"Ich begehre keinen freien Willen"[I desire no free will]: G.E. Lessing's Peculiar View on Human Freedom

G.E. Lessing's rejection of human freedom is grounded in his understanding that only God can be absolutely free. It seems therefore reasonable to assume that Lessing abandoned any notion of free human will. Good deeds only arise from the realization that truths must be sought and used for human activity, which necessarily has to be unrestricted and free of any interference by others. This article examines the problem of freedom and evil, Lessing's apparent refusal to take part in the important discussion of this topic during the second half of the eighteenth century, and a juxtaposition of Lessing's and Kant's views on the matter.