the primordial ("das Seyn"), as the "nature" within God was externalized, the second drive represents the pure essence of the absolute—the essence of God's existence ("das Seyende"). This upward-reaching light and existence counterbalance the downward, gravitating drive of the ground. Thus, Schelling refers to this potential as "ideal" (in contrast to the first, which he calls "real").
As discussed earlier, what occurs now is a combination of two mirroring drives. One does not negate the other, nor does one merge into the other's identity ("as color black does not merge into a cow"). The second drive, counterbalancing the first, is its exact opposite in every sense and is not contained within it. This is the principal difference between this approach and Hegel's concept of negation (and the negation of the negation).
The first drive (first potential) lacks what the second drive (second potential) possesses, and vice versa. To fulfill the mission initiated by the creation of excess, these drives must work together, as they rely on each other to achieve the goal. By combining the ground and existence, selfishness and selflessness, ipseity and alterity, narcissism and altruism, one can achieve wholeness on a higher, transcendent level. Thus, the "will that sees nothing but itself" must unite with the "will that sees only the other, but not itself."
From a theological perspective, the "word of God" as "logos" emerges in the second potential as "understanding" — a being that reflects the desires and yearning of the first potential, making sense of it. It is the "logos" that enables the rationalization of the first potential.
The ground must react with the spirit of God to create an individual with free will and knowledge of good and evil. Schelling describes it thus: "All birth is birth from darkness into light; the seed kernel must be sunk into the earth and die in darkness so that the more beautiful shape of light may lift and unfold itself in the radiance of the sun."
The complementary nature of these forces can be illustrated by considering a bridge supported by posts over water. The posts sink into the earth, gravitating toward its center (first potential), while the higher-reaching bridge built upon them allows for crossing the river (second potential). This concept also relates to polarity in the Philosophy of Nature.
From a psychological perspective, the second force represents a purely altruistic, hysterical state focused entirely on the other, to the exclusion of self-recognition and self-needs. However, both forces are essential for personality development. As Jung stated, "As above, so below, as within, so without, as the universe, so the soul.../.../ The tree that would reach heaven must have its roots in hell."
There is, however, an intriguing idea regarding the combination of these forces to create the conscious personality: part of the initial excess remains. A fragment of the initial absolute—the unconscious, eternal, infinite primordial essence of God's being—persists within the ground as an excess. Schelling called this the "irreducible remainder" (der nie aufgehende Rest). Žižek refers to it as the "indivisible remainder."
What does this mean? The system presented by Schelling is sophisticated, as the formula also incorporates the marker of the initial absolute, the symbol of the unground, the reference to past eternity, and the primordial deepest unconscious.
When balancing the first potential with the second, the formula is presented as follows: (A=B) = A². Next, we examine how this reaction is facilitated and the formula finalized. Let us proceed to the final stage.
Third Potential: A³
The third potential finalizes what has been established so far — a new, higher quality is created through the reaction of the first and second potentials. Through this, consciousness emerges, and an individual with free will for good and evil is created. In Boehme's initial formula, the unification of the "Light principle" and the "Dark principle" produced "Self-revelation." In Schelling's formula, the unification of the "Ground" and "Existence" produces "Personality."
This signifies no return to the initial unground but the attainment of a higher quality — a free individual with self-consciousness as a result of the realization of the third potential. The combination of the first two forces is an essential quality that defines human beings because it makes possible the feeling of love—the highest human quality, for which the entire process serves.
Schelling refers to this idea, stating: "For love is neither in indifference nor where opposites are linked which require linkage for Being but rather… this is the secret of love, that it links such things of which each could exist for itself, yet does not and cannot exist without the other."
He also describes this state as the first real being of God — Dasein. Schelling writes in The Ages of the World: “A spirit attains the fullness of its existence when it has a living soul (A³) as its immediate subject, and this soul again has its counterpart in an external spiritual-corporeal being. Now, this free relation is not affirmed but negated; it is, however, just thereby posited in a negated or enveloped way. We can therefore say the unity indicated above is, at least in an enveloped way, the first real being [Dasein] of God.”
From a psychological perspective, this formula's realization produces a conscious human being who unites selfish and altruistic sides, integrates good and bad, and reconciles negation and affirmation.
When we examine the final stage of the formula, it can be expressed as:
A³ = (A=B)=A².
This indicates the third potential is realized as a combination of the first and second. It follows the mechanics of the second potential:
A² = (A=B),
and the first:
A¹ = (A=B),
or simply (A=B).
To combine the three stages — (A=B), A²=(A=B), and A³=(A=B)=A² — we must also account for the "irreducible remainder," B, as the part of the excess from the unground at the initial stage that was never absorbed in the reaction between the first and second potentials.
Thus, the complete formula can be written as:
(A³=(A=B)=A²)B.
Alternatively, to emphasize the sequence of potencies, the stages can be bracketed:
(A³=[A²={A=B}])B.
Since this is not a mathematical equation but a conceptual diagram, Schelling raises A³ above the "division line" to present it as a final result encompassing the previous stages (no arithmetic division is involved). Similar diagrams can be constructed for each potential stage (A¹, A², or A³) by placing them either above or below the "division line" as preferred.
An important aspect of this formula is the bracketing of B (representing the initial absolute, unground, the source of dark forces, and primordial being). On the one hand, B is separated from the formula's content; on the other, it influences all stages of progression toward self-revelation or conscious personality. In addition to symbolizing the existence of the absolute as unconscious, B limits the infinite progression of the formula. While the first stage (A=B) is grounded in A¹, and the second in A², the progression halts because nothing can be grounded on B, the absolute.
B represents the deep unconscious, primordial, and absolute. It is not merely a suppressed thought or drive but a fundamental principle with significant implications for all potentials and the formula. Without this negative, initial exclusion, there would be no disruption or subsequent reactions. Thus, B is vital for achieving and sustaining consciousness. Because B is bracketed out, the system can be ordered functionally and structured. The unconscious, as a primordial and Godly (in the sense of the negating part of God) power to resist good, act on drives, and embody spontaneity, unpredictability, and danger, gives meaning to free will and moral behavior.
Schelling explains in The Ages of the World: “There must be a principle resisting revelation in primal being [Dasein], for only such a one can become the ground of revelation. If there is a power that effects a revelation, must there not also be a power which counteracts it? How would there be freedom otherwise? An irrational principle, resisting differentiation, therefore also contrary to the creature, operates in primal being [Dasein], a principle which is the real strength in God, even in the profundity of tragedy. It is Strength and Violence, servants of Zeus, who chain up the philanthropic Prometheus to the rock encircled by the roaring sea. It is thus necessary to acknowledge this [principle] as the personality of God, his being in himself and for himself."
In conclusion, understanding this formula enables a clearer interpretation of many of Schelling's works. It reveals connections to the development of subjectivity within the model of evolutionary truth.
This explanation is primarily based on the works of Sean J. McGrath, who presents Schelling's complex concepts in a structured and accessible manner, aiming to help readers comprehend them.
In the simplest terms, Schelling's formula explains the world, life, and the creation of a conscious human being in three stages: the contingent excess of selfish will within the absolute causing disruption, the division of the absolute into opposing forces ("Ground" and "Existence"), and the integration of these forces into a transcendental "Personality"—a conscious human capable of love.
