5. Fifth Lecture: Consciousness and Nature

In this lecture, we delve into a fascinating topic through the lens of the Evolutionary Truth model and Schelling's approach to reconciling nature and consciousness. I present Schelling and his philosophy as an exemplary framework for understanding how nature and the world can be united with the concepts of consciousness, self-consciousness, and identity. Schelling’s vision of identity emerges as a vertical structure — one that culminates in a state devoid of potential, where potential is understood as essential for any transformation.

Schelling's keen interest in the origins of initial states invites us to explore symbolic mechanics as a key distinction between transformations in human consciousness and the cyclical repetitions observed in nature (such as in plants, trees, and flowers). This principle difference highlights how humans, through consciousness, can break free from nature's repetitive cycles and transcend into entirely new states of being and understanding.


Relationship Between Consciousness and Nature

Schelling understood the importance of the unconscious, a concept he developed throughout the stages of his work according to his motifs: polarity, the limitations of the human mind, and contingency. Once we grasp the formula of the world (analyzed in the previous section), we can better comprehend Schelling's approach to self-consciousness (and unconsciousness) in his Philosophy of Nature.

When addressing consciousness in early Schelling, we must first examine how he sought to bridge the gap left by Kant. Kant viewed nature as a structured system governed by rules within the "phenomenal" world. However, he posited that the human mind and free will arose from a distinct "noumenal" realm, which transcended the rules of the phenomenal world. Although Kant acknowledged that humans and the human mind originated from nature, he could not explain the connection between these two realms concerning the emergence of consciousness (and free will).

Schelling, by contrast, saw nature as a unified living system in which everything — the entire universe — was interconnected as one life. He described nature as a dynamic tension of opposing forces (discussed in more detail later in the "Weltformel"): the negative contracting force (associated with gravity) and the positive expanding force (associated with light).

The key to understanding the Philosophy of Nature lies in the idea that nature's highest purpose, as a living system, is to achieve self-consciousness. This is possible because, ultimately, there is no qualitative difference between mind and matter; the difference lies only in the complexity of the forces at play.

For instance, in a flower, the forces interact in a more primitive manner, with no reaction (between "Ground" and "Existence") to reach a higher level ("Personality"). In contrast, the forces in the human body are organized at a much higher level within the same system, making the emergence of consciousness possible.

Thus, when we examine the emergence of consciousness within nature through the "Weltformel," it becomes clear how the various aspects of Schelling's work—sometimes portrayed as distinct or even contradictory (e.g., the Philosophy of Nature, Transcendental Philosophy, and Identity Philosophy)—coalesce into one coherent system.

Without the reaction necessary to generate the transcendent "Personality," nature remains in a cyclical pattern. Schelling vividly describes this as follows:

"This movement may also be conceived as a systole and diastole. /…/ The beginning again, rising again, is systole, is tension, which reaches its acme in the third potency; the returning to the first potency is diastole, relaxation, upon which, however, new contraction immediately follows.”

The absence of self-consciousness separates humans from other parts of the living natural system. Without breaking the cycle, as described in the "Weltformel," there can be no leap to a higher level. Schelling encapsulates this idea powerfully:
"With painful effort, nature develops qualities, aspects, achievements, and talents up to a summit, only to bury them for centuries in oblivion and then begin anew — perhaps in a different way — yet again striving to reach the same height.”


For example, a tree endlessly repeats the same cycle of life. Schelling explains:

"A tree, for example, develops continually from the root to the fruit, and when it has arrived at the summit, it again throws everything off, reverts to the state of barrenness, and again makes itself into a root, only to rise anew. The whole activity of the plant goes toward the production of seed, only to start afresh and, by a new developmental process, produce more seeds and then begin over again. /.../ Nature seeks itself and does not find itself (‘quaerit se natura, non invenit’).”

