How did Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph von Schelling use the idea of the ego in his early philosophy?

In his early philosophy, Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph von Schelling utilized the concept of the ego as a central principle, notably in his work Vom Ich als Prinzip der Philosophie (Of the Ego as Principle of Philosophy).1

Schelling identified the Absolute not as a traditional deity, but as the Absolute ego present within every person. This ego is characterized as eternal and timeless, accessible only through a direct, intellectual intuition rather than sensory perception.1

While Schelling initially drew inspiration from the idealist system of Johann Fichte, which also took the ego as a point of departure, his thought evolved as he sought to integrate this concept with his own philosophy of nature. Schelling eventually diverged from Fichte by arguing that nature should not be viewed merely as an object subordinate to humanity, but as an active, developing force. In his later System of Transcendental Idealism, he attempted to unite his concept of nature with Fichte’s ego-based philosophy, proposing that art serves as the mediator between the unconscious natural sphere and the conscious spiritual sphere.12