Jacobi and Fries on direct cognition

Jacobi and Fries on direct cognition

Arthur V. Chermont

The Histories of Philosophy of both Michelet and Zeller have placed Fries’ philosophical position as a distinguished development of Jacobi’s thought. Our approach to exploring this development is to consider how the Jacobian epistemological doctrine of direct cognition has matured into the Friesian distinction between the three modalities of direct cognition: knowledge (Wissen), belief (Glauben), and notion/presentiment (Ahnung).