Manuel Cant. Kant: biography life ideas philosophy: immanuel kant

Introduction

Immanuel Kant was perhaps the most famous citizen of Koenigsberg in the history of this city. His philosophy glorified Koenigsberg in a way that neither his rulers, nor the wars that took place in these parts and in which Prussia willingly participated, nor trade that flourished in the Hanseatic city located at the crossroads of trade routes, could do it. This is all the more surprising since Koenigsberg could be called the center of the political, military, craft, trade life of the southeastern Baltic, but spiritually and culturally it represented nothing but the distant eastern periphery of the Western world. Koenigsberg could not boast of a rich artistic, scientific, philosophical life, to some extent comparable, for example, with Berlin, Leipzig, Halle, Marburg and many other cities in Germany. The city was busy with practical matters: he fought, handicrafts, traded, prayed, modestly entertained as much as possible. With regard to philosophy, pietists, distinguished by their particular piety, gained significant influence in the religious life of Koenigsberg from the beginning of the 18th century, inspired in 1725 the decree of the king in accordance with which the follower of the main philosopher of the German enlightenment Christian Wolf (1679- 1754) Christian Gabriel Fischer, professor of natural philosophy, which in a certain sense meant the suspension of the Enlightenment in Koenigsberg and the dominance of the religious principle of organizing a spiritual life no. Originating in such an atmosphere of a philosophical genius of this magnitude seems almost unbelievable. However, this has happened. Apparently full of limitations, the practical German life of a respectable burgher formed some qualities of the soul that could contribute to thoughts that overcome limitations. Perhaps on the contrary.

Kant's Paradoxes

Many famous people lived in Koenigsberg, among them those whom we call "great." Among the great scientists, it is enough to recall the physicist and physiologist Hermann von Helmholtz (1821-1894) or the mathematician David Hilbert (1862-1943). However, only physicists or physiologists can call Koenigsberg the city of Helmholtz, and mathematicians can call the city of Hilbert. “The city of Kant” sounds equally acceptable to most people who know at least something about the spiritual culture of mankind, and not only because it has turned a provincial culturally city into one of the centers of European culture, but also because Kant is like no one else of the great people of Koenigsberg was associated with this land. Here he was born, lived his whole life, died and is buried.

Kant's life was held in strict limits. Kant spent his whole life in Koenigsberg and its environs. Paris and St. Petersburg, London and even Berlin existed for him only in the stories of friends and acquaintances, books, thoughts and imagination. The scientist who repeatedly and successfully taught the course of physical geography at the university was practically nowhere except his hometown. Kant's thought knew no bounds. He built his philosophy not for the inhabitants of East Prussia, not for the Germans, not even for all people in the world, but for all rational beings. The limitations of real life in space and the absolute infinity of the life of thought  - such is Kant's first paradox. One of the most universal philosophical systems in the history of mankind was created by a man who did not seek to see this world with his own eyes.

Kant's other paradox is related to the way in which this person, whose main life experience was mainly limited to a university audience, sitting at a table and reading books, who did not seek to expand his real life experience, managed to give us outstanding examples of worldly wisdom. " Do not accept the good deeds you can do without  ... "- said by a person who has deeply penetrated our lives. One thing remains for us - to admit that deep, consistent, honest thinking generates, deepens and expands our experience. Thinking is life. Reading Kant, one can understand how he managed to to develop our thinking that it allowed us to penetrate deeply into our lives, using only pure reason.

True, Kant himself held a peculiar view about great people: “The fact that great people only from afar create an impression of brilliance and that the sovereign always loses a lot in the eyes of his valet is explained by the fact that not a single person is great.” (Kant I. Soch. in 6 volumes - M .: Thought, 1963-1966, T. 2. P. 198. - Further links to this publication will be given in parentheses in the text with the volume and page numbers, for example, this link would look like this : (2, 198).)

Biography

He was born in 1724 in Koenigsberg in a poor family of a craftsman saddle-maker. The boy was named in honor of St. Immanuel. Under the care of the doctor of theology Franz Albert Schulz, who noticed giftedness in Immanuel, Kant graduated from the prestigious Friedrichs-Collegium Gymnasium, and then in 1740 entered the University of Koenigsberg. Due to the death of his father, he is unable to complete his studies and, to feed his family, Kant becomes a home teacher for 10 years. It was at this time, in -1755, that he developed and published his cosmogonic hypothesis of the origin of the Solar System from the original nebula, which has not lost its relevance until now.

Kant's natural science and philosophical research is supplemented by “political science” opuses, for example, in his treatise “Towards Eternal Peace,” he first laid down the cultural and philosophical foundations for the future unification of Europe into a family of enlightened peoples, saying: “Have the courage to use your own mind! - this is the motto of the Enlightenment. "

Despite the philosophy, he could sometimes manifest ethnic prejudices, in particular, anti-Semitism.

Kant was buried at the eastern corner of the north side of the Königsberg Cathedral in a professorial crypt, a chapel was erected over his grave. In 1924, on the 200th anniversary of Kant, the chapel was replaced with a new structure, in the form of an open columned hall, which was strikingly different in style from the cathedral itself.

Stages of creativity

Kant went through two stages in his philosophical development: “subcritical” and “critical”. (These terms are defined by the works of the philosopher Critique of Pure Reason, 1781; Critique of Practical Mind, 1788; Critique of the Power of Judgment, 1790).

Basic concepts A thing in itself, a phenomenon
Texts Criticism of Pure Reason
Currents Neo-kantianism
People Kant, Reinhold, Fichte

Theory of knowledge

Kant rejected the dogmatic method of cognition and believed that instead of it one should take as a basis the method of critical philosophizing, the essence of which is to study the mind itself, the boundaries that a person can reach with reason, and to study individual ways of human knowledge.

