Kant’s Life and Times
Immanuel Kant was born in 1724 and lived to be eighty-years old. He was born and raised in what is now known as Kaliningrad, formerly known as Königsberg. Kant was not married, and he was an independent professor.
Kant, Work
Kant’s works were influenced, in part, by Descartes and Leibniz. Locke was among his empiricists. Hume was also an influence. Kant began his writing career as a privatedozent, focusing on natural science and other topics. Kant-Laplace’s nebular hypothesis suggested that the solar system is not static, but had evolved over time. He is best known for his 1755 work, “Concise outline of some Reflections on Fire”, which earned his master’s degree. He was able to give lectures at the university because of his “New Clarification of the Initial Principles of Metaphysical Cognition”.
Kant’s Projects
Kant published three criticisms: Critique of pure reason (1781), Critique to practical reasons (1788) and Critique to the faculty (1790).
Kant had spent over a decade creating these critics before they were published. He did not publish anything between 1770 and 1781. In addition to his three reviews, he also published “Grundlegung zur Metaphysik der Sitten” in 1785 and “Prolegomena” in 1783. One of the hallmarks of Kant’s initiatives is his incorporation logic and common sense. Kant believed that reason was an independent force that could not be related to emotion or experience and could only provide information about the sensible world.
Moral Theory Kant asserts that there are moral rules and they can be interpreted as a categorical imperative. This implies that an international law must be established to regulate moral activity. Kant believes human actions can be governed by principles and are context-dependent. While Kant asserts that the universal truths of humanity are recognized, precepts cannot be derived from the categorical imperative. Morality is based on adaptability.