The Suffering of God in Schelling’s 1811 Ages of the World



• The Suffering of God in Schelling’s 1811 Ages of the World

  Item Type	Journal Article
  Author	Karim Mitri
  Abstract	This article argues that the concept of Divine suffering is central to F.W.J. Schelling’s philosophical project in his middle period, particularly in the 1811 draft of The Ages of the World (AW). To demonstrate this, the essay provides a comprehensive account of two main passages on Divine suffering in the 1811 AW, which has been underexplored in existing scholarship. The analysis is grounded in a preliminary establishment of Schelling’s doctrine of the potencies (God’s Ground, that-which-exists, and Unity), which provides the necessary framework for understanding God’s becoming. The article performs a close reading of the key passages, supplemented by complementary texts from the 1809-15 period, to trace this development. It first explores unconscious suffering at the level of the Ground (first potency), analysing concepts like ‘oppressive dreams,’ ‘painful remembrance,’ and ‘anxiety.’ It then examines conscious suffering at the level of that-which-exists (second potency) as a necessary ‘path to glory’ that mirrors Christ’s passion and culminates in the ‘triumph of liberation’ (third potency). The essay concludes by considering the persistence of this suffering through the concept of the ‘irreducible remainder’ (B), arguing that this remainder, like Christ’s wounds, is not an active torment but a necessary scar attesting to the moral necessity of God’s path to achieve a final, richer Unity.
  Date	2026
  Language	English
  Library Catalog	193; 113; 115; 126; 210
  License	© 2026 by Aletheia - Associação Científica e Cultural
  Volume	82
  Place	Braga
  Publisher	Axioma - Publicações da Faculdade de Filosofia
  Section	Schelling’s Legacy in Contemporary Philosophy. Celebrating the 250th Anniversary of Schelling’s Birth
  Pages	259-284
  Publication	Revista Portuguesa de Filosofia
  DOI	10.17990/RPF/2026_82_1_0259
  Issue	1-2
  Journal Abbr	RPF
  ISSN	0870-5283 ; 2183-461X
  Date Added	7/31/2026, 8:54:41 PM
  Modified	8/1/2026, 2:14:39 PM

  Tags:

  • German Idealism
  • Schelling
  • Divine Becoming
  • God’s Ground
  • Potencies
  • Suffering

  Notes:

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