Immanuel Kant's Philosophy - Bryan Magee & Geoffrey Warnock (1987)

Immanuel Kant, regarded as the greatest philosopher since the ancient Greeks, was born in 1724 in East Prussia and died in 1804. Despite living a life of routine and never leaving his native province, Kant was known for his sociability and intellectual brilliance. He was a professor at the University of Koenigsberg for over 30 years and gained fame for his lectures. Unlike many philosophers of his time, Kant was an academic and his significant works, including the 'Critique of Pure Reason,' were published later in his life. His ideas were complex and systematic, and he is known for his attempt to reconcile the physical sciences with ethical and religious convictions.

Kant perceived a conflict between the deterministic nature of physical sciences, particularly Newtonian physics, and the concept of free will inherent in moral and ethical considerations. He believed that while physical events are determined by preceding events, human actions in moral contexts are seen as having alternatives, thus implying free will. This apparent contradiction led Kant to explore how free will could exist in a universe governed by natural laws. His philosophical inquiries also touched upon the existence of God in a mechanical universe.

Kant was deeply dissatisfied with the way his predecessors handled the conflict between physical science and metaphysical doctrine. He believed they downgraded the pretensions of physical sciences and presented them as inferior to metaphysical arguments. Inspired by Hume's skepticism, Kant sought to establish a firm intellectual foundation for philosophy. He challenged the traditional division of propositions into analytic (a priori) and synthetic (a posteriori), proposing the existence of synthetic a priori knowledge, which is not derived from experience but can be established by argument.

Kant introduced a critical distinction between 'things in themselves' and 'appearances,' or how the world presents itself to us as an object of experience. He argued that our sensory and intellectual capacities impose certain conditions on what can be experienced. Space and time, according to Kant, are not characteristics of things in themselves but are forms of our sensibility. This perspective led to the conclusion that geometry and arithmetic are synthetic a priori truths, derived from the forms of our experience rather than the world itself.

Kant's philosophy posits that we can never have knowledge of things as they are in themselves, independent of experience. He believed that all our knowledge comes through our sensory and mental apparatus, which means we are limited to understanding the world as it appears to us. This has radical implications for what can be known and what remains unknowable. Kant's exploration of the nature of these forms aims to define the limits of all possible knowledge, suggesting that anything beyond this is beyond our comprehension.

Kant's moral philosophy is rooted in the concept of rationality, proposing that moral requirements are inherent in the nature of rational beings. He formulated the categorical imperative, urging individuals to act only on maxims that could be universally adopted. Despite his philosophical stance that we cannot know the existence of God or the soul, Kant held personal beliefs in these concepts, viewing them as matters of faith rather than knowledge. He suggested that moral and religious convictions could lead to metaphysical doctrines, but these doctrines are fundamentally grounded in our moral convictions.

Kant addressed the perceived conflict between Newtonian physics and ethics by distinguishing between the world of appearances, which is exhaustively described by physical sciences, and the world of things in themselves, where concepts like free will and moral agency have room. He maintained that while we cannot know if free will exists, there is a space for its possibility, and this space allows for the coexistence of scientific understanding and moral belief.

Kant's writing style is characterized by its academic formality, technical jargon, and haste due to his advanced age when writing his major works. The lack of an established academic German style at the time may have contributed to the obscurity of his writing. Despite the difficulty in understanding Kant's philosophy, his penetrating insights and methodical approach have earned him a reputation as the greatest philosopher since the ancient Greeks, with ideas that resonate with both philosophical and religious thought.