German idealism located the subject of knowledge in a speculative System, not the State

Evidence

If Schleiermacher fears the narrow nationalism, protectionism, utilitarianism, and positivism that guide the public authorities in matters of science, it is because the principle of science does not reside in those authorities, even indirectly. The subject of knowledge is not the people, but the speculative spirit. It is not embodied, as in France after the Revolution, in a State, but in a System. The language game of legitimation is not state-political, but philosophical. … The great function to be fulfilled by the universities is to “lay open the whole body of learning and expound both the principles and the foundations of all knowledge.” For “there is no creative scientific capacity without the speculative spirit.” “Speculation” is here the name given the discourse on the legitimation of scientific discourse. — Jean-François Lyotard, The Postmodern Condition, 269

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines ‘speculation’ as the legitimation discourse for science — central terminology for Lyotard’s argument.
• XREF: Contrast between French state-based and German speculative legitimation is a key structural distinction Lyotard carries into his account of delegitimation. — connects to: German idealism legitimated knowledge by unifying truth and justice in a single subject — Jean-François Lyotard, The Postmodern Condition: A Report on…, 268; German idealism first introduced the creativity of thought into philosophy — Antonio Gramsci, Selections from the Prison Notebooks, 1242; Speculative thought arises inside the proposition rather than through a separate form — Catherine Malabou, The Future of Hegel: Plasticity,…, 1139 (+4 more)

Broader Connections

• Hegel’s theory of the event emerges where the System’s subject is examined. #expands (0.90)
• Speculative thought arises inside the proposition rather than through a separate form #expands (0.85) — Catherine Malabou, The Future of Hegel, 1139
• German idealism first introduced the creativity of thought into philosophy #expands (0.82) — Antonio Gramsci, Selections from the Prison Notebooks, 1242
• German idealists like Kant and Hegel remained essentially pre-Humian rationalists #qualifies (0.80) — Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy, 2449