Kant's Unpublished Works

Recent literature on Kant’s Opus postumum has typically focused on two parts of the drafts: the ether proofs and the Selbstsetzungslehre. Eckart Förster’s interpretation is representative of this tendency and, moreover, presents the Selbstsetzungslehre as the culmination of Kant’s late project. By contrast, I argue that the drafts of fascicles X/XI, written in between the ether proofs and the Selbstsetzungslehre, are of primary importance for understanding the Opus postumum. Through a close reading of a page from fascicle XI, I show (...) that Kant attempts to resolve problems internal to the Selbstsetzungslehre and the ether proofs by presenting a transition from the former to the latter. I advocate a renewed appreciation of the centrality of fascicles X/XI, insofar as the Opus postumum drafts aspire to a science of transition. (shrink)

This volume is the first ever English translation of Kant's last major work, the so-called Opus Postumum, a work Kant himself described as his 'chef d'oeuvre' and as the keystone of his entire philosophical system. It occupied him for more than the last decade of his life. Begun with the intention of providing a 'transition from the metaphysical foundations of natural science to physics,' Kant's reflections take him far beyond the problem he initially set out to solve. In fact, he (...) reassesses a whole series of fundamental topics of transcendental philosophy: the thing in itself, the nature of space and time, the concept of the self and its agency, the idea of God, and the unity of theoretical and practical reason. Though never completed, the text reaches a logical albeit not fully developed, conclusion. (shrink)

The article reports discussions at an international conference of leading Kant scholars held at the University of Marburg (Germany) in 1998. The conference was concerned with both the current state and the need for revisions of the Academy edition of Kant's Gesammelte Schriften as well. As became clear, a complete revision is necessary in the case of Vols. XX-XXIV and XXVII-XXIX, since these can hardly be used for research. Improvements of various extent and content should be attempted in other volumes (...) as well-even in Vols. I-IX, Kant's published works, the best edited part of the edition. (shrink)

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and (...) made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant. (shrink)

This volume provides the first ever extensive translation of the notes and fragments that survived Kant's death in 1804. These include marginalia, lecture notes, and sketches and drafts for his published works. They are important as an indispensable resource for understanding Kant's intellectual development and published works, casting new light on Kant's conception of his own philosophical methods and his relations to his predecessors, as well as on central doctrines of his work such as the theory of space, time and (...) categories, the refutations of skepticism and metaphysical dogmatism, the theory of the value of freedom and the possibility of free will, the conception of God, the theory of beauty, and much more. (shrink)

Drawn from the Prussian Academy edition of Kant's collected works, these letters make it possible to trace the development of Kant's thought from his earliest worries about the topics discussed in the Critique of Pure Reason to his attempts in later life to meet the objections of his critics and erstwhile disciples. "Perhaps the major value of these writings is their demonstration of Kant's own attitude towards his philosophical works."—Paul Arthur Schilpp, Saturday Review.

This paper presents the correspondence in the year 1799 between Jeronimo de Bosch, the curator of the university of Leiden, and Kant or rather F. Th. Rink, who obviously was writing on behalf of Kant. The correspondence was initiated by a letter that de Bosch sent on 6 July 1799 to Kant accompanied by a lengthy poem on Kant's ethics. This paper presents two critically-edited, hitherto unknown letters by Rink to De Bosch and an autograph by Kant. These letters provide (...) us with new materials pertaining to the development of and Kant's involvement in Rink's edition of Mancherley zur Geschichte der metacritischen Invasion, the so-called „Gedächtniszettel“ and Kant's activities in the summer of 1799 while editing his so-called Opus postumum. It also sheds new light on the reception of Kant's philosophy in Holland, mainly with respect to De Bosch's Kantian sources. (shrink)

: The article provides an introduction to an autograph draft of a letter on dietetics Kant wrote to the physician Christoph Wilhelm Hufeland and uses it as a springboard for the critical discussion of Kant’s dietetics as well as its systematic place in his philosophy. The final draft of Kant’s letter to Hufeland became the third part of The Conflict of the Faculties. The article argues that Kant assigns dietetics, understood as the regulation of the traditional nonnaturals, to philosophy and (...) not to medicine; that he regards moral health as the basis for physical health; and that his view of the systematic place of dietetics in his philosophy is inconsistent. (shrink)

Der Kantische Briefwechsel stellt für die Kantforschung eine profunde Quelle dar: eine Quelle sowohl für Kants äußeren Lebensweg wie auch für die Entstehung seines Werks und dessen unmittelbare Wirkungsgeschichte. Nicht nur Versuche, Kants Lebensgeschichte und Persönlichkeit darzustellen, stützen sich ganz maßgeblich auf die erhaltene Korrespondenz. Auch für unsere Kenntnis der inneren und äußeren Entwicklung der kritischen Philosophie, des wachsenden Erfolgs des Kritizismus, aber auch der damit im Zusammenhang stehenden Konflikte ist Kants Briefwechsel eine unschätzbare Quelle.Der Band enthält alle bis dato (...) bekannt gewordenen Briefe Kants und die wichtigsten Antwortschreiben seiner Briefpartner nach dem Text der Akademie-Ausgabe. Die Korrespondenz erstreckt sich über die gesamte zweite Hälfte des 18. Jahrhunderts und umfaßt u.a. die Briefe von und an Mendelssohn, Lambert, Sulzer, Lavater, Herz, Maimon, Garve, Reinhold, Schiller und Fichte. (shrink)

Drawn from the Prussian Academy edition of Kant's collected works, these letters make it possible to trace the development of Kant's thought from his earliest worries about the topics discussed in the Critique of Pure Reason to his attempts ...

