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Kant: A Biography
This is the first full-length biography in more than fifty years of Immanuel Kant, one of the giants among the pantheon of Western philosophers, and one of the most powerful and influential in contemporary philosophy. Taking account of the most recent scholarship, Manfred Kuehn allows the reader to follow the same journey that Kant himself took in emerging as a central figure in modern philosophy. Manfred Kuehn was formerly Professor of Philosophy at Purdue University. A specialist on German philosophy of the period, he is the author of numerous articles and papers on Immanuel Kant.
576 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2001
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
October 26, 2024
As the lives of great philosophers go, Kant's really wasn't among the most exciting. He wasn't condemned to death like Socrates, didn't father hordes of illegitimate children like Rousseau, and never fought in any wars like Wittgenstein. But neither was his life as tedious and mechanical as his early biographers made it out to be either. The portrait that emerges from Kuehn's book is of an elegant, well-liked, and highly sociable, if somewhat hypochondriacal and self-involved member of Königsberg’s intellectual elite. Admittedly, Kuehn sometimes gets a little too bogged down in the minutiae of Kantian philosophy. Nonetheless, he does a good job of relating its core theses to Kant's Pietist upbringing, to his rejection of organized religion, and to his early intellectual concerns.
January 21, 2023
Received a $25 credit to Bookshop.org for Xmas. Hadn't read a full biography of Kant published after 1900 previously so was interested in this, Kant being my primary intellectual hero and the subject of my thesis at Union Theological Seminary in New York.
While the author's representation of Kant's philosophical project differs from mine in emphasis, the material on Kant's personal life, particularly its beginning and its ending, was interesting and much appreciated. For instance, I'd known he was quite social and a heavy drinker as a young man. I hadn't known, however, what his social life consisted of or that he occasionally got too drunk to find his way home. Further, although I'd read an extensive account of his unfinished opus, I hadn't a clear idea of its contents. Then, although I'd read about his friendships and collegial relationships, I hadn't known much about these others as individuals nor much about the intellectual currents at the university in Konigsberg while Kant was there. Finally, I'd always wondered if Kant died a virgin and here I learned that there is no evidence to the contrary....and, naturally, Kant's primary concerns being ethical, I'd always wondered how well he lived up to the deontological ideal. Here there was nothing to puncture my estimation of the man.
What I would have liked more of would be material about Kant's positive views as regards the American and French revolutions. The latter is discussed, but not much, and previously read accounts of Kant's close relations with the Konigsberg working classes are not described. His funeral, which supposedly drew them out in great numbers, is not even mentioned.
While the author's representation of Kant's philosophical project differs from mine in emphasis, the material on Kant's personal life, particularly its beginning and its ending, was interesting and much appreciated. For instance, I'd known he was quite social and a heavy drinker as a young man. I hadn't known, however, what his social life consisted of or that he occasionally got too drunk to find his way home. Further, although I'd read an extensive account of his unfinished opus, I hadn't a clear idea of its contents. Then, although I'd read about his friendships and collegial relationships, I hadn't known much about these others as individuals nor much about the intellectual currents at the university in Konigsberg while Kant was there. Finally, I'd always wondered if Kant died a virgin and here I learned that there is no evidence to the contrary....and, naturally, Kant's primary concerns being ethical, I'd always wondered how well he lived up to the deontological ideal. Here there was nothing to puncture my estimation of the man.
What I would have liked more of would be material about Kant's positive views as regards the American and French revolutions. The latter is discussed, but not much, and previously read accounts of Kant's close relations with the Konigsberg working classes are not described. His funeral, which supposedly drew them out in great numbers, is not even mentioned.
March 18, 2021
An excellent and authoritative biography.
August 24, 2019
Aydınlanma Çağı’nın en büyük filozoflarından biri olan Immanuel Kant’ın hayatını okuyucuya sunan "Kant", yazarın düşünceleriyle hayatını birleştirerek anlamlı bir okuma sunan oldukça başarılı bir biyografi. Kendinden önceki Locke, Spinoza, Leibniz, Hume ve Rousseau’nun izinden giderek özellikle ahlak felsefesinde çığır açan noktalara parmak basan Kant, diğerlerinin aksine zamanına göre oldukça popüler olmakla beraber saygı duyulan da bir figür. İnsanda karakter gelişiminin 40 yaşından sonra tamamlandığını bu yüzden insanın bu yaşa kadar kendini geliştirmesinin zorunlu olduğunu savunan Kant, bu yaşa gelmeden önce tüm düşünme malzemelerinin toplamış olmamız gerektiğini belirtiyor. Kısaca Kant, entelektüel meselelerde kırkından sonra başardığımız her şey, kırkından önce topladığımız malzemelere ve karakteristik yargılara bağlı diyor. Karakter ise maksimler üzerine inşa edildiğinin altını çizen ünlü filozof, konuyu insanların hayatlarını sürdürebilmek ve ahlaki değerlerini koruyabilmek için maksimlere göre yaşamalarını gerektiğine bağlıyor.
Akılcılıkta ısrar etmesine rağmen din kavramının bir yere kadar bu konuda yararlı olduğunu söyleyen Kant’ın iyi bir dünya vatandaşı olmayı iyi maksimlere sahip olmayla bağdaştırdığını belirtmek gerek. Voltaire’in “Candide” adlı eserini “öteki dünya”nın olmadığını bu yüzden mutluluk için daha iyi bir dünya ummak yerine kendi bahçemizi kendimiz biçmemiz gerektiğini savunan Kant’ın din konusundaki görüşleri ise Spinoza ve Hume’a yakın duruyor. Ölümle beraber her şeyin sona ereceğini ve hayatın bu dünyada bulduklarımızın ötesinde bir anlam taşımadığını kabul eden Kant, bilge kişiyle bilge olmayan arasındaki tek farkın aslında öteki dünyaya dair bilgilerimizin ne mümkün ne de zorunlu olduğunun farkındalığı olduğunu belirtiyor. Tanrı’nın varlığını kabul etmemiz gerektiğini fakat ispatının mümkün olmadığını belirten Kant’ın asıl bombası ise Tanrı kavramını hayali bir yüz lirayla gerçek bir yüz lira arasındaki fark ile anlatarak hayali bir kusursuz varlığın hiçbir alım gücü olmadığını bir tokat gibi söylemesi.
