The life of Immanuel Kant

Preface

Within one hundred years after the publication of the " Kritik of Pure Reason " no biography of its author has appeared in the English language. Even in G-ermany, where his philosophy is studied so extensively and has been the occasion of an immense number of works, but little attention has been paid to the life of Kant, and the biographies of him are far jfrom being satisfactory. It is not diflBcult to discover the reasons for the neglect of the biography of this great thinker and eminent scholar. The materials for such a work are widely scattered, and require much research ; and one may glean long and on many a field, and, as the result of his labours, bring home only a light sheaf, and even that nearly all straw. The difficulty is by no means over when the materials have been found. Not only are there numerous conflicting statements, owing largely to the contentions occasioned by his philosophy and the prejudices which they aroused, but there is also a lack of the variety and incident which are commonly regarded as essential to an interesting biography. Unfortunately, the friends who were his vi PREFACE.

biographers were not critical, neither did they take the trouble to make researches and gather the materials within their reach. Their books are, indeed, very valuable as personal reminiscences, but they are neither scholarly nor complete. The researches made since their day, especially those by Schubert (the results of which are given in his book on "Kant's Leben"), by Dr. R. Reicke (" Kantiana "), and by the Kant Society in Konigsberg, have added much valuable material ; but a German biography worthy of the Critical Philosopher is still a desideratum.

The career of Kant had more variety than is generally supposed; his life was, however, that of the quiet thinker, and we must not expect the varied incidents which are found in the lives of statesmen and warriors. For the student of thought and the psychologist this fact makes it all the more interesting. The intellectual element in the career of this explorer of the reason, undisturbed by the ordinary affairs which generally absorb the attention of men, gives this life a peculiar charm and makes its study specially profitable.

The philosopher of Konigsberg was too great to need unmerited praise. A colleague, in delivering his funeral oration, said, " Kant himself hated all flattery, and abhorred all untruth. Should not then the truth, the pure, unadulterated truth serve us as our only guiding star ? " Our age is free from the prejudice and bitterness excited by the advent of the Critical Philosophy ; and one hundred years after the appearance of the " Kritik " we can calmly contemplate its

PEEPACi;. Vll author, and weigh impartially the testimony for and against him. However profound the reverence which is inspired by a great name and esalted virtues, it is the duty of the biographer to use honestly the materials found after conscientious research. If there are paradoxes, inconsistencies, and weaknesses, they should no more be hid than the excellencies should be obscured ; but there ought to be careful discrimination between the exceptional failings, which are found in the best lives, and the exalted principles and motives, which are the rule. The distinction between biography and fiction is easily obliterated when the greatness of the subject has elements of the sublime, and when the temptation to add to the interest of the description by means of exaggerations is strong. One of Kant's biographers says^ " His mind had embraced the whole domain of human knowledge, and everywhere had entered into the most minute details. There is no object within the sphere of the seriaus sciences, as well as of common life, which he did not subject to exact investigation, and of which he did not know all that was worth knowing." This, and much more that was written about the profound thinker who needed no eulogies, is not biography, but hero-worship. Instead of desiring such hyperbole, the true admirer of the author of the Critical system will agree with the philosopher Herbart, who said of Kant, " We can show no honour to the sincere inquirer after truth, at tbe expense of truth ;" and with Bouterwek, also referring to him, " Merit shines brightest in its own light where no desire to deify envelops it in clouds of incense."

vm PEEPACE.

Kant is known chiefly as tte author of the " Kritik of Pure Reason." In giving an account of his life, however, a much more comprehensive view of him must be taken ; he must be considered in the various relations he sustained. As his works culminated in ethics and theology, and were intended to establish these on a firm basis, his moral and religious views deserve more attention than they generally receive from English writers on his philosophy, especially since they are so intimately connected with his life. A critical discussion of his abstruse philosophy would be out of place in a biography. The English reader has access to excellent works on the Kantian system, and others, as well as translations of Kant's books, are in process of preparation. This biography aims to concentrate all the light on the man himself and his life. The great interest now taken in Kant's philosophy in England and America justifies the hope that the life of the Father of G-erman metaphysics will be welcomed by English readers. If his works throw light on his life, it will also be found that his life aids materially in understanding his works.