Kant's main philosophical work is A Critique of Pure Reason. The initial problem for Kant is the question "How is pure knowledge possible?" First of all, this concerns the possibility of pure mathematics and pure natural science (“pure” means “non-empirical”, a priori, or inexperienced). Kant formulated this question in terms of distinguishing between analytical and synthetic propositions - “How are synthetic propositions a priori possible?” By “synthetic” judgments, Kant understood judgments with an increment of content compared with the content of concepts included in the judgment. Kant distinguished these judgments from analytic judgments revealing the meaning of concepts. Analytical and synthetic judgments differ in whether the content of the predicate of judgment follows from the content of its subject (such are analytical judgments) or, on the contrary, is added to it “from the outside” (such are synthetic judgments). The term “a priori” means “outside of experience”, as opposed to the term “a posteriori” - “from experience”. So there are four headings:

Analytical judgments are always a priori: experience is not necessary for them, therefore, there are no a posteriori analytical judgments. Accordingly, experimental (posterior) judgments are always synthetic, because their predicates derive from experience content that was not in the subject of the judgment. Concerning a priori synthetic propositions, then, according to Kant, they are part of mathematics and science. Due to a priori, these judgments contain universal and necessary knowledge, that is, one that cannot be learned from experience; thanks to synthetics, such judgments provide an increase in knowledge. : 30 - 37

Man is the highest value, this is personality. Self-consciousness of a person gives rise to egoism as a natural property of a person. A man does not manifest it only when he considers his “I” not as the whole world, but only as part of it. It is necessary to curb egoism, to control the mental manifestations of personality.

A person may have unconscious representations - “dark”. The process of birth of creative ideas can take place in the dark, about which a person can know only at the level of sensations.

Kant underwent such a concept as genius. "The talent for invention is called genius."

Works

• Akademieausgabe von Immanuel Kants Gesammelten Werken (German)

Russian editions

Works in six volumes. Volume 1. - M., 1963, 543 s (Philosophical Heritage, T. 4) Works in six volumes. Volume 2. - M., 1964, 510 s (Philosophical Heritage, T. 5) Works in six volumes. Volume 3. - M., 1964, 799 s (Philosophical Heritage, T. 6) Works in six volumes. Volume 4, Part 1. - M., 1965, 544 s (Philosophical Heritage, T. 14) Works in six volumes. Volume 4, Part 2. - M., 1965, 478 s (Philosophical Heritage, T. 15) Works in six volumes. Volume 5. - M., 1966, 564 s (Philosophical Heritage, T. 16) Works in six volumes. Volume 6. - M., 1966, 743 s (Philosophical heritage, vol. 17) Criticism of Pure Reason. - M., 1994, 574 s (Philosophical Heritage, T. 118)
• Immanuel Kant. Collected Works in 8 volumes. - Publisher: CHORO, 1994 - ISBN 5-8497-0001-3, ISBN 5-8497-0002-1, ISBN 5-8497-0003-X, ISBN 5-8497-0004-8, ISBN 5-8497- 0005-6, ISBN 5-8497-0006-4, ISBN 5-8497-0007-2, ISBN 5-8497-0008-0.
Ethics Lectures. - M .: Republic, 2000 .-- 431 p. Criticism of Pure Reason  / Per. with him. N. Lossky was verified and edited by C. G. Arzakanyan and M. I. Itkin; Note C. G. Arzakanyan. - M .: Eksmo, 2007 .-- 736 p. - ISBN 5-699-14702-0 Criticism of Pure Reason  / (Translated from German; foreword by I. Yevlampiev). - M .: Eksmo; St. Petersburg: Midgard, 2007 .-- 1120 p. - (Giants of Thought) ISBN 5-91016-017-4

Collected Works in 8 volumes

Bibliography
Volume 1 Thoughts on a true assessment of living forces (1749) Study of the question of whether the Earth has undergone in its rotation around the axis, due to which there is a change of day and night, some changes since its inception (1754) The question of whether the Earth is aging from a physical point of view ( 1754) General Natural History and Theory of the Sky (1755) New coverage of the first principles of metaphysical cognition (1755) Physical monadology (1756) On the causes of earthquakes (1756) New comments to explain the theory of winds (1756) Lecture plan on physical geography and notification of them (1757) The new theory of movement and rest (1758) The only possible basis for proving the existence of God (1762)
Volume 2 The experience of some discussions about optimism (1759) Thoughts caused by the untimely death of the highly noble Mr. Johann Friedrich von Funck (1760) False philosophies in the four figures of syllogism (1762) The experience of introducing the concept of negative values \u200b\u200binto philosophy (1963) Observations on the feeling of the beautiful and the lofty (1764) The experience of head diseases (1764) Studies of the distinctive principles of natural theology and morality (1764) Notice of the schedule of lectures for the winter half of the year (1765) Dreams of a visionary explained by the dreams of metaphysics (1766) On the first basis differences of sides in space (1768) On the form and principles of the sensibly perceptible and intelligible world (1770) Review on Moscati's essay "On a significant difference in the structure of the bodies of animals and people" (1771) On different human races (1775) Two articles on "Philanthropine" (1776 - 1777) Notes in the book "Observations on the sense of beauty and exaltation"
Volume 8 Review of the book by I. Schultz, “The Experience of Leading to the Doctrine of Morality” (1783) The idea of \u200b\u200buniversal history in the global civilian plan (1784) The answer to the question “What is enlightenment?” (1784) Reviews on the book of I. G. Herder "Ideas for the Philosophy of the History of Mankind" (1785) On the volcanoes on the Moon (1785) The supposed beginning of human history (1786) What does it mean to orient in thinking? (1786) On the application of teleological principles in philosophy (1788) On the failure of all philosophical attempts by theodicy (1791) On the saying "Maybe this is true in theory, but not suitable for practice" (1793) The end of all things (1794) On the organ of the soul ( 1796) On the noble tone that recently arose in philosophy The good news of the close conclusion of an agreement on eternal peace in philosophy (1797) The imaginary right to lie out of philanthropy (1797) Statement on Fichte's science (1799) Lectures Selected letters From the manuscript heritage

Russian translations available online

• The question of whether the earth is aging from a physical point of view

Immanuel Kant translators into Russian

see also

• Kant-Studien ( english)

Notes

Literature

• Narsky I.S.  Immanuel Kant. (On the cover: Kant). - M.: Thought, 1976 .-- 208 p. - (Thinkers of the past). - 55,000 copies.
• Asmus V.F.M .: Higher school, 2005 .-- 439 p. - (Classics of philosophical thought). - 2000 copies. - ISBN 5-06-004516-1
• White A. A.  "Kant's quote in the Pushkin text"
• Barenboim P. D.  Kant as the father of the Constitution of Russia // Legislation and Economics. - M .: Legislation and Economics, 2009, No. 9. - S. 5-9
• Gulyga A.V.  Kant (ZHZL)
• Kant I. The most genuine petition of the philosopher Kant to Empress Elizabeth Petrovna / Communication. Yu. Bartenev // Russian Archive, 1896. - Book. 2. - Vol. 7. - S. 455-456.
• Kembaev J.M.  The idea of \u200b\u200b“federalism of free states” by Immanuel Kant as a milestone in the development of the legal theory of interstate integration // News of Higher Education Institutions. Jurisprudence. 2009. No. 6. S. 103-112.
• Popper K.

him. Immanuel kant

german philosopher, the founder of German classical philosophy, standing on the verge of the Enlightenment and romanticism

short biography

The largest German scientist, philosopher, founder of German classical philosophy, a man whose work had a great influence on the development of philosophical thought of the eighteenth and subsequent centuries.

