Natural History and the Formation of the Human Being

Lecture by Dr Anik Waldow (Sydney), organized by the Department of the History of Philosophy

In his review of the Ideen zur Philosophie der Geschichte der Menschheit (1784/85) Kant objects to Herder’s conception of reason as a force that has evolved out of a general principle of life found in all animate beings. On the standard reading, this objection is taken to express Kant’s conviction that any attempt to ascribe to matter occult, invisible forces amounts to metaphysical excess, and as such violates the limits of knowledge that his critical philosophy defends. In this paper I explore a slightly different reading...(continue...)