The Metaphor of a “Spiritual Eye” in Franz Baader’s Religious Speculation

Abstract

This paper discusses the views of the German philosopher Franz von Baader on faith and reason, in the context of philosophical and theological formations of his lifetime. According to Baader’s holistic synthetical concept, faith is an intrinsically determinative act of choice, finding for oneself a spiritual ‘eye’ which from now on serves as a guidance for the external vision and knowledge. Baader distinguishes between a light and a dark spiritual ‘eye’, whereby only the former can take shape in an external vision of objects. Out of an evangelical metaphor of a spiritual ‘eye’ arises a hint for an original anti-Cartesian perspective in the metaphysics of faith.