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: Wikipedia
German philosopher (1724-1804). Autograph letter signed. no place. 4to. 1 p.
$ 26,788 / 25.000 €
(81543)
An autograph letter signed “I. Kant”. Written in German to an unidentified recipient, the letter the translation reads as follows: “The enclosed will allow Your Excell.y to see that the man who has so far been our Secretaries does not just seek permission to leave his position, but, more importantly, declares himself as of now free of all duties associated with it, meaning I cannot count on his assistance tomorrow in officio Rectorali. I will ask for his confirmation on that, and in case he does turn it down, I will see myself forced to order the tickets for next Tuesday, with which Your Excell.y usually has no way to give me help.
The day after tomorrow, a Senate contest will be all the more called for as the written response by His Excell.y the Budget Minister von Woellner has arrived here which occasion can give us the chance to present our concern regarding a Syndici to the court, maybe with success. I have the honor to present to you my highest respect. Your Excell.y’s devoted servant, I. Kant”. Although the final digit of the year is unclear, the letter dates to the late 1780s, when Kant was rapidly achieving a reputation for himself as a philosopher and author. He published a revised version of his now-famous Critique of Pure Reason in 1787 and his Critique of Practical Reason in 1788. Von Woellner may refer to Prussian politician and clergyman Johann Christoph von Wöllner (1732-1800), who is known to have censored Kant’s writings because of his views on religion. The letter has been professionally restored with leafcasting. Kant’s handwritten letters are of great rarity. .
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Eigenh. Widmung mit U. ("auctor"), aus der Erstausgabe von "Die Religion innerhalb der Grenzen der bloßen Vernunft".
Autograph ist nicht mehr verfügbar
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.
Autograph ist nicht mehr verfügbar
"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".