Kant, Immanuel (1724–1804)

Immanuel Kant is one of the most influential thinkers in the history of philosophy. He earned this distinction by introducing a new style of philosophizing, the critique of reason. Unlike the dialogue or the genealogy, which try to answer the question of what is something or how it came about, criticism is occupied not so much with objects but with the conditions for the possibility of our experiencing them. Critical philosophy undertakes the examination of the powers reason employs to cognize the world of nature, to act according to duty, and to judge natural and human purposes. Its job is to determine the limits and legitimate mode of employment of the rational powers that make such activities possible. In the case of cognition, the experience ...