Schelling's philosophy of nature is known to be the counterpart to his version of transcendental idealism which dominated his first writings from 1794 on (Über die Möglichkeit einer Form der Philosophie überhaupt). Only after he had left the Tübinger Stiff and entered the university of Leipzig in 1796 in order to study mathematics, natural sciences, and medicine, did he become more interested in the field of physics and other sciences. His Ideen zu einer Philosophie der Natur of 1797 was the first of a series of books and articles that made him famous for being the inaugurator of the new, speculative “Natur-philosophie” that marked his place in the history of post-Kantian philosophy.

In light of the recent discovery and publication of his early commentary on Plato's Timaeus, the story of his philosophical development has to be rewritten. The early influence of Kant's and Leibniz's philosophy of nature can no longer be considered the main factors contributing to the new conception of a cosmology that could satisfy the conditions set by the revolution in philosophy due to Kant and Fichte. The text of Schelling's commentary also documents the great impact that Reinhold's early philosophy made on him, although for only a short time. Schelling's later reputation as the Plato of his time, which was ill-founded as long as his youthful attempts to interpret and transform Plato's thought were not taken account of, also now gains at least some plausibility.