Amerikan ve Fransız devrimlerinden etkilenerek Aydınlanma Felsefesini ileri taşıyan Kant’ın fazla ibadeti samimiyetsiz bulması ve bunu bir şekilde insanın kendi kendini kandırması olarak görmesi bir yerden sonra mevcut düzen için büyük tehdit olarak görülmeye başlanıyor. Ayrıca, Rousseau’nun izinden giderek cumhuriyet ve demokrasinin barışı getireceğini savunan Kant, evrensel vatandaş kavramı üzerinde dururken konuşma ve düşünme özgürlüğünün de altını çiziyor. Maksimlere göre yaşamasını bilen iyi, erdemli ve ahlaklı bir insan olabilmeyi daima odak noktasında bulunduran Kant’ın insan özgürlüğünü Tanrı’nın varlığından bile önemli tuttuğunu belirtmek gerek. Kısaca, aydınlanmanın merkezinde insanın kendi kendisinin efendisi olduğunu vurgulayarak insanları kilise veya monarşinin etkisinden kurtarmaya çalışmasıyla kendinden sonra gelen Hegel ve Marx’a ilham kaynağı olan Kant’a hayran bırakan bir biyografi. Tam notum 4,5/5.
İstanbul, Türkiye
31.07.2019
Alp Turgut
Akılcılıkta ısrar etmesine rağmen din kavramının bir yere kadar bu konuda yararlı olduğunu söyleyen Kant’ın iyi bir dünya vatandaşı olmayı iyi maksimlere sahip olmayla bağdaştırdığını belirtmek gerek. Voltaire’in “Candide” adlı eserini “öteki dünya”nın olmadığını bu yüzden mutluluk için daha iyi bir dünya ummak yerine kendi bahçemizi kendimiz biçmemiz gerektiğini savunan Kant’ın din konusundaki görüşleri ise Spinoza ve Hume’a yakın duruyor. Ölümle beraber her şeyin sona ereceğini ve hayatın bu dünyada bulduklarımızın ötesinde bir anlam taşımadığını kabul eden Kant, bilge kişiyle bilge olmayan arasındaki tek farkın aslında öteki dünyaya dair bilgilerimizin ne mümkün ne de zorunlu olduğunun farkındalığı olduğunu belirtiyor. Tanrı’nın varlığını kabul etmemiz gerektiğini fakat ispatının mümkün olmadığını belirten Kant’ın asıl bombası ise Tanrı kavramını hayali bir yüz lirayla gerçek bir yüz lira arasındaki fark ile anlatarak hayali bir kusursuz varlığın hiçbir alım gücü olmadığını bir tokat gibi söylemesi.
Amerikan ve Fransız devrimlerinden etkilenerek Aydınlanma Felsefesini ileri taşıyan Kant’ın fazla ibadeti samimiyetsiz bulması ve bunu bir şekilde insanın kendi kendini kandırması olarak görmesi bir yerden sonra mevcut düzen için büyük tehdit olarak görülmeye başlanıyor. Ayrıca, Rousseau’nun izinden giderek cumhuriyet ve demokrasinin barışı getireceğini savunan Kant, evrensel vatandaş kavramı üzerinde dururken konuşma ve düşünme özgürlüğünün de altını çiziyor. Maksimlere göre yaşamasını bilen iyi, erdemli ve ahlaklı bir insan olabilmeyi daima odak noktasında bulunduran Kant’ın insan özgürlüğünü Tanrı’nın varlığından bile önemli tuttuğunu belirtmek gerek. Kısaca, aydınlanmanın merkezinde insanın kendi kendisinin efendisi olduğunu vurgulayarak insanları kilise veya monarşinin etkisinden kurtarmaya çalışmasıyla kendinden sonra gelen Hegel ve Marx’a ilham kaynağı olan Kant’a hayran bırakan bir biyografi. Tam notum 4,5/5.
İstanbul, Türkiye
31.07.2019
Alp Turgut
July 11, 2025
Kants leven was saai!
Oke, een verfilming zou misschien minder volk in de zalen lokken dan Fifty Shades of Grey, maar het leven van onze Pruissische vriend speelt zich af in een periode die allesbehalve onbewogen is. De biografie, hoewel het per definitie een beetje slijmen is bij de persoon die "gebiografeerd" wordt (en, in dit geval, ook dood is), slaagt erin een beeld te schetsen hoe Kant, zijn leven en zijn omgeving, zijn filosofie mee hebben vormgegeven. Verder biedt het een goede omkadering van het Pruissische onderwijssysteeem en de daarmee verbonden thematieken. Het kadert Kants Copernicaanse wending door aandacht te schenken aan de toen gangbare discussies, zoals de interactie tussen ziel en lichaam, het kennisstatuut van God en de Leibniz-Wolffiaanse achtergrond binnen "Die Albertina".
Naast de meer intellectuele kant (haha, lachen gieren brullen!), is er ook het persoonlijke leven. Met wie ging Kant om? Spoilers: hij was geen vrijmetselaar. Nog spoilers: de man verliet wel degelijk Königsberg, in zijn jonge jaren weliswaar. En, waarschijnlijk geen spoiler: er zijn geen bronnen die aangeven dat Kant ooit een (seksuele) relatie had. Toch is de manier waarop Kant zijn leven inrichtte en leefde tekenend. Iets waarvan sporen te vinden zijn in, bijvoorbeeld, de Grundlegung en de Anthropologie.
Kuhn schetst een beeld van Kant door briefwisseling van zijn vrienden. Hij stond gekend als een "volks" persoon met een heel droog, maar scherp gevoel voor humor. Iemand die niet alleen dacht, maar ook leefde volgens principes.
Kortom: het lezen waard voor iedereen die niet alleen inzicht wil krijgen in Kants leven, maar ook in de filosofische achtergrond van het 18de eeuwse Pruisen.
Oke, een verfilming zou misschien minder volk in de zalen lokken dan Fifty Shades of Grey, maar het leven van onze Pruissische vriend speelt zich af in een periode die allesbehalve onbewogen is. De biografie, hoewel het per definitie een beetje slijmen is bij de persoon die "gebiografeerd" wordt (en, in dit geval, ook dood is), slaagt erin een beeld te schetsen hoe Kant, zijn leven en zijn omgeving, zijn filosofie mee hebben vormgegeven. Verder biedt het een goede omkadering van het Pruissische onderwijssysteeem en de daarmee verbonden thematieken. Het kadert Kants Copernicaanse wending door aandacht te schenken aan de toen gangbare discussies, zoals de interactie tussen ziel en lichaam, het kennisstatuut van God en de Leibniz-Wolffiaanse achtergrond binnen "Die Albertina".
