Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph von Schelling (January 27, 1775-August 20, 1854) was a German philosopher. Generally in the history of philosophy, Schelling was the main figure in the middle of the development of German idealism, somewhere between Fichte and Hegel. Interpreting his philosophy is often not easy because the definition of nature in its philosophy is always uncertain. Some scholars consider him a great but unpredictable thinker because his leaps between ideas lacked some of the power to connect them for a complete philosophical system. Others believe that Schelling always focuses on common topics, especially freedom, absolute and the relationship between man and nature.

Schelling's ideas, like Fichte, are often despised, especially in English-speaking countries. One of the main reasons was that because of Hegel's later lofty status, he deliberately belittled Schelling in his Lectures on the History of Philosophy, describing Schelling as a small footnote in the development of German idealism. Secondly, because of his natural philosophy, it is often ridiculed by some empirical scientists as lacking logical inference and practical proof. But his natural philosophy was appreciated by the romantics and great poet Goethe, and was also welcomed by German natural science.

His early thoughts created the conditions for the later establishment of Hegel's philosophical system.