Abstract：Abstract: Carlyle’s conception of reason is a process of development. From it, three stages, particular per se, are extricable. The main idea of his conception, in the first stage, consists in the operation of logic, and is imbued with the characteristics of Enlightenment. The second conception is, in the main, derived from the philosophy of Kant, especially from his doctrines of reason in Kritik der reinen Vernunt. The third conception is founded upon the basis of Carlyle’s own resources of epistemology, the characteristics of which lie in the introduction of romantic organicism into the domain of knowing. The critical tradition in concern, however, and lack of the recognition of the totality of such a process, leads to the emphasization of the German thoughts and the negligence of the Romantic elements. A reading of Carlyle’s conception of reason as a process can not only deepen the understanding of it, but may also exhibit the spiritual growth of Carlyle in his early years, and the contextual relation between him and intellectual environment in which he finds himself.
Key words: Carlyle; conception of reason; Kantian reason; Romanticism; Organicism