Naast de meer intellectuele kant (haha, lachen gieren brullen!), is er ook het persoonlijke leven. Met wie ging Kant om? Spoilers: hij was geen vrijmetselaar. Nog spoilers: de man verliet wel degelijk Königsberg, in zijn jonge jaren weliswaar. En, waarschijnlijk geen spoiler: er zijn geen bronnen die aangeven dat Kant ooit een (seksuele) relatie had. Toch is de manier waarop Kant zijn leven inrichtte en leefde tekenend. Iets waarvan sporen te vinden zijn in, bijvoorbeeld, de Grundlegung en de Anthropologie.
Kuhn schetst een beeld van Kant door briefwisseling van zijn vrienden. Hij stond gekend als een "volks" persoon met een heel droog, maar scherp gevoel voor humor. Iemand die niet alleen dacht, maar ook leefde volgens principes.
Kortom: het lezen waard voor iedereen die niet alleen inzicht wil krijgen in Kants leven, maar ook in de filosofische achtergrond van het 18de eeuwse Pruisen.
July 30, 2016
Manfred Kuehn's Kant is, I think, the best biography I've ever read, and here are two quick reasons why. One, Kuehn has to walk a fine line in talking about Kant's life and his ideas. Two, he has to reconcile a lot of the little ironies about Kant and his life, the way people characterized him. Kuehn is able to do accomplish both of those goals.
Not only does Kuehn let you know the ideas that made Kant famous and important as a philosopher; not only does Kuehn let you know about the man's life; he's able to synthesize Kant's life and ideas together to form a rich picture of Kant. This is pretty tough. A biographer who tried might risk reducing all of Kant's life as originating from his philosophical ideas, an oversimplification. On the other hand, a biographer might just mosey on through Kant's life and then drop the fact that Kant produced this or that philosophical work. What Kuehn does well in the book is show how Kant's ideas influenced his life, and vice versa. There's plenty of information about the rich academic environment Kant was in in Koenigsberg, and who some of his friends were who had a big influence on him. This is a fully contextualized Kant here.
I'll give you just a quick example. There's an old story that goes that Kant was such a man of routine that you could set your watch by when he would come into town. But Kuehn tells us this is a caricature of Kant. This would have most characterized Kant in his 40s or 50s, but even that would be missing the mark.
The way this story received wide circulation is that there was a play written about a man who lived "according to the clock," and folks in Konigsberg interpreted that man to be Kant. The man that it in fact characterized most was Kant's friend, Herr Green. Green was such a man of routine that he was supposed to meet Kant for an afternoon carriage ride, and when Kant showed up late for the appointed time, he saw Green already departing without Kant, so content was Green to follow the schedule instead of wait for his friend.
Green had a big influence on Kant, especially in that Green's choice to live according to fundamental, unbreakable principles made Kant begin to reformulate what he thought in the way of his moral philosophy. It would be an exaggeration to say that Kant's moral philosophy came from Green, but what was definitely the case was that Green was the model for the kind of man Kant envisaged for his moral philosophy.
As for the other matter, the contradictions in the accounts of Kant's life, we find that most of these can be attributed to the different periods of Kant's life in which the people who knew Kant wrote about Kant. So, for example, there's some harsh stuff about Kant's treatment of his sister who came to live with him, but this was in Kant's 70s, when Kant was well on his way to senility and had had several strokes. Also most of the material about Kant's crude behavior comes from this later period.
I could barely put this bio down. It's great.
Not only does Kuehn let you know the ideas that made Kant famous and important as a philosopher; not only does Kuehn let you know about the man's life; he's able to synthesize Kant's life and ideas together to form a rich picture of Kant. This is pretty tough. A biographer who tried might risk reducing all of Kant's life as originating from his philosophical ideas, an oversimplification. On the other hand, a biographer might just mosey on through Kant's life and then drop the fact that Kant produced this or that philosophical work. What Kuehn does well in the book is show how Kant's ideas influenced his life, and vice versa. There's plenty of information about the rich academic environment Kant was in in Koenigsberg, and who some of his friends were who had a big influence on him. This is a fully contextualized Kant here.
I'll give you just a quick example. There's an old story that goes that Kant was such a man of routine that you could set your watch by when he would come into town. But Kuehn tells us this is a caricature of Kant. This would have most characterized Kant in his 40s or 50s, but even that would be missing the mark.
The way this story received wide circulation is that there was a play written about a man who lived "according to the clock," and folks in Konigsberg interpreted that man to be Kant. The man that it in fact characterized most was Kant's friend, Herr Green. Green was such a man of routine that he was supposed to meet Kant for an afternoon carriage ride, and when Kant showed up late for the appointed time, he saw Green already departing without Kant, so content was Green to follow the schedule instead of wait for his friend.
Green had a big influence on Kant, especially in that Green's choice to live according to fundamental, unbreakable principles made Kant begin to reformulate what he thought in the way of his moral philosophy. It would be an exaggeration to say that Kant's moral philosophy came from Green, but what was definitely the case was that Green was the model for the kind of man Kant envisaged for his moral philosophy.
As for the other matter, the contradictions in the accounts of Kant's life, we find that most of these can be attributed to the different periods of Kant's life in which the people who knew Kant wrote about Kant. So, for example, there's some harsh stuff about Kant's treatment of his sister who came to live with him, but this was in Kant's 70s, when Kant was well on his way to senility and had had several strokes. Also most of the material about Kant's crude behavior comes from this later period.
I could barely put this bio down. It's great.
May 23, 2018
İyi çalışılmış, yorucu, dinamik kafayla okunması gereken bir kitap. Kitap Kant'ın biyografisi ve felsefesinin dökümü arasında gidip geliyor. Özellikle ikincisini tam layığıyla anlamak için emek ve zaman gerekiyor.
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February 1, 2022کتاب خوبی نبود. تا صفحه ی ششصد و خورده ای بیشتر نتونستم ادامه بدم
December 4, 2020
I learned so much from this biography.