As a logical next step, Schelling later describes how an entity gains free will through voluntary disruption. This shift accounts for the emergence of life, individuality, revelation, and self-consciousness. Schelling characterizes this act as partly instinctive:

"If you wish to form an image — albeit a vague and distant one — of what occurs, imagine the moment of a sudden need: you have fallen unexpectedly into danger, and, without understanding or deliberation, divine inspiration takes hold, and you do the only thing that could save you. /.../ Did you honestly take factors into consideration, engage in deliberation, and reach a decision when you grasped yourself for the first time and expressed yourself as who you are?”

This process allows a human to attain "Dasein" as a mode of existence:

"The feeling dwells with us all that necessity follows all being ['Dasein'] as its fate. /.../ A profound feeling tells us that true, eternal freedom dwells only above being. To most people — because they have never felt that freedom — being something which simply exists, or being subject, seems the highest. Yet this word ['subject'] itself indicates that everything which is merely something that exists, by its very nature, recognizes something higher above itself.”

We observe significantly more consistency in Schelling's overall approach when reading the younger Schelling through the perspective of the older Schelling.


For example, the material aspect of nature—the natura naturata ("nature made")—represents the contractive force, while the generative process of nature, natura naturans ("nature naturing"), represents the expansive force in the "Weltformel." A reaction occurs between these two forces, akin to the interaction of the "dark principle" and the "light principle" (selfishness and selflessness, ipseity and alterity, negation and affirmation), ultimately leading to the formation of self-consciousness.

We can also partially understand the division of the absolute by examining the emergence of a self-conscious subject and the remainder of the absolute, which stays unconscious. The self-conscious subject was created when the absolute split, and the act of splitting was forgotten. As a result, the absolute is unaware of the creation of the subject, and the subject is unaware of its origin in the absolute.

Additionally, the positioning of "I" against "not-I," which can be seen as influenced by Fichte, does not conflict with Schelling’s framework when viewed through the lens of the "Weltformel." While Schelling remains true to his overall approach, he diverges from Fichte's conception of consciousness. For Schelling, the world was not a creation of a conscious mind.

He states:
"The moment I am /.../ conscious of myself, with the statement 'I am,' I also find the world as already being – there ['Da-seiend']."
Thus, “the already conscious I cannot possibly produce the world.” For Schelling, the creation of the external world had to be "blind," per the "Weltformel," and "not grounded in the will but rather in the nature of the I," referring to the unconscious state that existed before the realization of the third potency (the creation of self-conscious "Personality").

In this context, the unconscious builds upon the "obscure perception" Kant identified. In the realms of art, creativity, and genius, there exists a "dark ground" of ideas — a hidden perception of concepts — that compels the artist to create or the scientist to explore. The individual cannot consciously predict where this latent, unconscious power will ultimately lead.

Schelling also believed that the unconscious contained knowledge in the form of hidden, symbolic representations of the world. In this sense, the unconscious became a vital source of inspiration. Artists, according to Schelling, acted as mediators between the realm of the absolute and reality, akin to sleepwalkers who ventured into the "other side," gathered information, and returned without fully understanding the nature of their actions.

In conclusion, there were undoubtedly inconsistencies and transformations in Schelling's concepts over time. However, we can discern an organizing base structure that is far more than an attempt by an older man to justify his scattered life’s work as consistent. It remains uncertain to what extent the younger Schelling was influenced by theosophy, which shaped his later work. Moreover, we can only speculate whether he would have publicly acknowledged such influence. Nonetheless, many scholars believe that Schelling incorporated theosophical elements into his Philosophy of Nature, as evidence from his earlier material strongly suggests.

We should not attempt to find the rigid logic of Kant in Schelling's work — not only because different thinkers have different approaches, backgrounds, and life stories but also because Schelling addressed questions that inherently require intuition and leaps of faith, which cannot be resolved through pure logic.

In the simplest terms, Schelling's depiction of self-consciousness as part of nature can be understood as a logical and consistent application of the organizing structure of his Nature-philosophy. His initial concept of unconsciousness primarily revolved around knowledge accessible through art, genius, and creativity.