In 1724, on April 22, Immanuel was born in the Prussian Koenigsberg. His whole biography will be connected with this city; if Kant left its borders, then a short distance and not for long. The future great philosopher was born in a poor large family; his father was a simple artisan. The talent of Immanuel was noticed by the doctor of theology Franz Schulz and helped him become a student of the prestigious Friedrichs Collegium Gymnasium.

In 1740, Immanuel Kant became a student at the Albertina University of Koenigsberg, but his father’s death prevented him from completely unlearning. For 10 years, Kant, financially supporting his family, has been working as a home teacher in different families, leaving his native Koenigsberg. Difficult everyday circumstances do not prevent him from engaging in scientific activities. So, in the years 1747-1750. Kant's focus was on his own cosmogonic theory of the origin of the solar system from the original nebula, the relevance of which has not been lost to date.

In 1755, he returned to Koenigsberg. Kant finally managed not only to complete university education, but also, having defended several dissertations, obtained a doctorate and the right to engage in teaching activities as an assistant professor and professor. Within the walls of his alma mater, he worked for four decades. Until 1770, Kant worked as an extraordinary assistant professor, after - as an ordinary professor in the department of logic and metaphysics. Philosophical, physical, mathematical and other disciplines Immanuel Kant taught students until 1796.

The year 1770 became a boundary in his scientific biography: he divides his work into the so-called subcritical and critical periods. In the second, a number of fundamental works were written, which not only enjoyed great success, but also allowed Kant to enter the circle of outstanding thinkers of the century. His work “Critique of Pure Reason” (1781), ethics - “Critique of Practical Reason” (1788) belong to the field of epistemology. In 1790, the essay “A Critique of Judgment Ability” was published, which touched on aesthetics. Kant's worldview as a philosopher was formed to a certain extent thanks to the study of the works of Rousseau, Hume and several other thinkers.

In turn, the influence of the works of Immanuel Kant himself on the subsequent development of philosophical thought is difficult to overestimate. German classical philosophy, the founder of which he was, later included major philosophical systems developed by Fichte, Schelling, Hegel. The romantic movement experienced the influence of Kant's teachings. Schopenhauer's philosophy also traces the influence of his ideas. In the second half of the XIX century. “Neo-Kantianism” was highly relevant, in the twentieth century Kant's philosophical heritage influenced, in particular, existentialism, the phenomenological school, and others.

In 1796, Immanuel Kant stopped giving lectures, in 1801 he quit the university, but did not stop his scientific activity until 1803. The Thinker could never boast of iron health and found a way out in a clear daily routine, strict adherence to his own system, useful habits, which surprised even pedantic Germans. Kant never connected his life with any of the women, although he had nothing against the fair sex. Dimension and accuracy helped him live longer than many of his peers. He died in his native Koenigsberg on February 12, 1804; they buried him in the professorial crypt of the city cathedral.

Wikipedia biography

He was born in a poor family of a craftsman saddle-maker. Immanuel from childhood was notable for poor health. His mother tried to give her son the highest quality education. She encouraged curiosity and imagination in her son. Until the end of his life, Kant remembered his mother with great love and gratitude. The father, on the other hand, raised a love of work in his son. Under the care of the doctor of theology F.A. Schulz, who noticed talent in him, he graduated from the prestigious Friedrichs-Collegium Gymnasium (de: Collegium Fridericianum), and then entered the University of Koenigsberg in 1740. There were 4 faculties - theological, legal, medical and philosophical. It is not known exactly which faculty Kant chose. Information about this has not been preserved. Biographers differ in their assumptions. Kant's interest in philosophy arose from Professor Martin Knutzen. Knutzen was a pietist and Wolffian, passionate about English science. It was he who inspired Kant to write work on physics.

Kant began this work in the fourth year of study. This work was slow. Young Kant had little knowledge and skills. He was poor. His mother had died by then, and his father was barely making ends meet. Kant worked part time; in addition, wealthy classmates tried to help him. Pastor Schulz and his maternal relative, Uncle Richter, also helped him. There is evidence that it was Richter who took over most of the costs of publishing Kant's debut work, "Thoughts on a True Assessment of Living Forces." Kant wrote it for 3 years and 4 years to print. The work was fully reprinted only in 1749. Kant's work has evoked various responses; there was a lot of criticism among them.

Due to the death of his father, he is unable to complete his studies and, in order to feed his family, he becomes a home teacher for 10 years in Yudshen (now Veselovka). It was at this time, in the years 1747-1755, that he developed and published his cosmogonic hypothesis of the origin of the solar system from the original nebula.

In 1755, Kant defended his thesis and received a doctorate, which gave him the right to teach at the university. A forty-year period of teaching began for him.

During the Seven Years' War from 1758 to 1762, Koenigsberg was under the jurisdiction of the Russian government, which was reflected in the business correspondence of the philosopher. In particular, he addressed the Empress Elizaveta Petrovna a request for an ordinary professor in 1758. Unfortunately, the letter never reached her, but was lost in the governor's office. The issue of the department was decided in favor of another applicant - on the grounds that he was older both in years and in teaching experience.

The period of the domination of the Russian Empire over East Prussia was the least productive in Kant's work: over the years, only a few essays on earthquakes have come out of the philosopher’s pen, but immediately after its completion, Kant published a series of works.

During the several years that the Russian troops were in Koenigsberg, Kant kept several young noblemen in his apartment as boarders and met many Russian officers, among whom were many thinking people. One of the officer circles suggested that the philosopher give lectures on physics and physical geography (Immanuel Kant, after the refusal, was very intensively engaged in private lessons: he even taught fortification and pyrotechnics).