Like any normal 19-year-old, I do not pretend to have the mental fortitude nor the time to set out to read Kant's original works - thinking of struggling through the Critique of Pure Reason gives me a preliminary headache. Yet, from what I have learned about Kant during my secondary school philosophy classes, I do tend to find his ideas very interesting, or plainly agree with him. So as a philosophy enthusiast and to-be student, I knew I wanted to learn more. When I came across this biography on Goodreads, I figured it was precisely what I needed. Biographies of great thinkers are the best and most accessible way of getting acquainted with their ideas, while also learning about what might have lead them to come up with these ideas, as well as discovering the odd funny peculiarity/gossip you can tell your friends afterwards for a bit of jest.
But now here comes the catch, the primary reason I did not give this book 5 stars: this biography is not accessible... to the general reader. It was written by a German/American professor of philosophy who drops names of philosophers without context, mentions logical principles without explanation, and gives such short rebuttals of the most abstruse metaphysical arguments that it is necessary to re-read a paragraph some 2-3 times to adequately follow what is said. If this is the first philosophical book you read, you will probably start to doubt your own intellectual capabilities when you cannot follow it, and start to blame philosophy for being too difficult and dense for your liking.
But still, this is a wonderful biography about a wonderful thinker. It does have very abstract and theoretical passages, but Kant was a very abstract and theoretical thinker, so you cannot but explain his ideas and their context in such a way. The point is, as long as you already posses intermediate knowledge on 18th and pre-18th century philosophy, this book is perfect for continuing your intellectual journey and deepening your philosophical understanding. It's not meant for starting the journey.
This book will teach you about Kant's lively and gregarious character. He lunched/dined with people from a variety of backgrounds every day for almost his entire adult life. He was not a robot, nor autistic. Furthermore, the story uncovers the nuances of Kant's religious views (he did not believe in prayer, but did 'postulate' God, but did not personally believe in him, but did prove his existence, but only from a moral standpoint... :0). You will come to see the categorical imperative in a much more humane light - Kant himself acknowledged no one had ever acted purely out of respect for their moral duty, but that does not mean we should stop trying.
I do think the author is at times too eager to defend Kant's character. The old Kant's foul remarks about his sister might not have been said if he were still mentally in good shape, but that does not mean he did not think them. Just like the fact that when people are drunk they often reveal their innermost beliefs, senile people might be affected in the same way. Also, on Wikipedia, it says that Kant wrote an essay called Über die verschiedenen Racen der Menschen in 1775, but to my best recollection, this is not once discussed in the biography. Could the author be trying to disguise, or rather downplay, Kant's racism?
Yet, it is understandable that Kant is defended. When you read a biography, the biographised person becomes the hero of the story, and we tend to (want to) forget that they are flawed humans, too. I can't imagine how it must feel to write one.
Like any normal 19-year-old, I do not pretend to have the mental fortitude nor the time to set out to read Kant's original works - thinking of struggling through the Critique of Pure Reason gives me a preliminary headache. Yet, from what I have learned about Kant during my secondary school philosophy classes, I do tend to find his ideas very interesting, or plainly agree with him. So as a philosophy enthusiast and to-be student, I knew I wanted to learn more. When I came across this biography on Goodreads, I figured it was precisely what I needed. Biographies of great thinkers are the best and most accessible way of getting acquainted with their ideas, while also learning about what might have lead them to come up with these ideas, as well as discovering the odd funny peculiarity/gossip you can tell your friends afterwards for a bit of jest.
But now here comes the catch, the primary reason I did not give this book 5 stars: this biography is not accessible... to the general reader. It was written by a German/American professor of philosophy who drops names of philosophers without context, mentions logical principles without explanation, and gives such short rebuttals of the most abstruse metaphysical arguments that it is necessary to re-read a paragraph some 2-3 times to adequately follow what is said. If this is the first philosophical book you read, you will probably start to doubt your own intellectual capabilities when you cannot follow it, and start to blame philosophy for being too difficult and dense for your liking.
But still, this is a wonderful biography about a wonderful thinker. It does have very abstract and theoretical passages, but Kant was a very abstract and theoretical thinker, so you cannot but explain his ideas and their context in such a way. The point is, as long as you already posses intermediate knowledge on 18th and pre-18th century philosophy, this book is perfect for continuing your intellectual journey and deepening your philosophical understanding. It's not meant for starting the journey.
This book will teach you about Kant's lively and gregarious character. He lunched/dined with people from a variety of backgrounds every day for almost his entire adult life. He was not a robot, nor autistic. Furthermore, the story uncovers the nuances of Kant's religious views (he did not believe in prayer, but did 'postulate' God, but did not personally believe in him, but did prove his existence, but only from a moral standpoint... :0). You will come to see the categorical imperative in a much more humane light - Kant himself acknowledged no one had ever acted purely out of respect for their moral duty, but that does not mean we should stop trying.
I do think the author is at times too eager to defend Kant's character. The old Kant's foul remarks about his sister might not have been said if he were still mentally in good shape, but that does not mean he did not think them. Just like the fact that when people are drunk they often reveal their innermost beliefs, senile people might be affected in the same way. Also, on Wikipedia, it says that Kant wrote an essay called Über die verschiedenen Racen der Menschen in 1775, but to my best recollection, this is not once discussed in the biography. Could the author be trying to disguise, or rather downplay, Kant's racism?
Yet, it is understandable that Kant is defended. When you read a biography, the biographised person becomes the hero of the story, and we tend to (want to) forget that they are flawed humans, too. I can't imagine how it must feel to write one.
July 21, 2022
Some of Kühn's attempts to precis Kant's works are a little dubious. I doubt I'd recommend the book to anyone not already interested in history of philosophy.
June 30, 2018
-Kant, içerilerinde güzel ve yüce olanı arayan, bir toplum gözlemcisidir (Herder).
-Akademisyen tüm sınıflarla konuşabilmelidir, çünkü tüm sınıfların hem içinde hem de dışındadır.
-Kendi aklımızla düşünmemiz ve hatalarımızı kendimiz bulmamız soylu bir onurdur.
-Güzellikten önce gerçeği aramalıyız elbette ama bütün bilgilerde aynı zamanda güzel şeyleri talep etmezsek, gerçekler tiksindirici hale gelirler.
-Ahlak duygusu ahlakın temelidir ve itaat kültürünün önüne geçmelidir; ahlakın en yüce yasası ise doğaya uygun davranmaktır.
-Akademisyen tüm sınıflarla konuşabilmelidir, çünkü tüm sınıfların hem içinde hem de dışındadır.
