Abstract
In this article we present Schelling's conception of love, as it develops in the years 1809 and 1810, as the beginning of a minor tradition in theories of recognition (1). Our aim is to show how Schelling articulates a view of the self and the second person as independent elements from one another, but which can be brought into a relationship through a free decision, i.e., not conditioned by a whole that overrides and predetermines them.
To achieve this goal, we will first present the metaphysical presuppositions of individuality in the context of Schelling's middle metaphysics between 1804-1820 (2). Secondly, we will show how the link between being oneself, being other, and the problem of evil arises from the advent of the real, that is, the split between the first and the second person (3, 4).
Finally, we will highlight the bond that indissolubly unites the real, the self, and the being-other, in terms of the unity of diverse elements that we call "love" (5).