At the age of 18, Jean Paul engages intensively with the philosophical concepts of his time. Initial optimism, particularly influenced by Leibniz, gives way to increasing skepticism. The rehabilitation of sensuality, among other things in Herder's philosophy, both excites and unsettles him. It is only with the discovery of imagination that Jean Paul finds a 'poetic' approach to the pressing metaphysical problems. This work begins at the intersection of intellectual exercise and poetry.