-Kendi aklımızla düşünmemiz ve hatalarımızı kendimiz bulmamız soylu bir onurdur.
-Güzellikten önce gerçeği aramalıyız elbette ama bütün bilgilerde aynı zamanda güzel şeyleri talep etmezsek, gerçekler tiksindirici hale gelirler.
-Ahlak duygusu ahlakın temelidir ve itaat kültürünün önüne geçmelidir; ahlakın en yüce yasası ise doğaya uygun davranmaktır.
June 22, 2009
A biography is no substitute for a careful study of Kant's works. You will not be able to learn Kant a la Cliffnotes by reading this. On the other hand I admired how Kuehn discussed those works in capsule form accurately and without bias. More interesting however are the characters who surround Kant, a nutso born-again Christian, an English businessman even more rulebound than Kant himself, but who was an important influence on the Critique, a merry divorcee who may have had an eye for Immanuel himself, an adulterer who may have been her back up man, all those pursuing academic vendettas and infighting. Kant himself is revealed as good looking, a social butterfly, possibly a drunk at one time who had trouble finding his way home, intellectual hypochondriac, rebel and atheist (I knew it!) Who knew Koenigsburg was such an interesting place? Far from fluff, many of these experiences probably influenced the examples that appear in Kant's works. Also too much time is spent on the old Kant and his sad decline, as we tend to concentrate on the old Einstein, neglecting the man who actually achieved the breakthrough.
November 19, 2020
Ellmann/Joyce, Kuehn/Kant... one could really get down to business.
August 4, 2024
AN EXCEPTIONALLY USEFUL BIOGRAPHY OF KANT'S LIFE AND THOUGHT
Manfred Kuehn is professor of philosophy at Philipps-Universat Marburg; he has also written books such as 'Dictionary of Eighteenth-Century German Philosophers' (3 Vol Set), 'Scottish Common Sense in Germany, 1768-1800: A Contribution to the History of Critical Philosophy,' etc.
He wrote in the Prologue of this 2001 book, "Immanuel Kant died... less than two months before his eightieth birthday. Though he was still famous, German thinkers were engaged in trying to get 'beyond' his critical philosophy. He had become almost irrelevant... years before Kant's death ... everything that had made him the genius that he was had disappeared... Especially during his last two years, no signs of his once-great mind could be observed." (Pg. 1-2)
As a student, "Kant had a serious appearance. He did not laugh often. Though he had a sense of humor, it did not show itself in ways to which other students were accustomed... Even late in life his humor was dry, and his jokes were subtle and delivered with a serious demeanor. Already as a student Kant seemed to favor self-control as one of the highest virtues." (Pg. 64) Kuehn quotes another writer, "Playing billiards was his only recreation." (Pg. 64) But Kuehn later notes, "Kant, who never married, and who---as far as we know---never had sex, is often thought to have had little to do with women, but this false. In addition to being the darling of the Countess Keyserlingk, Kant also socialized with a number of other women, who remembered him long after they separated." (Pg. 116)
Kant turned down an offer to become professor of philosophy at Halle, which "was larger and much more prestigious... Neither the opportunity to teach many more students... nor even the good name of the university there, were sufficient to make him move. The reason was his belief that he had been given only a 'comparatively small dose of the force of life." (Pg. 215) Kuehn notes, "After getting up, Kant would drink one or two cups of tea---weak tea. With that, he smoked a pipe of tobacco... Apparently, Kant had formulated the maxim for himself that he would smoke only one pipe, but it is reported that the bowls of his pipes increased considerably in size as the years went on." (Pg. 222) He records, "This was... a life that was not untypical of professors in Konigsberg and elsewhere in Germany. The only thing that was perhaps not typical about Kant's life was the great role that socializing with his friends assumed in it. Kant was a very gregarious and social being---not so much the solitary, isolated, and somewhat comical figure that many have some to see in him." (Pg. 273)
Kuehn notes, "Kant did not use any theological principles to explain nature. Teleological considerations based on God's plans or on the principle of sufficient reason had no place in physics for him. Kant's mechanistic explanation of the world dispensed with them. All that he needed was matter and force." (Pg. 105)
He observes, "Kant openly confessed that [reading David] Hume had interrupted his dogmatic slumber and that in the Critique [of Pure Reason] he was pursuing 'a well-founded, but undeveloped, thought' of Hume. Indeed, he referred to his first Critique as 'the working out of Hume's problem in its greatest possible extension.'" (Pg. 256) Kuehn notes, "When Kant said he wrote the Critique in 'four to five months' he was referring... only to the last stage of writing and copying the manuscript for the printer. The final general outline went back at least a year earlier, and some of the first drafts dated from the early seventies." (Pg. 241)
Kuehn has a real grasp of Kant's philosophy, which makes this biography of even more use to anyone interested in Kant.
Manfred Kuehn is professor of philosophy at Philipps-Universat Marburg; he has also written books such as 'Dictionary of Eighteenth-Century German Philosophers' (3 Vol Set), 'Scottish Common Sense in Germany, 1768-1800: A Contribution to the History of Critical Philosophy,' etc.
