IMMANUEL KANT�(1724-1804)

18^th century German philosopher, one of the most prominent thinkers of the Enlightenment and the founder of German Idealism.

Arthur Schopenhauer about the philosophy of Kant:

• “...The principal works of Kant are indeed the most important phenomenon which has appeared in philosophy for two thousand years. I find, as has already been said on other occasions, that the effect those works produce in the mind to which they really speak is very like that of an operation for cataract on a blind man.”

Milestones in Immanuel Kant's life

1724: Immanuel Kant was born on April 22 in Königsberg, Prussia (now Kaliningrad, Russia).

Milestones in Immanuel Kant's life

1732: Kant begins attending a Pietist school in Königsberg (Collegium Fridericianum), where he receives a strong religious education.

​

Milestones in Immanuel Kant's life

• 1740: Kant enrolls at the University of Königsberg, where he studies philosophy, mathematics, and physics.
• 1746: Kant completes his doctoral dissertation, "Thoughts on the True Estimation of Living Forces.”
• 1755: Kant becomes a lecturer at the University of Königsberg, teaching courses on logic, metaphysics, and ethics.
• 1770: Kant is promoted to full professor of logic and metaphysics at the University of Königsberg.
• 1786, 1788 – Rectorship

​

Personal life, habits and interesting facts

• Kant has never been married.
• He lived in the small rented apartment for many years. He could afford his own house only after obtaining full professorship in 1770.
• He enjoyed reading, walking in a park and having gatherings with his friends.
• He never taught his own philosophical doctrine to the university students.
• For several years Kant had been a subject of the Russian queen.
• He smoked one pipe of tobacco each day, being absolutely sure that it is good for his health!

Kant’s life and daily routine

Immanuel Kant was known for his strict and predictable routine, which he followed almost every day throughout his life:

​

• Kant would wake up at 5:00 a.m. every day, regardless of the season or weather.
• He would spend the first hour of his day meditating and contemplating.
• From 6:00 to 7:00 a.m. washing, dressing, and having breakfast.
• Kant would then begin his workday promptly at 7:00 a.m. He would lecture at the University of Konigsberg from 7:00 to 9:00 a.m. every day.
• After his lectures, he would spend the rest of his morning preparing for his next day's lectures, reading and writing.
• Kant would have a simple and light lunch at noon and then take a brisk walk in the countryside, regardless of the weather.
• After his walk, he would return home and spend the rest of his afternoon reading and writing until 5:00 p.m.
• In the evenings, Kant would have dinner at 5:00 p.m., after which he would spend some time conversing with friends or attending social events.
• By 10:00 p.m., Kant would retire to bed, ending his day with a cup of tea and some light reading.

​

​

Milestones in Immanuel Kant's life: major writings

• 1781: Kant publishes his magnum opus, "Critique of Pure Reason," which revolutionizes the field of metaphysics and epistemology.
• 1785: Kant publishes "Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals," in which he introduces the concept of the Categorical Imperative.
• 1788: Kant publishes "Critique of Practical Reason," which further develops his ethical philosophy.
• 1790: Kant publishes "Critique of Judgment," which explores aesthetics and teleology.

​

Kant’s ideas on the composition of personality: four questions

In the Preface of The Critique of Pure Reason, Kant asks three questions that gave the fourth one:

“All the interests of my reason, speculative as well as practical, combine in the three following questions:

1. What can I know?

2. What do I have to do?

3. What can I hope for?”

4. What is the human being?

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

Senses

“Space and time are the framework within which the mind is constrained to construct its experience of reality.”

​

Shaping the world with the mind

Theory of identity of self

To complete his theory of experience Kant developed a concept of “transcendental apperception” that appears to be one of the earliest modern theories of the identity of self or the “unity of the consciousness”

“What do I have to do?”�

moral aspects of identity.�

Categorical imperative

“Act that you use humanity, whether in your own person or in the person of any other, always at the same time as an end, never merely as a means”

Happiness

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

“What can I hope for?”

the role of faith and religion in personal identity

The faith of reason

“Religion is the recognition of all our duties as divine commands”

• a rational, sentient being
• a two-dimensional being, a dweller of two worlds: world of nature and world of freedom
• a unity of knowledge, action and hope (main faculties of human soul)
• the only creature in this world that exercises real freedom (freedom of choice and action) due to the possession of reason
• the only creature capable of goodness and perfection, whose duty is constant self-improvement and getting closer to the “truth”, “goodness” and “beauty”.

​

Kant and modern phycological definitions of personal identity

• 1. an individual’s sense of self defined by (a) a set of physical, psychological, and interpersonal characteristics that is not wholly shared with any other person and (b) a range of affiliations (e.g., ethnicity) and social roles. Identity involves a sense of continuity, or the feeling that one is the same person today that one was yesterday or last year (despite physical or other changes). Such a sense is derived from one’s body sensations; one’s body image; and the feeling that one’s memories, goals, values, expectations, and beliefs belong to the self. Also called personal identity. 
• 2. in cognitive development, awareness that an object is the same even though it may undergo transformations. For example, a coffee cup remains the same object despite differences in distance, size, color, lighting, orientation, and even shape. Also called object identity.

Thank you for your attention!