Systems after the Systems - ‘Cosmic’ Texts and Integrative Practices in Neo-Kantian Contexts

Abstract

Interacting with the totality of scientific knowledge, while simultaneously maintaining traditional standards of what it means to argue philosophically, lies at the heart of the Neo-Kantian project. Here, we focus upon Neo-Kantian contributions to a specific literary genre of engaging with the sciences in their totality: that of ‘cosmic’ texts - ambitious and comprehensive texts that present an integrative and accessible perspective on the sciences, typically in an attempt to reach out to a broad audience. Fechner, Lotze, or Haeckel are typical protagonists in this genre. Significantly, however, we also find Neo-Kantians contributing to this body of literature. This chapter discusses Friedrich Albert Lange’s and Jürgen Bona Meyer’s contributions to the ‘cosmic’ genre. This places the Neo-Kantian project in a novel context, reaching out beyond the confines of traditional academia. In terms of philosophical arguments and concepts, it is shown how authors in the ‘cosmic’ genre - including Neo-Kantian authors - combine empiricist motives with an interest in new object categories (such as ‘structures’) and in new accounts of the role of feelings. Together, this can explain how the ‘cosmic’ genre contributed to novel forms of philosophically integrating a comprehensive body of knowledge.