"On the Divine Things and Their Revelation" by F.H. Jacobi, Translation and Introductory Study by Paolo Livieri

Modern philosophy runs the risk of becoming a serious threat to human intellect and life. F.H. Jacobi denounced the danger for philosophy to forget reality altogether only to become illusion and deceit. Instead, rationality requires a specific investigation, an enquiry concerning the origin and meaning of the human being, as the human being “is enlivened by a drive to inquire into his origin, to recognize himself in it, to experience by himself the true through this origin and from this origin. He calls reason this drive that identifies his genus.” F.H. Jacobi’s final word against systematic philosophy offers an overview on a new chance to connect the human and the divine according to a metaphysical approach that Jacobi calls theism. The On the Divine Things and their Revelation published in 1811 is here presented for the first time in English, accompanied by a long, analytical introduction by Paolo Livieri. This “philosophical testament” brings together Jacobi’s most famous themes – from faith to revelation, from nihilism to immediate knowledge – showing his consistent plan to define the rationality of human existence. As the last published book by Jacobi, The Divine Things and their Revelation expresses his tireless commitment to put the human being at the center of reality.