While the student of the Critical system is naturally expected to take a special interest in its author, this biography is also intended for students, and scholars in general, and for all who take an interest in intellectual conflicts and triumphs. As this broad aim has determined the character of the book, some things may be found in it which the student of the Critical Philosophy might be willing to dispense with, but which the more general reader will find indispensable. As

PREFACE. IX

Kant should be studied in tlie light o£ his times, much contemporary history has been considered in the preparation of this book. The thoughtful reader will prefer to consider the philosopher in his relation to his age, rather than to view him in an isolation which would place him in a false light.

I am indebted chiefly to the Royal Library of Berlin for the materials used in preparing this biography. The principal authorities are referred to in the Appendix, especially in the first note.

All the translations from Kant's works are made directly from the original. I have generally used " Kritik" to designate the " Kritik of Pure Eeason." Unless otherwise stated, " mile " always designates the English mile.

The picture of Kant represents the philosopher at the age of sixty- seven, the original having been painted by Dobler in 1791.

This biography was intended to appear during the Centennial year of the " Kritik of Pure Reason ;" but the work was so much more laborious, and required so much more time, than was anticipated, that this was found to be impossible.

Berlin, Hegel Platz 2.

Jan. 16, 1882.

V

CONTENTS,

CHAPTER I. KANt's BOYHOOD AND EARLY SURROUNDINGS, 172J: — 1740

PAGE

Konigsberg — ^Eelatives — Home influence— The Pastor— Pietism— The Grymnasium — Its rector, religious iniiuence, and intellectual advantages — His speciality — Special friends — Sensitiveness — General character of his early life . . 1

Chapter II

STUDENT IN THE UNIVERSITY. BEGINNING OF AUTHORSHIP. FAMILY TUTOR. 1740-1755.

Change in the Government — University of Konigsberg — Matriculated as Student of Theology — Studies — Favourite teacher — Reasons for not entering the ministry — Struggles with poverty — Recreation — First book — Family tutor — Work on Cosmogony .......... 34

Chapter III. Teacher In The University

Habilitation — Privat-Docent — Subjects and character of his lectures— Aim in teaching — Popularity — Testimony of Herder — Distraction — First salary — Contest for a prize — Promotion to a professorship — Efforts to induce him to leave Konigsberg — Condition of the University — Dean and Rector . . 64 xn CONTENTS.

Chapter IV. Physical Basis

PAGE

-Appearance — Head — Peculiar experience with his eyes — State of health — Study of his physical condition — View of medicine— Dietetics — Mastery of mind over body — Art of prolonging life. ......... 93

Chapter V. Mental Characteristics

Intellectuality — Memory — Judgment — Opposition to dogmatism, prejudice, and fanaticism — Power of analysis and synthesis— Sense of the ludicrous — Wit — Abstraction — Originality— Union of excellencies — Strange psychological fact — Study and appreciation of other systems — Political views — Imagination — Emotional nature — Transformation — Dogmatic spirit — Esthetic culture — Views of music, oratory, poetry,

'^ and genius — Reading — Library — Depreciation of history — Polymathist 106

Chapter VI. Home And Social Life

The philosopher's home — Regularity — Carefulness in trifles — Lampe — Dress — Recreation — Table-talk — Social power — Self-respect — Relatives — Views of women and marriage — Love-affairs . . ....... 153

Chapter VII. Kant And His Friends

Views of friendship — Excellence of heart — Countess Kayserlin g — General Meyer — Green — Motherby — Hamann — Von Hippel — Scheflfner — Bowski — Jaronchman — Kraus . . 192

CONTENTS. Xiu

CHAPTEE VIII.

KANt'S ATJTHORSHIP.

PAGE

Subjects of his works — Pre-critical period — Book on the Emotions of the Beautiful and the Sublime — Prevalent systems of philosophy — Leibnitz-Wolflan system — Popular philosophy — Sentimentality — Descartes — Locke — Newton — Berkeley — Hume — First metaphysical dissertation — Literary activity, 1756-63 — " Dreams of Ghost-seers explained by Dreams of Metaphysics " — Letter to Moses Mendelssohn — Period of silence — Correspondence with Lambert — Inaugural Dissertation — Sensation and understanding — Time and space — Letter from Mendelssohn — Letter to Herz — Labour on the " Kritik " — Changes in the plan of the work . . 216

