ABSTRACT
Since cognition is inherently related to the I, the hard core of the anti-Cartesian argumentation is the attempt to negate not only the primacy of cognition but also the primacy of the I.Jacobi takes that step. He says “…without the Thou the I is impossible.”* The priority attributed to the Thou over the I is, it seems, inherent in the priority of the immediate encounter over cognition and its alleged syllogistic consequence. Jacobi’s assumption seems to be that the Thou has priority over the I within the immediate encounter, since the Thou is part of the surrounding world which is encountered directly or experienced immediately.