He wrote in the Prologue of this 2001 book, "Immanuel Kant died... less than two months before his eightieth birthday. Though he was still famous, German thinkers were engaged in trying to get 'beyond' his critical philosophy. He had become almost irrelevant... years before Kant's death ... everything that had made him the genius that he was had disappeared... Especially during his last two years, no signs of his once-great mind could be observed." (Pg. 1-2)
As a student, "Kant had a serious appearance. He did not laugh often. Though he had a sense of humor, it did not show itself in ways to which other students were accustomed... Even late in life his humor was dry, and his jokes were subtle and delivered with a serious demeanor. Already as a student Kant seemed to favor self-control as one of the highest virtues." (Pg. 64) Kuehn quotes another writer, "Playing billiards was his only recreation." (Pg. 64) But Kuehn later notes, "Kant, who never married, and who---as far as we know---never had sex, is often thought to have had little to do with women, but this false. In addition to being the darling of the Countess Keyserlingk, Kant also socialized with a number of other women, who remembered him long after they separated." (Pg. 116)
Kant turned down an offer to become professor of philosophy at Halle, which "was larger and much more prestigious... Neither the opportunity to teach many more students... nor even the good name of the university there, were sufficient to make him move. The reason was his belief that he had been given only a 'comparatively small dose of the force of life." (Pg. 215) Kuehn notes, "After getting up, Kant would drink one or two cups of tea---weak tea. With that, he smoked a pipe of tobacco... Apparently, Kant had formulated the maxim for himself that he would smoke only one pipe, but it is reported that the bowls of his pipes increased considerably in size as the years went on." (Pg. 222) He records, "This was... a life that was not untypical of professors in Konigsberg and elsewhere in Germany. The only thing that was perhaps not typical about Kant's life was the great role that socializing with his friends assumed in it. Kant was a very gregarious and social being---not so much the solitary, isolated, and somewhat comical figure that many have some to see in him." (Pg. 273)
Kuehn notes, "Kant did not use any theological principles to explain nature. Teleological considerations based on God's plans or on the principle of sufficient reason had no place in physics for him. Kant's mechanistic explanation of the world dispensed with them. All that he needed was matter and force." (Pg. 105)
He observes, "Kant openly confessed that [reading David] Hume had interrupted his dogmatic slumber and that in the Critique [of Pure Reason] he was pursuing 'a well-founded, but undeveloped, thought' of Hume. Indeed, he referred to his first Critique as 'the working out of Hume's problem in its greatest possible extension.'" (Pg. 256) Kuehn notes, "When Kant said he wrote the Critique in 'four to five months' he was referring... only to the last stage of writing and copying the manuscript for the printer. The final general outline went back at least a year earlier, and some of the first drafts dated from the early seventies." (Pg. 241)
Kuehn has a real grasp of Kant's philosophy, which makes this biography of even more use to anyone interested in Kant.
August 13, 2025
I considered this more of a sidequest reading since it's not really essential to understanding Marxism or political theory in any way, but since I am essentially researching all of the major German canonical philosophers in order to reverse engineer where 20th century political ideologies were originally derived, it was informative, particularly about some of the comings and goings of Prussia during the 18th century and how political events shaped some of Kant's views, who like Hegel, was a fan of the French Revolution.
Overall, it's a decent read, though I think even the author would agree it wasn't as if Kant had a particularly colorful life. Still, it was intriguing to see how his thought developed into his magnum opus towards the last quarter of his life, and the influence his ideas had on Prussia, as well as Europe during such a tumultuous time. One interesting nuance of Kant's life is that while Kant's Critique of Pure Reason provides the strongest proof of God at that point in philosophical history, that Kant did not himself really take spiritual life seriously and thought things like prayer was a waste of time. In fact, many attribute CPR as the cause of the decline of Christianity in Germany, not Nietzsche's "God is dead", since Nietzsche was merely saying that the decline had already happened and that there was a need for his superman ideology to replace it.
Overall, it's a decent read, though I think even the author would agree it wasn't as if Kant had a particularly colorful life. Still, it was intriguing to see how his thought developed into his magnum opus towards the last quarter of his life, and the influence his ideas had on Prussia, as well as Europe during such a tumultuous time. One interesting nuance of Kant's life is that while Kant's Critique of Pure Reason provides the strongest proof of God at that point in philosophical history, that Kant did not himself really take spiritual life seriously and thought things like prayer was a waste of time. In fact, many attribute CPR as the cause of the decline of Christianity in Germany, not Nietzsche's "God is dead", since Nietzsche was merely saying that the decline had already happened and that there was a need for his superman ideology to replace it.
December 17, 2022
An enjoyable romp through the very closed world of Prussian academia in the late 18th-century, and the Konigsberg-Berlin line of influence and political control over the professional careers of professors. This book does not involve itself into the exegesis of Kantian thought. This is its virtue and its vice. It is a nice quiet read about who Kant got along with, what Fichte said or did, and minor details of debates, that read almost like NYROB disputes. In this sense the book is actually refreshing. It places Kant in a right place, not as some philosophical enigma, but as a working author.
November 30, 2021
Not just a biographer but a glimpse of his works. Not the easiest book to read but one that is well worth the effort. If you were not a philosophy major in college you will find yourself googling the meaning of many words and if you are not up on German and Latin and some French you will need to translate short sentences to get the full importance of the words being used. I found it well worth the effort.
March 26, 2023
Kuhn criticizes other biographers of Kant of being dull while not escaping from this flaw himself. However, I'm glad I finished the book because Kant's deterioration near the end of his life throws into stark relief the question, "What is the point of living when once we've passed our abilities?" Even with Kant's incisive mind, he was unable to stop the mental deterioration that often accompanies aging.
January 17, 2021
Brings back the humanity stolen from one of the greatest minds the world has seen. Explains how the anecdotes commonly known are to be doubted to conceive the individual; and yet hints in a surprisingly simple way, some of the most difficult pieces of human thought ever developed. Necessary read to bring the person closer to the student, and at the same time to admire his opus even more.
April 29, 2021
This biography was so well done there is no need for another of Kant. Kuhn really brought Kant to life and made one want to read his works and wish one could have attended one of his metaphysical lectures. One of the greatest minds to ever live, Kant should not be ignored.
March 14, 2024
A solid work of craft, carefully approaching what can currently be known about the worldly life of the philosopher from the extant sources and giving gentle introductions to the work, thereby drawing a picture of the development of Kant's thoughts.
September 5, 2018
作者表示如果对康德的哲学没有太大兴趣的读者可以跳过书中相关片段，但是不建议这样做。是因为跳过了就等于略过大半本书吗233。
就这样一位以思想为主要工作和生活的人物的传记，这本书相当不错，也正是因为传主是这样的人的缘故，始终还是有那么一些枯燥。
就这样一位以思想为主要工作和生活的人物的传记，这本书相当不错，也正是因为传主是这样的人的缘故，始终还是有那么一些枯燥。
January 26, 2023
Eine Biografie, die uns einen ganz anderen Kant zeigt.
Read
July 14, 2024After like a year of reading I have finally finished. Amazing how a guy can never leave his town once 79 years and he could still change history forever. Es ist gut
June 5, 2012
I'm not sure how to write this review, other than to give my overall impression of the book as a Kant-scholar and philosophy nerd. I found Kuehn's biography of Kant both well written and remarkably interesting, and he does us a great service to help us to understand the man whose ideas have been so influential.