Chapter IX. Authorship Continued

Publication of the " Kritik " — Hamann's impressions of the book — Difficulties of the work — Defects and excellencies — Aim — A priori and a posteriori knowledge — Analytic and synthetic judgments — Transcendental SBSthetics — The Categories — The reason — Charge of idealism — Das Ding an sich — God, the soul, freedom, immortality — Ontological, cosmological, and physico-theological proofs of God's existence — Result of the " Kritik " — " Prolegomena " — " Metaphysical Principles of Natural Science " — " Critique of the Judgment " — " Conflict of the Faculties " — Last manuscript ..... 266

Chapter X. Moral And Religious Views And Character

Importance of the subject — Freedom — Conscience a sufficient guide — Duty — The practical reason — Its primacy — The good will — Emotionless morality — Categorical Imperative — Maxims — Stoicism — Integrity — Truthfulness — Emotional

v' nature — Basis of his theology — Postulates — Religious character of the age — Rationalism — Historical faith — History depreciated- — His religion essentially morality — View of

V- Scripture — Moral interpretation — Public and private use of

XIV CONTENTS.

reason — The Trinity — Christ — Sin — Conversion — The Church — Worship — The next world — Ministers — Influence of his rationalism — Explanation of his theology — Called to account hy the Government. .,.'... 310

Chapter XI

INFLUENCE OF KANT. ADVOCATES AND OPPONENTS OF THE CEITICAL PHILOSOPHY.

Early popularity as a teacher — Spread of his reputation — Neglect of the " Kritik " — Its sudden popularity — Poems on Kant and his philosophy — -Pilgrimages to Konigsberg — Enthusiasm of disciples — Influence of works following the "Kritik" — Fanaticism of Kantians — Opposition : Hamann, Kraus, Herder — Silence amid abuses — Influence of Kantism at home and abroad — Honours — Subsidence of the excitement— The return to Kant ....... 365

Chapter XII. Cokrespondence And Cokeespondents

Small number of Kant's letters — Numerous correspondents — Lambert — Moses Mendelssohn — Herz — Erhard — Maria von Herbert — J. G. Fichte — Kiesewetter — Jung Stilling . . 398

Chapter XIII. Old Age And Death

Sad life — Early symptoms of old age — Interference with literary projects — Close of his lectures and literary labours — Relation to the academic senate — Wasianski assuming control of his affairs — Loss of memory — Visitors — Undeviating uniformity — Change of servants — Method of retiring — Exercise — Approach of spring — Sleeplessness — Last birthday— Failing sight — His sister— Strange notion of the atmosphere— First sickness — EiForts to rob him — Loss of conversational power — Longing for death— Extreme feebleness — Death — Funeral — Mementoes — Will — Kant Society — Monument 423

THE LIFE OF IMMANUEL KANT.

THE LIFE OF IMMANUEL KMT.

Chapter I

Konigsberg — Relatives — Home influence:— The Pastor — ■Pietism — The Gymnasium — Its Rector, religious influence, and intellectual advantages — His speciality — Special friends — Sensitiveness— General character of his early life.

Immanubl Kant is so identified with Konigsberg that a sketch of this city is essential to a correct knowledge of the life of her most famous son. Here he was born and educated, here he taught and died ; and this city, with its immediate vicinity, was the scene of all his labours, hardships, and triumphs. Its social, religious, and intellectual condition exerted a potent influence on his character and views ; but he, on the other hand, gave the city a fame such as it had never before enjoyed, and has for ever associated its name with one of the most important epochs in philosophy, so that for his sake it was called " The Capital of Philosophy," and also " The City of Pure Reason."

Konigsberg is a frontier city of Germany, being situated in the north-eastern corner of Prussia, near

2 THE LIFH OP IMMANUEL KANT.

the Russian border. Formerly it was the capital of the province of Prussia ; but when that province was divided a few years ago, it became the capital of Bast Prussia. The city is built on undulating ground, in an attractive region, and its position is favourable for commerce. It is situated at the mouth of the Pregel, a river which forms an important means of communication wibh the interior of the province and also with Poland, though for its mercantile importance it is mainly indebted to its location on a bay of the Baltic. Last century its extensive commerce brought the city into communication with numerous sea-ports of Europe, Asia, Africa, and America, as well as with the whole province of Prussia and the adjoining countries. (^)

In the beginning of the eighteenth century Konigsberg was prosperous and wealthy ; but during the Seven Years' War its prosperity was checked and much of its wealth was lost. In 1800 the city, consisting of the towns of Altstadt, Lobenicht, and Kneiphof, was about nine miles in circumference, and contained 4000 houses. Its inhabitants during last century numbered from 40,000 to 50,000, exclusive of the military.

