Fichte-The Vocation of Man: Faith

What I found most intriguing in Fichte's argument was the relationship between self understanding and understanding of other people around us. Fichte explains that once we realize our own individual consciousness, we expect others to recogzine and appreciate us as indviduals. He claims, "Even if he does not apprehend this world through the thought of his duties, he will yet surely do so through the demand of his rights. What, perhaps he never expects of himself he will, however, expect of others in relation to himself: that they treat him with consideration, thoughtfully and purposefully, not as a nonrational thing but as a free independent being" (78). Fichte is articulating an interesting pattern of humans: that though we understand ourselves as individual beings with the power of self reflection and with entitles us to freedom and understanding, we often cannot or don not view others in the same light. It is almost like the old adage, "we judge others by their actions but we judge ourselves by our intentions." We are able to see that we ourselves are complex beings with an individual consciousness, but are often unable to extend this understanding to others around us.