German for Reading Knowledge, Seventh Edition

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German for Reading Knowledge, Seventh Edition

Kapitel 8

Der Kritiker und Aufklärer Kant (p. 94)

Getting Ready

1. Immanuel Kant (1724-1804): Kant's “critical philosophy” — expressed above all in his Critique of Pure Reason, Critique of Practical Reason, and Critique of the Power of Judgment — centers on human autonomy, a central facet of the Enlightenment. With his critical works Kant became world renowned and came to dominate German philosophy in the late 1780's, a period of great production in his lifetime, outlined below.

1724 / April 22, born in Königsburg, East Prussia.
1734 / Enters the Collegium Fredericianum to study theology.
1740 / Enters the University of Königsburg and studies mathematics and physics.
1746 / Finishes study at the university and spends the next nine years employed as a private tutor.
1755 / Earns his masters degree and lectures at the university for the next fifteen years as a Privatdozent.
1770 / Promoted to professorship of logic and metaphysics.
1781 / Publishes Critique of Pure Reason.
1783 / Publishes Prolegomena to any Future Metaphysics.
1785 / Publishes Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals.
1788 / Publishes Critique of Practical Reason.
1790 / Publishes Critique of Judgement.
1792 / Embroiled in Government review regarding his religious doctrines; prohibited from lecturing or writing on religious subjects by the King Frederick William II.
1793 / Publishes Religion within the Limits of Reason Alone.
1797 / Retires from university. The death of King Frederick William II removes the ban on his religious writing and lecturing. Publishes Groundwork of the Metaphysic of Morals.
1798 / Publishes Anthropology, Considered from a Pragmatic Viewpoint.
1804 / February 12, dies in Königsburg.

2. Die Aufklärung / The German Enlightenment: The eighteenth-century substitution of a new faith in reason, "science," and the future for that of revealed religion was facilitated by the establishment of new systems of logical analysis. When philosophers changed systems of formal logic into metaphysics, they challenged the very basis of religious authority and invoked vigorous responses. More than a set of fixed ideas, the Enlightenment implied an attitude, a method of thought. According to the German philosopher Immanuel Kant, the motto of the age should be "Dare to know." In keeping with this motto, a desire arose among enlightened thinkers to reexamine and question all received ideas and values.

Getting Set

1. The German words Philosophie. Philosoph and philosophisch are prominent in the text. Skim the text and highlight/underline all occurences of these words.

a. Note that Philosophie occurs with an article. What happens to the article in the English version?
b. Philosoph is a so-called "n-noun," meaning that it takes the ending -en in all cases except the nominative case. What is the case and number of Philosoph in this text?

c. What word does the adjective philosophisch effetively turn into a synonym for Philosophie?

2. Look now at the final paragraph and identify the key words:

a. Erkenntnis (f.)

b. Zeit (f.)

c. Raum (m.)

d. Identität (f.)

e. Kausalität (f.)

How do explain the fact that the first of these occurs with an article and the others without articles? What happens to the article in the English version?

Read!

Based on the reading, indicate first whether the following statements are true or false and in the case of false statments cite text/phrases from the reading supporting your answer.

According to the reading:

1. Kant spent his entire life in Königsberg.

2. Kant's Critique of Pure Reason is his first publication.

3. Many historians consider Kant's Critique of Pure Reason to have changed the course of philosophical thinking.

4. Kant's Critique of Practical Reason and Critique of Judgement make him a 21st Century philosopher.

5. The philosophers of rationalism influenced Kant when he was a young man.

6. It's possible to divide Kant's thinking into a "pre-critical" and a "critical" phase.

7. Later in life Kant considered his earlier works "dogmatic."

8. In his third and final critique, Kant examined the boundaries of human knowledge (Erkenntnis).

Notes and Further Reading

1. Kant's Kritik der reinen Vernunft (zweite hin und wieder verbesserte Auflage) can be found in its entirety online at the Project Gutenberg website: http://gutenberg.spiegel.de/buch/3502/1

2. To read detailed information about Kant's life and times and for a bibliography of Kant's work, consider Daniel von der Helm's website: http://www.daniel-von-der-helm.com/kant.html

3. Die deutsche Aufklärung (1720-1785): To read more online: http://www.pohlw.de/literatur/epochen/aufklaer.htm

Richard Alan Korb