German Idealism: Kant's letter to Charlotte von Knobloch (Pre Read)
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Kant’s words fell upon an audience already prepared to receive them. The age of “tutelage,” “immaturity” was over, like growing out of childhood: the illusions of the past were to be put aside, they could not be resurrected, and it was time to assume adult responsibilities. Moreover, this “immaturity” had not, in fact, been a natural state of mankind, but a “self-incurred” state, something “we” had brought on ourselves. (Terry Pinkard)
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This week we will examine Kant writings in their historical context. We will use Terry Pinkard's highly acclaimed German Philosophy 1760-1860 and Kant's letter to Charlotte von Knobloch, daughter of a Prussian general.
Pinkard can be found here: we will use chapter I (p. 31 of the PDF).
For Kant's letter, we will use Kant's Correspondence (the letter starts on p. 94 of the PDF).
People in search of an accessible introduction to Kant are advised to take a look at this 43 minute video.
This meeting is not meant for specialists or experts.
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This group examines the history of Metaphysics by looking primarily at European thinkers in chronological order. Great effort is made to include lesser known thinkers whose thought has historical significance. We will occasionally examine non-European metaphysics too to provide context and comparison.
The organizer is not an expert on Metaphysics but has a long experience in organizing similar meetings. He also has an Oxford PhD in European History as well as a Cambridge MPhil on the same discipline. He currently teaches foreign languages.
Our meeting time is: Thursday 1 pm(Los Angeles)/4 pm (New York)/9 pm (London)
Note that this series is now a pre-read. Since Kant is the first meeting of this kind, it will be a compromise to accomodate everyone.