As might be expected in a maritime port, there was considerable variety in the character of the population. The city had been wrested from the Slavs by the Germans, during the Middle Ages, and traces of Slavic elements were still found among the inhabitants. Representatives of different nations were brought to the city by commercial interests; such as Polish Russian, Scandinavian, Dutch, and English merchants and seamen. The religious differences were also considerablei The Catholics were greatly in the minority

KONIGSBEEG. 6

having only one chureli ; the Protestants were principally Lutherans, who were, however, divided into the Orthodox and Pietistic ; parties there wer& also adherents of the Reformed faith. In 1729 the city had fourteen Lutheran and three Reformed churches. Owing to the nearness of Russia, members of the Greek Church frequently came to the city. The active trade also attracted many Jews, who had their own social and religious institutions.

Besides its commercial advantages, Konigsberg was the religious, political, judicial, military, and literary centre of the province. It was the home of numerous civil and military officers, as well as of scholars and prominent ecclesiastics. Besides its elementary schools, it contained five gymnasia and a university. In the higher classes of society there was considerable culture and literary inspiration ; even outside of the university there existed a good degree of intellectual activity, and among the merchants were found a number of men who cultivated a taste for letters. Ha- . mann, Hippel, and others, acquired a reputation by means of their books, and many of the officers took an interest in scholarship. Isolated as the city was from other literary centres, it had in itself many of those elements which are calculated to develop a taste for learning. Even among the poorer classes there was an ambition to give their sons a learned education, an ambition which the schools helped to realize as well as to inspire ; and many sons of mechanics took a university course.

, His surroundings, as we shall see, had an important influence on Kant. This busy, stirring city afforded variety and inspiration enough to make it a favourable

B 2 abode for a scholar ; and yet it was free from those distracting influences which are apt to interfere seriously with study. Its advantages and disadrantages must, of course, be judged by last century, not by our age. The merchants from different lands, and the seamen with large, varied, and interesting experience, gave the scholar special opportunities to study men and to gain a knowledge of the world. That Kant highly appreciated the advantages offered by the city, is evident from a note to the Preface of his "Anthropology :" " A large city, the centre of a government, in which the officers of the Government are foimd ; which contains a university for the culture of the sciences, and is also so situated as to have commerce by sea ; which is favoured with communication, by means of rivers, with the interior of the country, as well as with more distant adjoining lands of various tongues and customs ; such a city, for instance, as Konigsberg on the Pregel, maybe regarded as a suitable place for enlarging one's knowledge of men and of the world, a place where this knowledge may be gained even without travel."(')

Immanuel Kant was born in this city, on the 22nd of April, 1724, in a house in Saddler Street. This house, which has been torn down, stood near the Green Bridge, which was the centre of a lively trade during the summer, where especially the Germans Dutch, Enghsh, Poles, and Jews, carried on an extensive traffic. The boy was thus early brought into contact with representatives of these nationalities, and he had an opportunity for observing the peculiar manners and customs of different nations ; afterwards the studv of national characteristics and of different countries became his chief literary recreation and delight.

HIS FATHER. 6

In the almanac for Eastern Prussia, the 22nd of April is designated "Emanuel : " this circumstance determined his Christian name at his baptism, which took place the day after his birth. The very meaning of the word commended it to his pious parents ; and Kanfc also became attached to the name.

In his relatives, so far as they are known to us, we find no evidence of extraordinary intellectual , endowments. His parents were plain people, belpnging to the class of mechanics, and there was little to distinguish them from others of the same grade in society, except perhaps their eminent morality and piety^ But while there is no trace of family genius. We have in Kant a union of the blood of the two nations which are most distinguished for their. metaphysical, speculations, namely the Scotch and the German.

