Ground, Being, and Evil: From Conspiration to Dialectics of Love

Abstract

 This paper is an attempt to read some of the key concepts of Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph von Schelling in a cosmical and intercultural context. First, Schelling’s relation to the Vedas is discussed. Here we introduce a triadic model, based on the Upanishadic ritual structure (microcosmmesocosm-macrocosm) and cosmology. The structural logic of this model enables us to relate ancient Indian thought to the basic cosmological and ontological concepts (Unground, Ground, God) of Schelling. On this basis, we approach the problem of good and evil in Schelling from his reading of the Bhagavadgita  and discuss some recent interpretations of this difficult question (Amartya Sen and Angelika Malinar), including a critical note on Martin Heidegger’s dealings with the problem of evil. Finally, we introduce the term conspiracy/co-breathing from Schelling’s Freedom  essay. Here, this constellation is presented in a comparative reading with the Nasadiya Sukta hymn from the Vedas. The paper ends with the testimony for a dialectical process (of cobreathing and emerging love) at the very core of Schelling’s philosophy.