The natural science and philosophical studies of Kant are complemented by "political science" opuses; Thus, in the treatise "Towards Eternal Peace", he first prescribed the cultural and philosophical foundations of the future unification of Europe into a family of enlightened peoples.

Since 1770, it is customary to count the “critical” period in Kant's work. This year, at the age of 46, he was appointed professor of logic and metaphysics at the University of Koenigsberg, where until 1797 he taught an extensive cycle of disciplines - philosophical, mathematical, physical.

The long-conceived plan for how to process the field of pure philosophy consisted of three tasks:

• what can i know (metaphysics);
• what should I do? (morality);
• what dare I hope for? (religion);

finally, the fourth task was to follow - what is a man? (anthropology, which I have been lecturing for over twenty years).

During this period, Kant wrote fundamental philosophical works that brought the scientist a reputation as one of the outstanding thinkers of the XVIII century and had a huge impact on the further development of world philosophical thought:

• “Critique of Pure Reason” (1781) - epistemology (epistemology)
• Critique of Practical Reason (1788) - Ethics
• “Critique of the ability of judgment” (1790) - aesthetics

Being poor in health, Kant subjugated his life to a harsh regime, which allowed him to outlive all his friends. His accuracy in following the routine became a byword even among punctual Germans and brought to life many sayings and anecdotes. He was not married. He said that when he wanted to have a wife, he could not support her, and when he could already, he did not want to. However, he was not a woman-hater either, eagerly talked with women, and was a pleasant socialite. In old age, one of the sisters took care of him.

There is an opinion that Kant sometimes showed anti-Semitism.

Kant wrote: “Sapere aude! - have the courage to use your own mind! “That is ... the motto of the Enlightenment.”

Kant was buried at the eastern corner of the north side of the Konigsberg Cathedral in a professorial crypt, a chapel was erected over his grave. In 1924, on the 200th anniversary of Kant, the chapel was replaced with a new structure, in the form of an open columned hall, which was strikingly different in style from the cathedral itself.

Stages of scientific activity

Kant went through two stages in his philosophical development: “subcritical” and “critical”. (These concepts are defined by the works of the philosopher Critique of Pure Reason, 1781; Critique of Practical Mind, 1788; Critique of the Power of Judgment, 1790).

Stage I (until 1770) - Kant developed the questions that were posed by previous philosophical thought. In addition, during this period, the philosopher was engaged in natural science problems:

• developed the cosmogonic hypothesis of the origin of the solar system from a giant initial gas nebula ("General Natural History and Theory of the Sky", 1755);
• outlined the idea of \u200b\u200bgenealogical classification of the animal world, that is, the distribution of various classes of animals in the order of their possible origin;
• put forward the idea of \u200b\u200bthe natural origin of human races;
• studied the role of the tides on our planet.

Stage II (starts from the 1770s or from the 1780s) - deals with issues of epistemology (the process of cognition), reflects on metaphysical (general philosophical) problems of being, cognition, man, morality, state and law, aesthetics.

Philosophy

Epistemology

Kant rejected the dogmatic method of cognition and believed that instead of it one should take as a basis the method of critical philosophizing, the essence of which is to study the mind itself, the boundaries that a person can reach with reason, and to study individual ways of human knowledge.

Kant's main philosophical work is A Critique of Pure Reason. The initial problem for Kant is the question "How is pure knowledge possible?" First of all, this concerns the possibility of pure mathematics and pure natural science (“pure” means “non-empirical”, a priori, or inexperienced). Kant formulated this question in terms of distinguishing between analytical and synthetic propositions - “How are synthetic propositions a priori possible?” By “synthetic” judgments, Kant understood judgments with an increment of content compared with the content of concepts included in the judgment. Kant distinguished these judgments from analytic judgments revealing the meaning of concepts. Analytical and synthetic judgments differ in whether the content of the predicate of judgment follows from the content of its subject (such are analytical judgments) or, on the contrary, is added to it “from the outside” (such are synthetic judgments). The term “a priori” means “outside of experience”, as opposed to the term “a posteriori” - “from experience”.

Analytical judgments are always a priori: experience is not necessary for them, therefore, there are no a posteriori analytical judgments. Accordingly, experimental (posterior) judgments are always synthetic, because their predicates derive from experience content that was not in the subject of the judgment. Concerning a priori synthetic propositions, then, according to Kant, they are part of mathematics and science. Due to a priori, these judgments contain universal and necessary knowledge, that is, one that cannot be learned from experience; thanks to synthetics, such judgments provide an increase in knowledge.

Kant, following Hume, agrees that if our knowledge begins with experience, then its connection - universality and necessity - is not from it. However, if Hume from this draws a skeptical conclusion that the connection of experience is just a habit, then Kant relates this connection to the necessary a priori activity of the mind (in the broad sense). Revealing this activity of the mind in relation to experience, Kant calls transcendental research. “I call transcendental ... cognition that deals not so much with objects as with the types of our cognition of objects ...”, writes Kant.

Kant did not share an unlimited faith in the powers of the human mind, calling this faith dogmatism. Kant, he said, made a Copernican revolution in philosophy by first indicating that to justify the possibility of knowledge, one should proceed from the fact that not our cognitive abilities correspond to the world, but the world must conform to our abilities so that cognition can take place at all. In other words, our consciousness not only passively comprehends the world as it really is (dogmatism), but rather, on the contrary, the world conforms to the possibilities of our cognition, namely: the mind is an active participant in the formation of the world itself given to us in experience. Experience is essentially a synthesis of that sensory content (“matter”) that is given by the world (things in itself) and the subjective form in which this matter (sensation) is comprehended by consciousness. The unified synthetic whole of matter and form is called Kant experience, which by necessity becomes something only subjective. That is why Kant distinguishes the world as it is in itself (that is, outside the formative activity of the mind) - a thing-in-itself, and the world as it is given in a phenomenon, that is, in experience.

In the experiment, two levels of the formation (activity) of the subject are distinguished. Firstly, these are a priori forms of feeling (sensory contemplation) - space (external feeling) and time (internal feeling). In contemplation, sensory data (matter) is realized by us in the forms of space and time, and thereby the experience of feeling becomes something necessary and universal. This is sensual synthesis. To the question of how pure, that is, theoretical, mathematics is possible, Kant answers: it is possible as an a priori science based on pure contemplations of space and time. Pure contemplation (representation) of space is the basis of geometry (three-dimensionality: for example, the relative positions of points and lines and other figures), a pure representation of time is the basis of arithmetic (a numerical series assumes an account, and the condition for the account is time).