His father, John George Cant {*), born near Memel, in Prussia, was the son of Scotch parents who had emigrated thither from Scotland. Kant himself states that for some unknown reason quite a number of Scotch families emigrated to Sweden and Germany, at the close of the seventeenth and the beginning of the eighteenth century, and that his paternal grandparents were among these emigrants. Of these ancestors, and of Kant's other paternal relations, nothing is known. Even of John George Cant scarcely anything is recorded ; his celebrated son, with his characteristic reticence respecting his early life, rarely referred to him. Kant's father was a saddler in humble circumstances, whose strict morality seems to have been the most striking trait of his character. He was industrious and conscientious, and was specially intent on training his children to habits of industry and to the formation

6 . THE IJPE OP IMMANUEL KANT.

of an upright character ; and as he regarded truthfulness as the most essential of the virtues, he took particular pains to inculcate a love for the truth. Immauuel esteemed his character highly, and on the occasion of his death, in 1746, he wrote in the family Bible : " On the 24th of March, my dear father was taken away by a happy death. May God, who did not grant him many joys in this life, permit him to share the eternal joys."

The character of Immanuel's mother was more positive than that of the father ; and though she died when her son was only fourteen years old, and eight years earlier than his father, she made on him the deepest and most lasting impression. Her parents were German, and her maiden name was Regina Dorothea Reuter. She was an afBectionate mother and a devoted Christian, and together with her husband belonged to the Pietistic party in the Lutheran Church. In her character the religious element was predominant, while her husband laid the emphasis on morality. Onthe day of her marriage, November 13th, 1715, she wrote the following in the family Bible : " May the Lord our <3rod be pleased to ke&p us in constant love and unity, and give to us the dew of heaven and the sweetness of the earth, till He brings us to the marriage of the Lamb ; for the sake of Jesus Christ His Son. Amen." She was greatly influenced by her pastor. Dr. F. A. Schulz, who in the pulpit and in his pastoral visitations exhorted his people to have stated times for prayer and other religious exercises, to strive earnestly for a change of heart, and to learn definitely the time of this change. She was faithful in following these directions, and strict in attending to religious devotions

HIS MOTHER. 7

at home and in church. In the tFaining of her children she was most anxious about their spiritual welfare, and it was largely to her influence that Immanuel was indebted for his high ideal of holiness and the development of his character.

In harmony with the prevalent low views of woman's intellectual capacities and calling, the facilities for female education were very meagre. When broad jntelleotual culture was regarded as unnecessary or even inappropriate for women who belonged to the higher classes of society, it is not surprising that a few rudiments of knowledge were thought sufficient for the daughters of mechanics and labourers. "We must, therefore, not expect to find Kant's mother a woman of superior education; but she had more than the ordinary intelligence of the women of her own rank. Kant, who said that he was the picture of his mother, regarded her as a woman of good natural powers, of noble heart, and of devout piety. In his old age he still spoke of her with reverence and even with tenderness, saying, " My mother was a lovely, affectionate, pious, and upright woman, and a tender mother, who led her children to the fear of God by means of pious instruction and a virtuous example. Often she took me outside of the city, directed my attention to the works of Grod, spoke with pious rapture of His omnipotence, wisdom, and goodness, and impressed on my heart a deep reverence for the Creator of all things. Never shall I forget my mother, for she planted and nourished in me the first good seed, and opened my heart to the impressions of nature ; she aroused and enlarged my thoughts ; and her instruction has had an abiding and blessed influence on my

8 THE XIFE OP IMMANUEL KANT.

life." She died December 18th, 1737, her death being an offering on the altar of affection. A friend, whom she tenderly loved, had been engaged to a man who forsook her and married another. This faithlessness so deeply affected the friend, that she was attacked by a fatal fever, ■ duririg which she refused all remedies. Kant's mother, who attended her during her illness, urged her to take some medicine ; but she declined it, under the pretext that the taste was too disagreeable. In order to convince her that this was not the case, his mother tasted it, using for that purpose a spoon which had already been in the mouth of the patient. A feeling of disgust came Over her immediately, she became greatly excited, and the effect on her imagination was increased when she discovered spots on the body of her friend which indicated that the disease was spotted fever. She became sick on the same day, and soon died.

