Immanuel Kant
German philosopher, 1724-1804
Immanuel Kant was a central figure of modern philosophy whose influence on Western thought has been profound. He argued that fundamental concepts structure human experience, and that reason is the source of morality. His beliefs continue to have a major influence on contemporary philosophy, especially the fields of metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, political theory, and aesthetics. In Kant's major work, the Critique of Pure Reason (Kritik der reinen Vernunft, 1781), he attempted to explain the relationship between reason and human experience and to move beyond the failures of traditional philosophy and metaphysics.
Source: Wikipediasold
Eigenh. Widmung mit U. ("auctor"), aus der Erstausgabe von "Die Religion innerhalb der Grenzen der bloßen Vernunft".
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Inscribed to his former student Carl Gottlieb Fischer, in Latin, on a blank sheet formerly constituting the flyleaf of "Die Religion innerhalb der Grenzen der bloßen Vernunft": "VIRO | docto, cordato, integerrimo, | Carol. Theophil. Fischer, | Christianismi veri | Praeconi ac Exemplo, | Amico exoptatissimo, | libellum hunc | D[at].D[icat].D[edicat]. | auctor". - At the bottom of the page is a certificate of authenticity by Justus Florian Lobeck, Secretary of the Royal Library at Königsberg, dated June 15, 1850, attesting that the rare Kant autograph was removed from the volume presented to Fischer. C. T. Fischer (1745-1801) was a hospital priest in Königsberg from 1787 and an admirer of Kant. In a letter from him to Kant on January 29, 1794, Fischer thanks him for "the gift of Religion [...] from the hand of its author" (transl.; Kant: AA XI, Briefwechsel 1794, p. 486, no. 615). - Some brownstaining. Includes two later letters and a postcard referring to the quotation.
Eigenh. Manuskript.
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Thoughts about society and about taste. “V. The most important means of finding anywhere the happiness of life is society. Hence originates the need for society, but after having experienced it for a long time, there comes the longing for retreat, to be secluded from society. … Man is seeking unity with other people, whereas nature wants discord in order to spur incessant action. Friendship resulting from affection is a mere idea. He is sociable who can be a pleasant part of any society. My dear friends, there is no friend …” Satisfaction and happiness in society only result from useful work for society. “… One can only live a useful life in one’s own eyes by acting, not by enjoying. A useful man is at the same time a happy man, especially if he has restrained his self-interest. If one is used to seeking happiness in distraction, the mood becomes empty in solitude and a horrible wasteland…” – The second page, entitled, ‘Taste’, contains thoughts on esthetics. “All that is pleasing without any interest is beautiful. All that interests us, but only insofar as it is created by the subject itself, is good. All that is pleasing for objective reasons is beautiful …”. – With light foxing. – The leaf was part of Kant’s personal copy of his work ‘Observations on the sensation of the beautiful and the sublime”, published in 1766 in Konigsberg, with abundant additions by the author. On the lower level, there is a two-line addendum in the hand of the clergyman Christian Friedrich Puttlich († 1836), who had attended Kant’s lectures and in whose legacy the leaf was found. – First published with unimportant divergences by Arthur Warda under the title ‘Three single leafs from Kant’s legacy’, in: Altpreussische Monatsschrift Vol. XXXX, 7/8, of which an offprint is enclosed.
Ausschnitt mit zwei eigenh. Zeilen.
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"Crimen sui generis. Gehört zum Policeygesetz des Handels als plagium Menschenraub | plagium intellectuale. Der mandatarius spielt die Rolle des mandanten (stellionatus)". - This text fragment appears to be unpublished and likely originates from preliminary studies for the "Metaphysik der Sitten: Rechtslehre" (1796/97). The fragment is mounted on a quarto leaf with a handwritten certification of its authenticity by the historian and politicial scientist Friedrich Wilhelm Schubert, who together with Karl Rosenkranz published Kant's collected works in twelve volumes (1838-42): "Daß diese zwei Zeilen Crimen sui generis aus einer Handschrift Kant's herrühren und von ihm in den Jahren 1790-95 etwa geschrieben sind, wird von mir als Herausgeber der Werke Kants und Besitzer des Blatts, von dem ich heute diese beiden Zeilen abgeschnitten habe, hiedurch ausdrücklich bescheinigt. | Königsberg d. 8t Novbr 1857 | Dr Fr. W. Schubert Geheim. Regierungsrath u. Professor".
Autograph letter signed.
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Eigenh. Schriftstück mit Unterschrift.
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