The Growing Of Historical Reason

In this paper, I begin by examining the theoretical source and ideological background of Lessing’s religious thought, which is the European philosophy in the eighteenth century. On the relation between faith and reason, continental rationalism philosophy represented by Spinoza and Leibniz, and German mysticism-pietism tradition has been the underlying core of Lessing’s philosophy of religion, while the British empiricist philosophy and deism, the French atheism and other trends in the Enlightenment has made a tremendous impact on Lessing’s thought.The 7 anonymous Fragments by Reimarus and the great debate evoked by it, break Lessing from the idea that "religious truth is based on historical facts", and at the same time help him establish his idea that " the letter is not the spirit " as the guiding principle of his religious thought. It is now for the first time a clear distinction is drawn between the authenticity of Christian truth and the historical origin of Christian faith. In his essay "On the Prove of the Holy Spirit and its Power", Lessing proposed the famous statement that "the historical truth can not become the prove of necessary truth of reason." This insurmountable "ugly broad ditch", symbolizing the division between historical basis of Christianity and the inner truth of religion also brings out the major problem in modern philosophy of religion that how an enlightened modern person could accept seemingly absurd religious claim. Despite being a fictional drama, "Nathan the Wise" epitomizes the very essence of Lessing’s philosophy of religion, from which we can see Lessing’s idea of historical reason on the issues of verifying religious truth and his "Counter-enlightenment "tendency. "On the education of human kind" shows a divine plan for the development of human reason, and provides a practical course in which historical truth could finally meet with rational truth. It also reveals Lessing’s unique concept of God and reason. After Lessing’s death, Jacobi and Mendelssohn had a intense dispute on Lessing’s "Spinozaism". This event not only helps us understand in-depth the relation between Lessing’s religious thought and the pantheistic view of God, but also demonstrates the internal logic of the process of German Enlightenment developing into German Idealism.In addition, Lessing’s philosophy of religion also has a distinctive genre which is different from the general style of German philosophy. It has a non-systemic, fragmented, conversational characteristic, and is often expressed in a figurative, rhetorical style of language. Besides, Lessing’s philosophical reasoning and writing is not intended to show his own position, which makes his philosophy lack a clear and consistent theoretical system. However, we can not therefore ignore his outstanding contribution to the history of philosophy and theology. Lessing’s idea of historical reason shows his great attempt to reconcile the relation between faith and reason by the internal logic of historical progress. The historical reason is also a transition from nature reason to dialectical reason, and the bridge from eighteenth-century rationalism and empiricism philosophy to German historical philosophy and idealism; Being a pioneer to Kant, Hegel, and Herder, Lessing’s position in the history of philosophy should not be underestimated.