This book is an odd creature to say the least. A great but under-appreciated text of German idealism is re-published in a new translation, along with an interpretive essay that evaluates it from the standpoint of Lacanian psychoanalysis. Personally, I found Schelling's portrait of the world as moving continuously towards full consciousness of itself to be utterly fascinating. I'm still not sure what to make of Zizek's essay - I have always been utterly baffled by Lacan - but if you're into that kind of thing, you might enjoy it.

If you've never seen Slavoj Zizek speak in person, you should make every effort to do so. With his intense but cuddly East Block labor leader persona, he is certainly the most charismatic orator on the academic Left today.

I mention this because in _The Abyss of Freedom_, Zizek's lively spoken style comes through far better than in a book like _The Ticklish Subject_, a solid piece of thinking stifled by its heavy academic structure.

At first, Zizek's reading of Schelling's essay promises to be a bit one-sided. As usual, he has a heavy Lacanian axe to grind, and beats to death his view that the concept of a pre-existent reality is somewhat naive, and that the difference between reality and appearance _is itself_ posited by the fantasizing of the human subject. (Personally, I regard this move as little more than standard Idealist trickery.)

But once you finish Zizek's introductory essay and read Judith Norman's fine translation of Schelling's _Weltater_, you will be surprised to find that Zizek has been an illuminating guide. He makes Schelling "newsworthy" for contemporary philosophy in a way that all the vague pro-Schelling propaganda by Heideggerians never does.

I would also add that many of Zizek's digressions in his essay are brilliant enough to deserve book-length treatments in their own right. See above all his brief tirade on "the inherent stupidity of proverbs"-- framed as a set of entertaining throwaway remarks, Zizek's commentary on proverbs actually contains the germ of a shockingly novel philosophy of language.

There are moments when Zizek's obvious Lacanian agenda frustrates me, but in the end I always want to say "Thank God for the existence of Slavoj Zizek." He's waking us out of _some_ sort of slumber, I'm sure.

My review concerns the text of Schelling's Ages of the World. I am not terribly interested in Zizek and I started his essay, but quickly was bored.

This essay by Schelling is simply tremendous. Schelling is one of the most underrated of modern philosophers. Try reading this with Schelling's essay "Philosophical Investigations into the Essence of Human Freedom and Related Matters" (1809).

Schelling's vision is one of a world which finds its being completely in God. It is a kind of pantheism that attempts to escape the strict determinism and fatalism of Spinozism. Freedom is not a property of the will, but it is the essence of divine being as such. A beautiful work of insightful philosophical analysis and intriguing biblical exegesis.

Conceptual frame: This is the only edition of Schellings's overall view of Art. The only way to have art is through Philosophy and Schelling expresses this implicitly in his work. This book is a thorough example of how romanticism and transcendnetalism can communicate. For anyone interested in Aesthetics this book is necessary - it shows how Aesthetics are infinitized. Technical frame: The book is 342 pages plus 55 pages of Foreword and Translator's introduction; it includes notes, bibliography, and index, and is divided into two basic parts - General section of the Philosophy of Art and Specific section of the Philosophy of Art.

I have read some hard to understand books in my life but this is about the most difficult reading I have ever had to do - and members of my polisci class agree. Although the level is extremely high the ideas behind it are interesting to say the least. Pay special attention to the role of iself-conciousness it will lead to greater insight to the work.