Karl Christian Friedrich Krause: Ausgewählte Schriften / Band II: Philosophisch-freimaurerische Schriften (1808–1832)
von Karl Christian Friedrich Krause, herausgegeben von Johannes Seidel, Enrique M Urena und Erich FuchsDer Freiheitsbegriff Krauses und seine Staats- und Gesellschaftslehre sind von seiner in geschichtsphilosophischer Absicht geführten Auseinandersetzung mit der Freimaurerei nicht zu trennen. Dies veranlasst Krause 1808 zu einer Wende: Hatte er bis dahin den durch Napoleon begonnenen Gang zu einem Weltstaat als Anbruch der dritten und letzten Epoche der Geschichte der Menschheit begriffen, so ersetzt er nun 'Napoleon' als weltgeschichtliche Figur durch die 'Freimaurerbruderschaft' und den 'Weltstaat' durch den 'Menschheitsbund'. - Der Band enthält sieben Abhandlungen Krauses zu dieser Thematik, darunter ein druckfertiges, bislang unveröffentlichtes Manuskript mit dem Titel ›Frohkunde an die Menschheit‹ (1832) über Wesen und innere Organisation des projektierten Menschheitsbundes.
Krause’s concept of freedom and his theory of the state and social studies cannot be separated from his study of the Freemasons, a study whose background was based on the philosophy of history. In 1808, this prompted Krause to reverse his position. Although up to that time he had regarded the path Napoleon had begun to take in having the world united into one state as the beginning of the third and last epoch of human history, he then replaced »Napoleon« as a historical figure with the »Masonic brotherhood« and the »world state« with the »brotherhood of man«. The volume contains seven essays by Krause on this subject, including a print-ready, previously unpublished manuscript entitled ›Frohkunde an die Menschheit‹ (1832) which dealt with the nature and the internal organization of the planned brotherhood of man.
Krause’s concept of freedom and his theory of the state and social studies cannot be separated from his study of the Freemasons, a study whose background was based on the philosophy of history. In 1808, this prompted Krause to reverse his position. Although up to that time he had regarded the path Napoleon had begun to take in having the world united into one state as the beginning of the third and last epoch of human history, he then replaced »Napoleon« as a historical figure with the »Masonic brotherhood« and the »world state« with the »brotherhood of man«. The volume contains seven essays by Krause on this subject, including a print-ready, previously unpublished manuscript entitled ›Frohkunde an die Menschheit‹ (1832) which dealt with the nature and the internal organization of the planned brotherhood of man.
