Immanuel Kant

Immanuel Kant (22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804) was a German philosopher, considered to be one of the most influential thinkers of the Enlightenment. His comprehensive and systematic works in epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, and aesthetics have made him one of the most important figures in modern Western philosophy.

Early Life and Education

Kant was born in Königsberg, East Prussia (now Kaliningrad, Russia). He was the fourth of nine children born to Johann Georg Kant, a harness-maker, and Anna Regina Reuter. Kant received a good education, studying mathematics, physics, philosophy, and theology at the University of Königsberg.

Career

After graduating from university, Kant remained in Königsberg, where he taught philosophy and mathematics at the university. He became a professor in 1770, and he held that position for the rest of his life.

Kant's first major work, Critique of Pure Reason, was published in 1781. The Critique is a foundational work in modern philosophy, and it is considered to be one of the most important works of the Enlightenment. In the Critique, Kant argues that human knowledge is limited by the structure of our minds. He also argues that we can have certain kinds of knowledge about the world, such as knowledge of mathematics and logic.

Kant's other major works include:

• Critique of Practical Reason (1788): This work is a foundational work in moral philosophy. In the Critique of Practical Reason, Kant argues that morality is based on reason, and that we have a moral duty to act in accordance with the categorical imperative.
• Critique of Judgment (1790): This work is a foundational work in aesthetics. In the Critique of Judgment, Kant argues that beauty is a subjective experience that is based on our capacity for judgment.

Legacy

Kant's work has had a profound influence on modern philosophy. His ideas have been discussed and debated by philosophers for centuries, and they continue to be relevant today.

Key Concepts

• Transcendental idealism: Kant's theory that the world as we experience it is not the same as the world as it is in itself.
• Categorical imperative: Kant's principle of morality, which states that we should act in such a way that our maxim could be made into a universal law.
• Pure reason: Kant's term for the faculty of reason that is not based on experience.
• Practical reason: Kant's term for the faculty of reason that is concerned with morality.
• Judgment: Kant's term for the faculty of reason that is concerned with beauty and taste.

Quotes

• "Two things fill the mind with ever new and increasing wonder and awe, the starry heavens above me and the moral law within me."
• "Out of the crooked timber of humanity no straight thing was ever made."
• "The only thing that is constant is change."

Influences

Kant was influenced by a number of philosophers, including René Descartes, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, and David Hume. He was also influenced by the Enlightenment, which emphasized the importance of reason and individualism.

Influenced

Kant's work has influenced a wide range of philosophers, including Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, Arthur Schopenhauer, Friedrich Nietzsche, and Martin Heidegger. His ideas have also been influential in other fields, such as law, politics, and art.