Beiser again, commenting on Hamann’s influence in the 19th century: “One devotee of Hamann’s was F. W. J. Schelling, whose Positivephilosophie reflects Hamannian themes. Another avid student of Hamann’s was F. Schlegel, who wrote one of the first appreciative essays on Hamann’s philosophy. Still another admirer was G. W. F. Hegel, who gave a flattering review of the first edition of Hamann’s works. Last but not least, Hamann was a seminal influence upon Soren Kierkegaard, a debt that Kierkegaard readily acknowledged. By way of Kierkegaard, Hamann has had a significant and lasting effect upon twentieth-century existentialism.”
And the 20th: “like many analytic philosophers, Hamann insists that language is the very criterion of thought and that the philosophy of language should replace epistemology. Anticipating Freud, he puts his finger on the formative role of the subconscious in our intellectual life. And, long before Hegel or Wittgenstein, he stresses the cultural and social dimension of rationality.”