Secondly, thanks to the categories of reason, the realities of contemplation are linked. This is a rational synthesis. Reason, according to Kant, deals with a priori categories, which are “forms of thinking”. The path to synthesized knowledge lies through the synthesis of sensations and their a priori forms - space and time - with a priori categories of reason. “Without sensuality, not a single thing would have been given to us, and without reason, not one could have been conceived” (Kant). Cognition is achieved by combining contemplations and concepts (categories) and represents an a priori ordering of phenomena, expressed in the construction of objects based on sensations.

• Quantity Categories
  • Unity
  • A bunch of
  • Wholeness
• Quality categories
  • Reality
  • Negation
  • Limitation
• Relationship Categories
  • Substance and belonging
  • Cause and investigation
  • Interaction
• Modality Categories
  • Opportunity and Impossibility
  • Existence and nonexistence
  • Necessity and chance

The sensory material of cognition, ordered by a priori mechanisms of contemplation and reason, becomes what Kant calls experience. On the basis of sensations (which can be expressed by statements like “this is yellow” or “this is sweet”), which take shape through time and space, as well as through a priori categories of reason, judgments of perception arise: “the stone is warm”, “the sun is round”, then - “The sun shone, and then the stone became warm”, and then developed judgments of experience, in which the observed objects and processes are summed up into the category of causality: “the sun caused the stone to heat up,” etc. Kant's concept of experience coincides with the concept of nature: “ ... nature and possible  experience is exactly the same i thinkwhich should be able to accompany all other representations and be one and the same in every consciousness. ” As I.S. Narsky writes, transcendental apperception  Kant is “the principle of constancy and systematic organization of the action of categories arising from the unity of applying them, reasoning  "I am". (...) It is common to ... the empirical "I" and in this  sense, the objective logical structure of their consciousness, ensuring the internal unity of experience, science and nature. "

In “Criticism” much attention is paid to how representations are brought under the concepts of reason (category). Here the decisive role is played by the ability of judgment, imagination and rational categorial schematism. According to Kant, there should be a mediating link between contemplations and categories, thanks to which abstract concepts, which are categories, are able to organize sensory data, turning them into law-based experience, that is, into nature. Kant acts as a mediator between thinking and sensuality. productive imagination. This ability creates a diagram of time as a "pure image of all objects of feelings in general." Thanks to the time scheme, there exists, for example, a “multiplicity” scheme - a number as a series of units joining each other; the scheme of "reality" is the being of an object in time; the scheme of "substantiality" is the stability of a real object in time; scheme of "existence" - the presence of an object at a certain time; the scheme of "necessity" is the presence of a certain object at all times. By the productive power of imagination, the subject, according to Kant, gives rise to the foundations of pure natural science (they are the most general laws of nature). According to Kant, pure natural science is the result of a priori categorical synthesis.

Knowledge is given by synthesizing categories and observations. Kant first showed that our knowledge of the world is not a passive reflection of reality; according to Kant, it arises due to the active creative activity of the unconscious productive power of imagination.

Finally, having described the empirical application of reason (that is, its application in experience), Kant wonders if the use of reason can be purely applied (reason, according to Kant, is the lowest level of reason, the application of which is limited to the scope of experience). This raises a new question: "How is metaphysics possible?" As a result of the study of pure reason, Kant shows that the mind, when it tries to get unambiguous and conclusive answers to philosophical questions proper, inevitably plunges itself into contradictions; this means that the mind cannot have a transcendental application that would allow it to achieve theoretical knowledge of things in itself, because, trying to go beyond the limits of experience, it is “entangled” in paralogisms and antinomies (contradictions, each of which is equally justified); reason in the narrow sense - as the opposite of reasoning with categories - can have only regulatory significance: to be a regulator of the movement of thought towards the goals of systematic unity, to give a system of principles that all knowledge must satisfy.

Kant argues that the solution to the antinomies "can never be found in experience ...".

Kant considers the solution to the first two antinomies to identify a situation in which "the question itself does not make sense." Kant argues, as I. S. Narsky writes, “that the properties of the“ beginning ”,“ boundaries ”,“ simplicity ”and“ complexity ”are not applicable to the world of things in themselves outside of time and space, and the world of phenomena is never given to us in in its entirety precisely as a holistic “world”, the empirical part of the fragments of the phenomenal world cannot be invested in these characteristics ... ” As for the third and fourth antinomies, the dispute in them, according to Kant, is “settled” if we admit the truth of their antithesis for phenomena and assume the (regulatory) truth of their thesis for things in themselves. Thus, the existence of antinomies, according to Kant, is one of the proofs of the correctness of its transcendental idealism, which contrasted the world of things in itself and the world of phenomena.

According to Kant, any future metaphysics that wants to be a science must take into account the conclusions of its criticism of pure reason.

Ethics and the Problem of Religion

In The Foundations of the Metaphysics of Morality and Critique of Practical Reason, Kant expounds a theory of ethics. The practical mind in Kant's teaching is the only source of principles of moral behavior; it is a mind that grows into a will. Kant's ethics is autonomous and a priori, it is directed to the due, and not to the existing. Its autonomy means the independence of moral principles from extra-moral arguments and grounds. The reference point for Kantian ethics is not the actual actions of people, but the norms arising from a “pure” moral will. This is ethics debt. In a priori debt, Kant seeks the source of the universality of moral standards.

Categorical imperative

Imperative - a rule that contains "objective coercion to act." Moral law - coercion, the need to act in spite of empirical influences. So, it takes the form of compulsory command - an imperative.

Hypothetical imperatives  (relative or conditional imperatives) indicate that actions are effective for achieving certain goals (for example, pleasure or success).

The principles of morality go back to one supreme principle - categorical imperativeprescribing actions that are good in themselves, objectively, without regard to any goal other than morality itself (for example, the requirement of honesty). The categorical imperative reads:

• « act only according to such a maxim, guided by which at the same time you can wish it to become a universal law"[Options:" always act in such a way that the maxim (principle) of your behavior can become a universal law (act in the way you would like everyone to do) "];
• « act in such a way that you always relate to humanity both in your own face and in the face of every other as well as the goal, and you would never relate to it only as a means"[Wording variant:" treat humanity in your own face (as well as in the face of any other) always as a goal and never - only as a means "];
• « principle  the will of every person how the will, with all its maxims establishing universal laws": You should" do everything based on the maxim of your will as such, which could also have as its subject itself as a will that establishes universal laws. "

These are three different ways of representing the same law, and each of them combines the other two.

