F. H. Jacobi on faith, or what it takes to bean irrationalist

F. H. Jacobi (1743–1819), a key figure in the philosophical debates atthe close of the eighteenth century in Germany, has long been regarded as anirrationalist for allegedly advocating a blind ‘leap of faith’. The central claim of thisessay is that this venerable charge is misplaced. Following a reconstruction of whata charge of irrationalism might amount to, two of Jacobi’s most important works,the Spinoza Letters (1785) and David Hume (1787), are scrutinized for traces ofirrationalism. Far from being an irrationalist, Jacobi is best read as questioning theanalytical-geometrical model of rationality popular among his contemporaries, andof proposing a more naturalistic theory of rationality that situates it more firmly inhuman psychology, the ultimate import of which lies in a reconceptualization of therelation between faith and reason