Kant was a remarkable phenomenon. Spending his entire life in Königsberg, a moderately prosperous trading city on the Baltic and largely isolated outpost in the east of Prussia, Kant was born to a Pietist bridle maker. His father made just enough to get by, and because of their religious connections, young Kant was educated in Pietist schools. He never married and all evidence suggests that he spent his entire life a virgin, though, it would seem, many women found him to be a handsome and eligible bachelor. Kuehn provides significant and rare insight into Kant's youth and pre-Critical career, focusing on his personal, professional, and intellectual relations, as well as his position within Prussian society.
I got a sense that Kuehn is attempting some sort of revisionism with this biography, though I think he successfully argues for why this is necessary. Kant rose to great fame when he was 57 (when the first edition of the Critique of Pure Reason was published), and continued to publish philosophically influential works right into his 70s. (He died just shy of 80.) Because of his "late bloom," earlier biographers offered anecdotes of Kant as his contemporaries knew him, which was, by then, as an eccentric, stubborn old man, a strong moralist, and at times a misogynist. Kuehn attempts to revise this picture, depicting a side of Kant that is more human and emotionally complex.
I noted that some things were missing. For instance, there was until a few decades ago a popular theory that Kant descended from Scottish merchants who settled in the trade-city of Königsberg. (Cant (sic) is a Scottish name.) This theory is thin enough not to grant much credibility, and trivial enough to be of little consequence; however, since so many scholars often claimed this in their brief biographical sketches of Kant, I would have expected Kuehn to have something to say about it. (In a way, he said something about it, asserting that Kant's not-too-distant paternal ancestors were born not in Königsberg, but in Bavaria.)
Moreover, some of Kuehn's remarks seem largely based on speculation and little based on substantial evidence. For example, Kuehn portrays Kant as publicly a theist (of sorts) but privately an atheist. While much has been written about Kant's views of religion, which are heretical at best and hostile at worst, I don't think we can say so easily that he was personally an atheist as opposed to an agnostic or deist. The fact that he was dismissive of religion (he counted prayer as superstition and looked down on rituals) and avoided the church does not indicate atheism. Also, given what he does say about religion (even when he doesn’t seem tied into knots by censors), I don't think we can label him an atheist so simply.
Overall I think this was a good read. If you're just into philosophy and not into history, however, I doubt you'll much enjoy it. Kuehn doesn’t spend much time discussing Kant's philosophy, focusing instead on his personal life and how it fits into the milieu of 18th century Königsberg.
Kant was a remarkable phenomenon. Spending his entire life in Königsberg, a moderately prosperous trading city on the Baltic and largely isolated outpost in the east of Prussia, Kant was born to a Pietist bridle maker. His father made just enough to get by, and because of their religious connections, young Kant was educated in Pietist schools. He never married and all evidence suggests that he spent his entire life a virgin, though, it would seem, many women found him to be a handsome and eligible bachelor. Kuehn provides significant and rare insight into Kant's youth and pre-Critical career, focusing on his personal, professional, and intellectual relations, as well as his position within Prussian society.
I got a sense that Kuehn is attempting some sort of revisionism with this biography, though I think he successfully argues for why this is necessary. Kant rose to great fame when he was 57 (when the first edition of the Critique of Pure Reason was published), and continued to publish philosophically influential works right into his 70s. (He died just shy of 80.) Because of his "late bloom," earlier biographers offered anecdotes of Kant as his contemporaries knew him, which was, by then, as an eccentric, stubborn old man, a strong moralist, and at times a misogynist. Kuehn attempts to revise this picture, depicting a side of Kant that is more human and emotionally complex.
I noted that some things were missing. For instance, there was until a few decades ago a popular theory that Kant descended from Scottish merchants who settled in the trade-city of Königsberg. (Cant (sic) is a Scottish name.) This theory is thin enough not to grant much credibility, and trivial enough to be of little consequence; however, since so many scholars often claimed this in their brief biographical sketches of Kant, I would have expected Kuehn to have something to say about it. (In a way, he said something about it, asserting that Kant's not-too-distant paternal ancestors were born not in Königsberg, but in Bavaria.)
Moreover, some of Kuehn's remarks seem largely based on speculation and little based on substantial evidence. For example, Kuehn portrays Kant as publicly a theist (of sorts) but privately an atheist. While much has been written about Kant's views of religion, which are heretical at best and hostile at worst, I don't think we can say so easily that he was personally an atheist as opposed to an agnostic or deist. The fact that he was dismissive of religion (he counted prayer as superstition and looked down on rituals) and avoided the church does not indicate atheism. Also, given what he does say about religion (even when he doesn’t seem tied into knots by censors), I don't think we can label him an atheist so simply.
Overall I think this was a good read. If you're just into philosophy and not into history, however, I doubt you'll much enjoy it. Kuehn doesn’t spend much time discussing Kant's philosophy, focusing instead on his personal life and how it fits into the milieu of 18th century Königsberg.
June 26, 2025
Manfred Kuehn'in titiz ve kapsamlı çalışmalarının bir çıktısı olan "Immanuel Kant", filozofun, bugüne dek çizilen/bilinen imajının ötesine geçebilen, detaylı bir insan portresi sunuyor.
"Dünyayı olduğu gibi değil, olduğumuz gibi görürüz."
Genel olarak, rutinine düşkün ve duygudan yoksun bir ihtiyar olarak bahsedilen Kant'ı, gençlik, çekişme ve gayret gibi insani özelliklerle ele almayı seçen bu bütüncül biyografi, ünlü filozofu ve öne sürdüklerini anlamamıza büyük katkı sunuyor.
Dönemin inanç ve düşünce dünyasına yönelik aydınlatıcı bir arka planın üzerine, Kant'ın aile geçmişi ve sosyal durumuna yönelik bilgilerle güçlendirilerek inşa edilen bu biyografi, okurun, hem o çağı, hem Kant'ı, hem de düşünsel tekâmüle kattıklarını, daha etkili biçimde içselleştirmesine imkân tanıyor.
"Ben kendimin ve tasarımlarımın nesnesiyim. Aynı zamanda bana dışsal bir şeyin de var olması benim kendi ürettiğim bir şeydir. Ben kendimi oluştururum. Her şeyi kendimiz oluştururuz."
Batı düşüncesini önemli bir yeniden yapılanma yoluna sokan Kant'ı, anekdotlarının ve eserlerinin ötesine geçerek, psikolojik yönlerini ve sosyal ilişkilerini de ele alarak insansılaştıran bu biyografi, etkili bir anlatım ve özenli bir tercüme (Bülent O. Doğan) ile keyifli ve akıcı bir okuma deneyimi sunuyor.
