Krause's philosophy, as a whole, is an example of what historians of philosophy refer to as ''
(philosophy of identity). An Identitätsphilosophie'' is a philosophical system that posits the fundamental identity of spirit and nature. In Krause's philosophical system, the parts of the system which, technically, constitute its "panentheism", are only parts of a much broader whole. Therefore, although Krause's philosophy is accurately described as being "panentheistic", Krausism as a whole is better categorized as an
Identitätsphilosophie which features panentheism as one of its primary fundamental components. Krause endeavoured to reconcile the ideas of a
God known by
faith or
conscience and the world as known to
sense. According to Krause, God — intuitively known by conscience — is not a
personality (which implies limitations), but an
all-inclusive essence (
Wesen), which contains the
universe within itself. Krause used the term
panentheism (
Panentheismus in German) in an attempt to accurately describe and encapsulate — in a single technical term — diverse aspects of his philosophical system which were cosmo-theological (simultaneously cosmological and theological) in nature. When considered from a theological perspective, panentheism can be viewed, broadly, as a synthesis of various elements derived from both
monotheism and
pantheism.
Etymology of "panentheism" Historians of philosophy usually give Krause sole credit for coining the term "panentheism" in 1828. However, according to evidence provided by Philip Clayton, the German idealist philosopher
Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph von Schelling had already used this term (albeit in a slightly different form — in the form of the phrase "pan + en + theism"), and also had discussed numerous concepts and issues related to it, in his
Philosophische Untersuchungen über das Wesen der menschlichen Freiheit und die damit zusammenhängenden Gegenstände (
Philosophical Investigations into the Essence of Human Freedom and Matters Connected Therewith, 1809). Additionally, Krause and Schelling scholars now recognize that Krause's philosophy, as a whole, reflects, and partially incorporates, many of the themes, concepts and insights present in Schelling's
Naturphilosophie (Philosophy of Nature), which itself is a form of panentheism. It now appears that Schelling's work may have provided much more of the framework of Krausean panentheism than historians of philosophy in the past had realized. Based on Clayton's evidence, it is quite possible that Krause, who was well-acquainted with Schelling and his works, adopted at least some of the initial basic concepts of his own panentheistic system from various works of Schelling (especially from Schelling's
Philosophical Investigations into the Essence of Human Freedom) and then gradually developed those basic concepts into his own very elaborate version of panentheism. Looking forward, it might be more accurate for historians of philosophy to now say that Schelling in 1809 provided not only the terminological framework of Krausean panentheism but also some of the
basic concepts (at least), of what was to become Krausean panentheism. Krause not only adopted and greatly expanded upon those concepts and insights from Schelling but also adopted Schelling's phrase "pan + en + theism". In 1828, he merely reduced Schelling's phrase into a more concise and compact form (as the single term "panentheism") in an attempt to succinctly and adequately describe, in a single term, the cosmotheological aspects of his own philosophical system. In his published works, Krause first used the term "panentheism" (in its German-language form "Panentheismus") in
Vorlesungen über das System der Philosophie (Göttingen: 1828). The term "Panentheismus" next appears in his ''Vorlesungen über die Grundwahrheiten der Wissenschaft, zugleich in ihrer Beziehung zu dem Leben. Nebst einer kurzen Darstellung und Würdigung der bisherigen Systeme der Philosophie, vornehmlich der neusten von Kant, Fichte, Schelling und Hegel, und der Lehre Jacobi's.'' (Göttingen: 1829). Krause argued that the world itself and mankind, its highest component, constitute an
organism (
Gliedbau), and the universe is therefore a divine organism (
Wesengliedbau). The process of development is the formation of higher unities, and the last stage is the identification of the world with God. The form which this development takes, according to Krause, is Right or the Perfect Law. Right is not the sum of the
conditions of external
liberty but of absolute liberty, and embraces all the
existence of
nature,
reason and
humanity. It is the mode, or
rationale, of all
progress from the lower to the highest unity or identification. By its operation, the reality of nature and reason rises into the reality of humanity. God is the reality which
transcends and includes both nature and humanity. Right is, therefore, at once the dynamic and the safeguard of progress.
Ideal society results from the widening of the organic operation of this
principle from the individual man to small groups of men, and finally to mankind as a whole. The differences disappear as the
inherent identity of structure
predominates in an ever-increasing degree, and in the
final unity Man is merged in God. Krause's theory of the world and of humanity is therefore universal and idealistic.
Animal rights Krause was an advocate of
animal rights and has been cited as the first philosopher to argue for animal rights in the context of a
philosophy of law. In his book
Das System der Rechtsphilosophie (published posthumously in 1874), he argued that non-human animals should hold a right not to be subjected to pain as well as a right to general physical well-being. Krause rejected Fichte's
anthropocentric premisses. He held the view that animals are persons whose rights must be protected by law. ==Influence and works==