Immanuel Kant Philosopher

Gender: Male
Citizenship: Kingdom of Prussia
Born: Apr 22, 1724
Died: Feb 12, 1804

Immanuel Kant was a German philosopher who is widely considered to be a central figure of modern philosophy. He argued that fundamental concepts structure human experience, and that reason is the source of morality. His thought continues to have a major influence in contemporary thought, especially the fields of metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, political philosophy, and aesthetics.

Kant's major work, the Critique of Pure Reason, aimed to explain the relationship between reason and human experience. With this project, he hoped to move beyond what he took to be failures of traditional philosophy and metaphysics. He attempted to put an end to what he considered an era of futile and speculative theories of human experience, while resisting the skepticism of thinkers such as David Hume.

Kant argued that our experiences are structured by necessary features of our minds. In his view, the mind shapes and structures experience so that, on an abstract level, all human experience shares certain essential structural features. Among other things, Kant believed that the concepts of space and time are integral to all human experience, as are our concepts of cause and effect.

He who is cruel to animals becomes hard also in his dealings with men. We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals. men

But although all our knowledge begins with experience, it does not follow that it arises from experience. experience & knowledge

Religion is the recognition of all our duties as divine commands. religion

What can I know? What ought I to do? What can I hope? hope

Morality is not the doctrine of how we may make ourselves happy, but how we may make ourselves worthy of happiness. happiness

It is not God's will merely that we should be happy, but that we should make ourselves happy. God & happiness

Experience without theory is blind, but theory without experience is mere intellectual play. experience

Science is organized knowledge. Wisdom is organized life. knowledge, science & wisdom

It is beyond a doubt that all our knowledge that begins with experience. experience & knowledge

I had therefore to remove knowledge, in order to make room for belief. knowledge

Immaturity is the incapacity to use one's intelligence without the guidance of another. intelligence

All our knowledge begins with the senses, proceeds then to the understanding, and ends with reason. There is nothing higher than reason. knowledge

Happiness is not an ideal of reason, but of imagination. happiness & imagination

Immanuel Kant Philosopher

Mother's Day May 12, 2025