Critical philosophy · 1724–1804

Immanuel Kant

Question the limits of reason.

Königsberg, Prussia · present-day Kaliningrad

Portraits: artistic interpretations

Philosophy

Ideas that shift your perspective.

The conditions of knowledge

We do not simply receive an already organised world: sensibility and understanding contribute to the form of experience. For Kant, space, time and the categories are not arbitrary personal inventions. They enable objective knowledge of appearances while limiting what we can assert beyond them.

A situation to think through

Distinguish how an inquiry organises its evidence from the conclusion it draws. Recognising the conditions of knowledge does not imply that every opinion is equally valid.

Moral autonomy

Autonomy does not mean following every desire. It is the capacity to give oneself a law that reason can recognise as valid for every rational being. Moral action requires examining its principle, not merely personal advantage or anticipated punishment.

A situation to think through

Before granting yourself an exception, formulate the rule of your conduct. Could you will that everyone accept this rule in a comparable situation?

The person as an end

A person must never be treated merely as a means. Cooperation often requires relying on others, but must remain compatible with their dignity and capacity to choose. This demand challenges manipulation, deceptive promises and relationships of domination.

A situation to think through

Securing agreement while concealing decisive information uses another person’s decision without fully respecting their ability to consent.

The public use of reason

Enlightenment requires opportunities to submit ideas to public discussion. Kant distinguishes this public use from certain institutional roles, which he paradoxically calls private uses. This historical distinction is more complex than a simple appeal to do whatever one wants.

A situation to think through

Someone may carry out an institutional role according to its rules while publishing a reasoned criticism of those rules. The question concerns which spaces make that criticism genuinely possible.

Immanuel Kant

Ideas that shift your perspective.

The conditions of knowledge

Moral autonomy

The person as an end

The public use of reason

Bring perspectives into conversation.

René Descartes

Aristotle

Simone de Beauvoir