considered by some to be his most important text this series of lectures given by johann gottlieb fichte 17621814 at his home in berlin in 1804 is widely regarded as the most perspicuous presentation of his fundamental philosophy now available in english this translation provides in striking and original language fichtes exploration of the transcendental foundations of experience and knowing in ways that go beyond kant and reinhold and charts a promising novel pathway for german idealism through a close examination of this work one can see that fichtes thought is much more than a way station between kant and hegel thus making the case for fichtes independent philosophical importancethe text is divided into two parts a doctrine of truth or reason and a doctrine of appearance a central feature of the text is its performative dimension philosophy for fichte is something we enact rather than any discursively expressible object of awareness a philosophical truth is not expressible as a set of propositions but is a spontaneous inwardly occurring realization therefore he always regards the expression of philosophy in words as strategic aiming to ignite philosophys essentially inward process and to arouse the event of philosophical insight