Mystik bei Franz von Baader (1765–1841)

This study examines Franz von Baader’s concept of mysticism as the key to his attempt to reconcile Christian revelation and modern speculative philosophy. Bonchino situates Baader within the intellectual constellation of post-Kantian idealism, showing how his “religious philosophy” seeks to overcome the separation between faith and reason through a speculative reformulation of Christian dogma. Drawing on sources such as Eckhart, Böhme, and Saint-Martin, Baader interprets mysticism not as private experience or emotional religiosity but as the philosophical cognition of divine being within the human spirit. His “speculative mysticism” aims to unite theology and philosophy, revelation and knowledge, in a dynamic conception of the divine–human relation grounded in Trinitarian thought and the idea of the living organism. The article thus highlights Baader’s role as a Catholic thinker who transforms mystical tradition into a systematic alternative to idealist metaphysics.