"Görevimiz kitap yaratmak değil kişilik yaratmak, savaşlar ve topraklar kazanmak değil düzen ve huzur kazanmaktır. En büyük ve ihtişamlı şaheserimiz gereğine uygun bir hayat sürmektir."
18. yüzyıl Avrupasına, Kant'ın yanı sıra Leibniz, Wolff, Hume, ve Rousseau'yu da içeren bir yolculuk vadeden eser, rasyonalizm, ampirizm ve hümanizm gibi farklı fikirlere de uğramamıza vesile olarak daha etkili bir sentez yapabilmemizi sağlıyor.
"Akıl bizi "bilge" kılmak için değil, her konudaki ahmaklığımızı ve cehaletimizi anlayalım diye verilmiştir."
Çok yönlülüğü, kapsam genişliği ve derinliği ile bir biyografi kitabının ötesine geçen bu eseri, Batı düşünce tarihi ve felsefeye ilgisi olan tüm yetişkin okurlara öneririm.
"Dünyayı olduğu gibi değil, olduğumuz gibi görürüz."
Genel olarak, rutinine düşkün ve duygudan yoksun bir ihtiyar olarak bahsedilen Kant'ı, gençlik, çekişme ve gayret gibi insani özelliklerle ele almayı seçen bu bütüncül biyografi, ünlü filozofu ve öne sürdüklerini anlamamıza büyük katkı sunuyor.
Dönemin inanç ve düşünce dünyasına yönelik aydınlatıcı bir arka planın üzerine, Kant'ın aile geçmişi ve sosyal durumuna yönelik bilgilerle güçlendirilerek inşa edilen bu biyografi, okurun, hem o çağı, hem Kant'ı, hem de düşünsel tekâmüle kattıklarını, daha etkili biçimde içselleştirmesine imkân tanıyor.
"Ben kendimin ve tasarımlarımın nesnesiyim. Aynı zamanda bana dışsal bir şeyin de var olması benim kendi ürettiğim bir şeydir. Ben kendimi oluştururum. Her şeyi kendimiz oluştururuz."
Batı düşüncesini önemli bir yeniden yapılanma yoluna sokan Kant'ı, anekdotlarının ve eserlerinin ötesine geçerek, psikolojik yönlerini ve sosyal ilişkilerini de ele alarak insansılaştıran bu biyografi, etkili bir anlatım ve özenli bir tercüme (Bülent O. Doğan) ile keyifli ve akıcı bir okuma deneyimi sunuyor.
"Görevimiz kitap yaratmak değil kişilik yaratmak, savaşlar ve topraklar kazanmak değil düzen ve huzur kazanmaktır. En büyük ve ihtişamlı şaheserimiz gereğine uygun bir hayat sürmektir."
18. yüzyıl Avrupasına, Kant'ın yanı sıra Leibniz, Wolff, Hume, ve Rousseau'yu da içeren bir yolculuk vadeden eser, rasyonalizm, ampirizm ve hümanizm gibi farklı fikirlere de uğramamıza vesile olarak daha etkili bir sentez yapabilmemizi sağlıyor.
"Akıl bizi "bilge" kılmak için değil, her konudaki ahmaklığımızı ve cehaletimizi anlayalım diye verilmiştir."
Çok yönlülüğü, kapsam genişliği ve derinliği ile bir biyografi kitabının ötesine geçen bu eseri, Batı düşünce tarihi ve felsefeye ilgisi olan tüm yetişkin okurlara öneririm.
May 2, 2021
There is a genre of Biography called "Intellectual biography" and this work more than meets the criteria for such a classification. It is no easy task to accurately in accordance with strict historical criteria narrate the life one of the Philosophical giants of History. Add to this task that of accurately rendering the philosophical ideas of one of the most difficult thinkers in history and one begins to appreciate the scope of the task Manfred Kuehn so successfully undertook. He takes us through Kant's early struggles and attempt to establish himself at the University in Königsberg, the Russian occupation of Königsberg, the long silence whilst composing the First Critique, a lifelong friendship with Joseph Green, (a British merchant whose judgement was sought on almost every sentence of the First Critique), the search for the approval of Mendelssohn, The trials and tribulations of ageing, and the final act of a long and fruitful life. Intellectual influences are carefully charted and insightfully estimated. The manifold of rational and empirical disputations are characterised and synthesised, recapturing Kant's journey in accordance with the motto of the Enlightenment "Sapere Audi!"--"Dare to be wise!" Kant's faith in God and belief in progress toward a Cosmopolitan future in which virtue rules our cities are mapped out side by side, reminding us of that other great Philosopher from an earlier time of Enlightenment-- Aristotle. It would be disingenuous to criticise such a masterpiece but perhaps rendering more precise a debt that Kant must have owed to Aristotle would have made an excellent work move into the realm of the extraordinary.
August 29, 2007
My reading of this book was sustained primarily by the fact that it is about Kant. It's not a hard-going book, but it is not a compelling narrative either. Kant is surely now a more robust character in my mind than he was prior to reading Kuehn's biography, but he remains nonetheless a person of whom I have only shadowy knowledge. Although Kuehn makes intermittent attempts to reveal Kant the human being, the book is more like viewing Kant at a distance through smoked glass. This might be a consequence of the dirth of primary sources, but I am dubious about that because Kuehn seems to actively avoid posing interesting conjectures about Kant's life. While this probably makes for safe scholarship it is ultimately pretty boring.
December 12, 2012
Manfred Kuehn'in Immanuel Kant biyografisini okumayı bitirdim. Zorlu ve yorucu bir okuma oldu. Felsefe metinlerinin dili Türkçe için sorunlar içeriyor ve felsefeyi zorlaştırıyor. Kelime sorunları çağrışım bağlantılarından yoksun olmayla sınırlı bile olsa, ki değil, anlama gerçekleşse bile kısır, yaratma tetiklemeyen ve durağan bir hal sunuyor. Bu çabayı etkisizleştiriyor. Bu kitap şu ana kadar biyografinin en zayıf kitabı.
July 14, 2023
Kuehn covers a lot of biographical information about Kant that paints a picture of a man as contradictory as most real people are. Kuehn largely succeeds in explaining Kant's complex philosophies although I would have liked more detail in that aspect. The explanation of what life would have been like for an 18th century professor was very interesting and I found the chapter on Kant's slow decline and death particularly poignant.
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