Philosophy | Why Are Immanuel Kant's Philosophies Still Important?
Why are Immanuel Kant's philosophies still important?
German philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724–1804) remains one of the great modern thinkers because he developed a philosophy that completely reinterpreted human knowledge. Kant became a professor at Königsberg University in Germany in 1755. An active lecturer and a productive writer, Kant did his most important work in 1775, when he undertook "a project of critical philosophy." He set out to answer the three questions that, in his opinion, have occupied every philosopher in Western (non-Asian) history: What can I know? What ought I do? For what may I hope?
Kant's answer to the first question (What can I know?) was based on one important conclusion: A person can know or make claims only about his or her experience of things, not the things themselves. That is, objects in the world around us have no existence independent of our perception...
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