Kants letzte Schrift Ueber die Buchmacherey ist von den Biographen Kants nur all zu oft ignoriert worden. Sogar so angesehene Gelehrte wie Friedrich Paulsen und Ernst Cassirer widmen dieser Schrift in ihren bekannten Darstellungen von Kants Leben und Denken kein Wort. Auch Manfred Kuehn geht in seiner jüngst veröffentlichten sehr lesbaren Biographie auf Kants Abrechnung mit Nicolai überhaupt nicht ein. Das ist bedauerlich; denn dieses Werk verdient mehr Aufmerksamkeit. Es weist nach, wie sehr es Kant an dem richtigen Verständnis seiner (...) Philosophie gelegen war und wie er bereit war, Verzerrungen, Verdrehungen, ja Mißverständnisse jeder Art hart zu bekämpfen. Friedrich Nicolai, obwohl kein Philosoph, konnte nicht völlig ignoriert werden. Denn er war ein mächtiger Verleger. Auch war er ein betriebsamer, erfolgreicher Schriftsteller und Publizist, dessen Werke gelesen wurden. (shrink)

This paper presents the correspondence in the year 1799 between Jeronimo de Bosch, the curator of the university of Leiden, and Kant or rather F. Th. Rink, who obviously was writing on behalf of Kant. The correspondence was initiated by a letter that de Bosch sent on 6 July 1799 to Kant accompanied by a lengthy poem on Kant's ethics. This paper presents two critically-edited, hitherto unknown letters by Rink to De Bosch and an autograph by Kant. These letters provide (...) us with new materials pertaining to the development of and Kant's involvement in Rink's edition of Mancherley zur Geschichte der metacritischen Invasion, the so-called „Gedächtniszettel“ and Kant's activities in the summer of 1799 while editing his so-called Opus postumum. It also sheds new light on the reception of Kant's philosophy in Holland, mainly with respect to De Bosch's Kantian sources. (shrink)

Als zu Beginn des Jahrhunderts der Realismus wieder ernst genommen wurde, gab es viele Philosophen, die sich mit der Ontologie der Wahrheit befaßten. Unabhängig von der Bestimmung der Wahrheit als Korrespondenzbeziehung wollten sie herausfinden, inwieweit zur Erklärung der Wahrheit von Sätzen besondere Entitäten herangezogen werden müssen. Einige dieser Entitäten, so zum Beispiel Bolzanos ‘Sätze an sich’, Freges ‘Gedanken’ oder die ‘propositions’ von Russell und Moore, wurden als Träger der Eigenschaften Wahrheit und Falschheit aufgefaßt. Einige Philosophen jedoch, wie Russell, Wittgenstein im (...) ›Tractatus‹ und Husserl in den ›Logischen Untersuchungen‹, argumentierten, zusätzlich zu den Wahrheitsträgern bzw. an ihrer Stelle müßten Entitäten angenommen werden, auf Grund deren Sätze und/oder ‘Propositionen’ wahr sind. Solchen Entitäten gab man verschiedene Namen, insbesondere ‘fact’, ‘Tatsache’, ‘state of affairs’ und ‘Sachverhalt’. 1 Wir wollen einer Entscheidung über die Angebrachtheit dieser Ausdrücke nicht vorgreifen und daher zunächst eine neutralere Terminologie verwenden: Alle Entitäten, die für diese zweite Rolle in Frage kommen, wollen wir ‘Wahrmacher’ nennen. (shrink)

146 JOURNAL OF THE HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY 34:1 JANUARY 1996 thought that the two were incompatible and opted for one or the other. Others, most notably Robert Boyle, "the Christian Virtuoso," thought that the two were compatible. The most reliable kind of person was the Christian gentleman, because he was a supposedly disinterested spectator. Physicians, chemists, schoolmen, priests, and pro- fessional authors all had professional or mercenary interests that made their testimony suspect. A large part of the book, especially chapters (...) 4 through 8, become a social and intellectual biography of Boyle. Since even gentlemen make mistakes, it became important for philosopher- scientists to devise criteria for reliable testimony. John Locke summarized these condi- tions within the dimensions of "multiplicity, plausibility, directness, knowledgeability, and the like." Part of being a gentleman was engaging in civil conversation. The rules of such conversation prohibited "the notions of truth, certainty, rigor, and precision" that were appropriate to "scholarly inquiry but out of place in civil conversation." One conse- quence of this was that Boyle was uneasy with the use of mathematics in experimental sciences. The requirements of civil conversation also excluded technicians from the scientific community proper. Although they in fact did much of the work upon which scientific progress depended, the gentlemen who employed these technicians spoke for them and took.. (shrink)

Kants letzte Schrift Ueber die Buchmacherey ist von den Biographen Kants nur all zu oft ignoriert worden. Sogar so angesehene Gelehrte wie Friedrich Paulsen und Ernst Cassirer widmen dieser Schrift in ihren bekannten Darstellungen von Kants Leben und Denken kein Wort. Auch Manfred Kuehn geht in seiner jüngst veröffentlichten sehr lesbaren Biographie auf Kants Abrechnung mit Nicolai überhaupt nicht ein. Das ist bedauerlich; denn dieses Werk verdient mehr Aufmerksamkeit. Es weist nach, wie sehr es Kant an dem richtigen Verständnis seiner (...) Philosophie gelegen war und wie er bereit war, Verzerrungen, Verdrehungen, ja Mißverständnisse jeder Art hart zu bekämpfen. Friedrich Nicolai , obwohl kein Philosoph, konnte nicht völlig ignoriert werden. Denn er war ein mächtiger Verleger. Auch war er ein betriebsamer, erfolgreicher Schriftsteller und Publizist, dessen Werke gelesen wurden. (shrink)