The existence of man "has in itself the highest goal ..."; “... only morality and humanity, since it is capable of it, have dignity,” Kant writes.

Duty is the need for action out of respect for moral law.

In ethical teaching, a person is considered from two points of view:

• man as a phenomenon;
• man as a thing in himself.

The behavior of the former is determined solely by external circumstances and is subject to a hypothetical imperative. The behavior of the second must obey the categorical imperative, the highest a priori moral principle. Thus, behavior can be determined by practical interests and moral principles. Two tendencies arise: the desire for happiness (the satisfaction of some material needs) and the desire for virtue. These aspirations can contradict each other, and so the “antinomy of practical reason” arises.

As conditions for the applicability of the categorical imperative in the world of phenomena, Kant puts forward three postulates of practical reason. The first postulate requires the complete autonomy of human will, its freedom. Kant expresses this postulate by the formula: "You must, then you can." Recognizing that without hope for happiness, people would not have the mental strength to fulfill their duty despite internal and external obstacles, Kant puts forward the second postulate: “there must be immortality  human souls. " The antinomy of the pursuit of happiness and the pursuit of virtue, Kant, therefore, resolves by transferring the hopes of the individual in the superempirical world. The first and second postulates need a guarantor, and they can only be God, which means that he must exist  - such is the third postulate of practical reason.

The autonomy of Kant's ethics means the dependence of religion on ethics. According to Kant, "religion is no different from morality in its content."

The doctrine of law and the state

The state is an association of many people subject to legal laws.

In the doctrine of law, Kant developed the ideas of the French Enlightenment: the need to destroy all forms of personal dependence, the affirmation of personal freedom and equality before the law. Kant derived legal laws from moral ones. Kant recognized the right to freely express his opinion, but with the caveat: "talk as much as you like and about anything, just obey."

Government structures cannot be unchanged and change when they cease to be necessary. And only the republic is durable (the law is independent and does not depend on any particular person).

In the doctrine of relations between states, Kant opposes the unfair state of these relations, against the dominance of strong law in international relations. He favors the creation of an equal union of peoples. Kant believed that such a union brings humanity closer to the realization of the idea of \u200b\u200beternal peace.

The doctrine of expediency. Aesthetics

As a connecting link between the Critique of Pure Reason and the Critique of Practical Reason, Kant creates a Critique of the Power of Judgment, which focuses on the concept of expediency. Subjective expediency, according to Kant, is present in the aesthetic ability of judgment, objective in teleological. The first is expressed in the harmony of the aesthetic subject.

In aesthetics, Kant distinguishes between two types of aesthetic ideas - the beautiful and the sublime. Aesthetic is what you like about the idea, regardless of presence. Beauty is perfection associated with form. In Kant, the beautiful appears as "a symbol of the morally good." The sublime is perfection associated with infinity in power (dynamically sublime) or in space (mathematically sublime). An example of a dynamically elevated is a storm. An example of a mathematically elevated one is mountains. A genius is a person capable of translating aesthetic ideas.

The teleological ability of judgment is connected with the concept of a living organism as a manifestation of expediency in nature.

About a human

Kant's views on man are reflected in the book Anthropology from a Pragmatic Point of View (1798). Its main part consists of three sections in accordance with three human abilities: cognition, a sense of pleasure and displeasure, the ability to desire.

Man is “the most important thing in the world”, as he has self-awareness.

Man is the highest value, this is a person. Self-consciousness of a person gives rise to egoism as a natural property of a person. A man does not manifest it only when he considers his "I" not as the whole world, but only as part of it. It is necessary to curb egoism, to control the mental manifestations of personality.

A person may have unconscious representations - “dark”. The process of birth of creative ideas can take place in the dark, about which a person can know only at the level of sensations.

From sexual feelings (passions) the mind is muddied. But a person has a moral and cultural norm superimposed on his feelings and desires.

Kant underwent such a concept as genius. "The talent for invention is called genius."

Memory

• In 1935, the International Astronomical Union named Immanuel Kant a crater on the visible side of the moon.
• Since 2005, the Baltic Federal University has been named after Kant; in the square in front of the building there is a monument to the philosopher.

Name:Immanuel Kant

Age:   79 years

Activity:  philosopher, founder of German classical philosophy

Family status:  was not married

Immanuel Kant: biography

Immanuel Kant is a German thinker, the founder of classical philosophy and the theory of criticism. Kant's immortal quotes went down in history, and the books of the scientist underlie philosophical doctrine throughout the world.

Kant was born on April 22, 1724 in a religious family in a suburb of Koenigsberg in Prussia. His father, Johann Georg Kant, worked as a craftsman and made saddles, and his mother, Anna Regina, houseworked.

The Kant family had 12 children, and Immanuel was born fourth, many of the children died in infancy from diseases. Three sisters and two brothers survived.

The house where Kant spent his childhood with a large family was small and poor. In the 18th century, the building was destroyed by fire.

The future philosopher spent his youth on the outskirts of the city among workers and craftsmen. Historians have argued for a long time about what nationality Kant belongs to, some of them believed that the ancestors of the philosopher came from Scotland. This assumption was expressed by Immanuel himself in a letter to Bishop Lindblom. However, this information has not been officially confirmed. It is known that Kant's great-grandfather was a merchant in the Memel Region, and his maternal relatives lived in Nunberg, in Germany.

Kant's parents laid spiritual education in their son, they were adherents of a special trend in Lutheranism - pietism. The essence of this teaching is that everyone is under God's eye, therefore personal piety was preferred. Anna Regina taught her son the basics of faith, and also instilled in little Kant a love of the world.

The devout Anna Regina took her children with her in sermons and Bible studies. Franz Schulz, a doctor of theology, often visited the Kant family, where he noticed that Immanuel was successful in studying scripture and was able to express his own thoughts.

When Kant was eight years old, on the instructions of Schultz, his parents sent him to one of the leading schools of Koenigsberg - the Friedrich Gymnasium, so that the boy received a prestigious education.