The peace, morality, and piety of his home exerted a marked and lasting influence on Kant, and to his early training he himself ascribed his moral strictness and his power to resist evil inclinations. The circumstances in which he was placed were calculated to develop strength of character and self-reliance. Without being in absolute need, he was obliged to practise self-denial ; and without insuperable obstacles in the way of an education, he early encountered and mastered difficul- ' ties. The very hardships of his youth served to unfold his powers, and led him to prize the more highly the learning which cost him so much effort. His home was admirably adapted to the development of those qualities which Kant learned to appreciate above all others, and which are really the best ; and he appre-

EELIGIOUS CHAEACTBR OP HIS HOME, 9

ciated its excellence and recognized its beneficial effect on his character. Though he inherited from his parents no money, he received from them treasures inestimably more valuable. His father died poor, but without debts. Only a few years before his own death, Kant described his parents as models of moral propriety. " They gave me," he said, "a training which, in a moral point of view, could not have been better, and for which, at every remembrance of them, I am moved with the most grateful emotions." In comparing his humble home with others of wealth and of rank, he spoke of its superior excellence. " Kant said that when he contemplated his work as a tutor in the house of a count not far from Konigsberg ... he had often thought, with deep emotion, of the incomparably more excellent training which he had received in his home, where, as he gratefully boasted, he had never seen or heard anything that was immoral. "(^)

"While in many instances Pietism had degenerated, we have reason to believe that this was not the case with the religion of Kant's parents. From all we can learn of them, we are justified in concluding that they were free from bigotry, hypocrisy, and fanaticism. That their religion was sincere and earnest, and that it moulded their characters and lives, is evident from the testimony of their son. Speaking of his parents, he said, " Even if the religious views of that day, and the notions of what was called virtue and piety, were not clear and satisfactory, nevertheless the thing itself was found. Let men say what they will of Pietism, those who sincerely adopted it were honourably distinguished. They had the highest which a man can possess — that rest, that cheerfulness, and that inner peace, which no passion could disturb. No need and no persecution disheartened them ; no contention could excite them to anger and enmity. In a word, even the mere observer was involuntarily inspired with respect. I still remember how a quarrel about their rights broke out between the guilds of the harness-makers and of the saddlers, from which my father suffered considerably ; but in spite of this, even in the conversation in the family this quarrel was mentioned with such forbearance and love toward the opponents, and with such firm confidence in Providence, that the thought of it, though I was only a boy then, will never leave me." (") This testimony is the more significant, because Kant had no sympathy with Pietism when it was given. The influence of this home must indeed have been exceptional, since Kant, the strict and even severe moraUst, frequently said, " Never, not even a single time was I permitted to hear anything improper from my parents ; never did I see in them anything that was wrong."

There were ten children besides Immanuel, three sons and seven daughters ; six of these, two sons older than Immanuel, and four daughters, died quite young. He was the fourth child. His only brother who attained years of maturity, John Henry, was eleven years younger, and chose the ministry as his profession, studying theology in the University of Konigsberg. After spending some time as family tutor in Courland, he became the rector of a school in Mittau ; and from 1780 until his death in 1800 he was the pastor of a church in Rahden, Oourland. He had an original mind and was well informed ; his attainments in history, of which he made a speciality, were superior, and he

HIS BROTHKE. 11

also had a good knowledge of mathematics, was a critical student of the classics, read extensively, and was an admirer of practical philosophy, but not of metaphysics. It is said that in his youth he received instruction from his brother, which probably means that he attended some of his lectures while at the university. He read his writings until his book on " Religion within the Limits of Reason " appeared, then refused to read any more of them, because, he said, his old head could not adapt itself to a new terminology. The early hometraining left a moral impression on him similar to that made on his celebrated brother, and he was upright and candid, and had the strictest regard for the truth. He published nothing, his sphere being practical life rather than speculation or literature ; but till the close of his life he was a student of learned works. While conscientious and energetic in the discharge of his duties, he also had admirable qualities of heart. His studies, his religious views, his pursuits, and, in fact, his whole life, were so different from those of his brother that there was little congeniality between them. They rarely corresponded with each other, and for many years not at all. Immanuel seems to have cherished no fraternal affection for his only brother, who was also the only relative who could lay any claim to scholarship ; though after his brother's death he generously aided the family, which had been left in poverty. Of the three sisters who survived the age of childhood, one was older than Immanuel and died unmarried; the other two were married to humble citizens of Konigsberg.