Kant studied at school for eight years, from 1732 to 1740. Classes in the gymnasium began at 7:00 and continued until 9:00. The students studied theology, the Old and New Testaments, Latin, German and Greek, geography, etc. Philosophy was taught only in high school, and Kant believed that in school this subject was studied incorrectly. Classes in mathematics were paid and at the request of students.

Anna Regina and Johann Georg Kant wanted their son to become a priest in the future, but the boy was impressed by the Latin lessons taught by Heidenreich, so he wanted to become a literature teacher. And the strict rules and customs in the religious school of Kant were not to their liking. The future philosopher was in poor health, but he studied with diligence thanks to the mind and quick wit.

At the age of sixteen, Kant entered the University of Koenigsberg, where the student was first introduced to the discoveries by professor Martin Knutzen, a pietist and Wolfian. Isaac’s teachings had a significant impact on the student’s worldview. Kant was diligent in his studies, despite the difficulties. The philosopher's favorites were the natural and exact sciences: philosophy, physics, mathematics. Kant attended a theology lesson only once because of respect for Pastor Schulz.

Contemporaries did not get official information that Kant was listed in Albertine, so judging that he studied at the theological faculty can only be guessed.

When Kant was 13 years old, Anna Regina fell ill and soon died. A large family had to make ends meet. Immanuel had nothing to wear, and also did not have enough money for food; he was fed by wealthy classmates. Sometimes the young man did not even have shoes, and they had to borrow from friends. But the guy treated all difficulties from a philosophical point of view and said that things obey him, and not vice versa.

Philosophy

Scientists divide the philosophical work of Immanuel Kant into two periods: subcritical and critical. The subcritical period is the formation of Kant's philosophical thought and the slow release from the school of Christian Wolf, whose philosophy dominated Germany. The critical time in Kant's work is the idea of \u200b\u200bmetaphysics as a science, as well as the creation of a new doctrine that is based on the theory of the activity of consciousness.

  The first editions of Immanuel Kant

Immanuel writes the first essay “Thoughts on a true assessment of manpower” at the university under the influence of a Knutzen teacher, but the work is published in 1749 thanks to the financial assistance of Uncle Richter.

Kant failed to graduate from the university because of material difficulties: Johann Georg Kant died in 1746, and in order to feed his family, Immanuel had to work as a home teacher and educate children from the families of counts, majors and priests for almost ten years. In his free time, Immanuel wrote philosophical works, which became the basis of his works.

  House of Pastor Anders, in which Kant taught in 1747-1751

In 1755, Immanuel Kant returned to the University of Koenigsberg to defend his dissertation “On Fire” and obtain a master's degree. In autumn, the philosopher receives a doctorate for work in the field of cognition theory "New coverage of the first principles of metaphysical knowledge" and begins to teach logic and metaphysics at the university.

In the first period of the activity of Immanuel Kant, the interest of scientists was attracted by the cosmogonic work “General Natural History and Theory of the Sky”, in which Kant talks about the origin of the Universe. In his work, Kant relies not on theology, but on physics.

Also during this period, Kant studies the theory of space from a physical point of view and proves the existence of a Higher Mind, from which all phenomena of life originate. The scientist believed that if there is matter, then God exists. According to the philosopher, a person must recognize the need for the existence of someone who is behind material things. Kant expounds this idea in his central work, “The Only Possible Basis for Proving the Being of God.”

A critical period in Kant's work arose when he began to teach logic and metaphysics at the university. Immanuel’s hypotheses did not change immediately, but gradually. Immanuel initially changed his views on space and time.

It was during the period of criticism that Kant wrote outstanding works on epistemology, ethics and aesthetics: the works of the philosopher became the basis of world teaching. In 1781, Immanuel expanded his scientific biography by writing one of his fundamental works, Critique of Pure Reason, in which he described in detail the concept of a categorical imperative.

Personal life

Kant was not beautiful, he was short, had narrow shoulders and a hollow chest. However, Immanuel tried to keep himself in order and often visited the tailor and hairdresser.

The philosopher led a reclusive lifestyle and never married, in his opinion, loving relationships would interfere with scientific activity. For this reason, the scientist never started a family. However, Kant loved female beauty and enjoyed it. By old age, Immanuel had gone blind in his left eye, so during dinner he requested that some young beauty sit on his right.

It is not known whether the scientist was in love: Louise Rebecca Fritz in old age recalled that Kant liked her. Borovsky also said that the philosopher twice loved and intended to get married.

Immanuel was never late and kept the daily routine accurate to the minute. Every day he went to a cafe in order to drink a cup of tea. Moreover, Kant came at the same time: the waiters did not even have to look at the clock. This feature of the philosopher applies even to ordinary walks, which he loved.

The scientist was poor in health, but developed his own body hygiene, so he lived to an advanced age. Each morning, Immanuel began at 5 o’clock. Without taking off his night clothes, Kant went to his study, where the servant of the philosopher Martin Lampe prepared the owner a cup of weak green tea and a pipe. According to Martin's recollections, Kant had a strange peculiarity: being in his office, the scientist put on a cocked hat directly on top of the cap. Then he slowly drank tea, smoked tobacco and read the plan for the upcoming lecture. Immanuel spent at least two hours at his desk.

At 7 in the morning, Kant changed clothes and went down to the lecture hall, where devoted listeners were waiting for him: sometimes there were not even enough places. He lectured slowly, diluting philosophical ideas with humor.

Immanuel even paid attention to minor details in the image of the interlocutor, he would not communicate with a student who is sloppy dressed. Kant even forgot what he was telling the audience when he saw that one of the students did not have a button on his shirt.

After a two-hour lecture, the philosopher returned to his office and again changed into night pajamas, a cap and put on a cocked hat on top. Kant spent 3 hours and 45 minutes at his desk.

Then Immanuel was preparing for the dinner reception of the guests and ordered the cook to prepare a table: the philosopher hated to eat alone, especially since the scientist ate once a day. The table abounded with food, the only thing that was not at the meal was beer. Kant did not like the malt drink and believed that beer, unlike wine, had a bad taste.

Kant dined on his favorite spoon, which he kept with money. The news in the world was discussed at the table, but not philosophy at all.

Death

The scientist lived the rest of his life in the house, being in abundance. Despite careful monitoring of health, the body of a 75-year-old philosopher began to weaken: first, physical strength left him, and then his mind began to cloud. In his advanced years, Kant could not give lectures, and at the dinner table the scientist accepted only close friends.

Kant refused his favorite walks and stayed at home. The philosopher tried to write the essay "The system of pure philosophy in its entirety", but he did not have enough strength.

Later, the scientist began to forget words, and life began to fade away faster. The great philosopher died on February 12, 1804. Before his death, Kant said: “Es ist gut” (“This is good.”)

Immanuel was buried near the Königsberg Cathedral, and a chapel was erected over Kant's grave.

Bibliography

• Criticism of pure reason;
• Prolegomens to all future metaphysics;
• Criticism of practical reason;
• Fundamentals of the metaphysics of morality;
• Criticism of judgment;

MOSCOW, April 22 - RIA News.  The two hundred and ninety years since the birth of the philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) is celebrated on Tuesday.

The following is a curriculum vitae.

The founder of German classical philosophy, Immanuel Kant, was born on April 22, 1724 in the suburbs of Koenigsberg (now Kaliningrad), Vordere Forshtadt, in a poor family of saddlery (saddlery is a manufacturer of eyecups for horses that are worn on them to limit the field of view). At baptism, Kant received the name Emanuel, but later he himself changed it to Immanuel, considering it the most suitable for himself. The family belonged to one of the directions of Protestantism - pietism, which preached personal piety and strict observance of moral rules.

From 1732 to 1740, Kant studied at one of the best schools in Koenigsberg - the Latin "Friedrichs-Collegium" (Collegium Fridericianum).

The house in the Kaliningrad region, where Kant lived and worked, will be restoredThe governor of the Kaliningrad region Nikolai Tsukanov instructed to complete the development of a concept for the development of the territory in the village of Veselovka, connected with the name of the great German philosopher Immanuel Kant, within two weeks, the regional government said.

In 1740, he entered the University of Koenigsberg. There is no exact data on what faculty Kant studied at. Most scholars of his biography agree that he was supposed to study at the theological faculty. However, judging by the list of subjects that he studied, the future philosopher preferred mathematics, science and philosophy. Over the entire period of study, he attended only one theological course.

In the summer of 1746, Kant presented to the Faculty of Philosophy his first scientific work - "Thoughts for a true assessment of living forces", devoted to the formula for the quantity of motion. The work was published in 1747 with the money of Uncle Kant, the shoemaker of Richter.

In 1746, due to the difficult financial situation, Kant was forced to leave the university without passing final exams and without defending a thesis for a master's degree. For several years he worked as a home teacher on estates in the vicinity of Koenigsberg.

In August 1754, Immanuel Kant returned to Koenigsberg. In April 1755, he defended his dissertation "On Fire" for a master's degree. In June 1755, he was awarded a doctorate for his thesis "New coverage of the first principles of metaphysical knowledge," which became his first philosophical work. He received the title of privat-docent of philosophy, which gave the right to teach at the university, without, however, receiving a salary from the university.

In 1756, Kant defended his thesis "Physical Monadology" and received the post of full professor. In the same year, he petitioned the king to occupy the post of professor of logic and metaphysics, but was refused. Only in 1770, Kant received a permanent position as professor of these subjects.

Kant lectured not only in philosophy, but also in mathematics, physics, geography, and anthropology.

In the development of Kant's philosophical views, two qualitatively different periods are distinguished: the early, or "subcritical," which lasted until 1770, and the subsequent, "critical", when he created his philosophical system, which he called "critical philosophy."

Early Kant is an inconsistent supporter of natural science materialism, which he tried to combine with the ideas of Gottfried Leibniz and his follower Christian Wolf. His most significant work of this period is the “General Natural History and Theory of the Sky” of 1755), in which the author hypothesizes the emergence of the solar system (and similarly the emergence of the entire Universe). Kant's cosmogonic hypothesis showed the scientific significance of the historical view of nature.

Another treatise of this period, important for the history of dialectics, is "The Experience of Introducing the Concept of Negative Quantities into Philosophy" (1763), in which a distinction is made between real and logical contradictions.

In 1771, the “critical” period in the work of the philosopher begins. Since that time, Kant's scientific work has been devoted to three main topics: epistemology, ethics and aesthetics, combined with the doctrine of expediency in nature. Each of these topics corresponded to a fundamental work: A Critique of Pure Reason (1781), A Critique of Practical Reason (1788), A Critique of the Power of Judgment (1790), and a number of other works.

In his main work, Critique of Pure Reason, Kant tried to substantiate the unknowability of the essence of things ("things in themselves"). From Kant’s point of view, our knowledge is determined not so much by the external material world as by the general laws and techniques of our mind. With this formulation of the question, the philosopher laid the foundation for a new philosophical problem - the theory of knowledge.

Twice, in 1786 and 1788, Kant was elected rector of the University of Koenigsberg. In the summer of 1796, he gave his last lectures at the university, but left a place on the university staff only in 1801.

Immanuel Kant subordinated his life to a strict routine, thanks to which he lived a long life, despite poor health by nature; February 12, 1804, the scientist died in his house. His last word was "Gut."

Kant was not married, although, according to biographers, several times had this intention.

Kant was buried at the eastern corner of the north side of the Koenigsberg Cathedral in a professorial crypt, a chapel was erected over his grave. In 1809, the crypt was demolished due to dilapidation, and a walking gallery was built in its place, which was called "Stoa Kantiana" and lasted until 1880. In 1924, according to the project of architect Friedrich Lars, the Kant memorial was restored and acquired a modern look.

The monument to Immanuel Kant was cast from bronze in Berlin by Karl Gladenbeck according to the design of Christian Daniel Rauch in 1857, however, it was installed in front of the philosopher’s house in Koenigsberg only in 1864, since the money collected by the residents of the city was not enough. In 1885, in connection with the redevelopment of the city, the monument was moved to the university building. In 1944, the sculpture was hidden from the bombing on the estate of Countess Marion Denhoff, but was subsequently lost. In the early 1990s, Countess Denhoff donated a large sum to restore the monument.

The new bronze statue of Kant, cast in Berlin by the sculptor Harald Haake according to the old miniature model, was installed on June 27, 1992 in Kaliningrad in front of the university building. The burial place and monument to Kant are objects of cultural heritage of modern Kaliningrad.