The Early Years of Retirement (1796–1798): “Somewhat Changed” J achmann , who lived outside of Ko... more The Early Years of Retirement (1796–1798): “Somewhat Changed” J achmann , who lived outside of Konigsberg and who came only a few times a year to the city, was perhaps in the best position to observe changes in Kant that would have been more difficult to see for those who saw him daily, or almost daily. He wrote in 1804: I already found him somewhat changed eight years ago, even though there were some days when he exhibited his former mental powers. This happened when nature functioned smoothly. But after this period the decrease of his powers became more noticeable … the power of the greatest thinker slowly disappeared until he was completely incompetent. It is this tragedy that still needs to be told. In the records of the university senate for the winter semester of 1796–97, the following entry could be found: “Immanuel Kant, Log. et Metaph. Prof. Ordin. Facult. Phil. Senior : ‘I did not give any lectures because of age and indisposition.’” An entry for the summer of 1797 read: “he could not lecture because of age and weakness,” and the one for the winter of 1797—98: “could not give lectures because of age and sickness.” These notes, written by Kant himself, show — at least indirectly — that he became incapable of teaching beginning in the summer of 1796, when he had to cut his lectures short. This was the very period during which Jachmann noticed the first signs of mental weakness.
have seemed to many readers to presage the new preoccupation with "the absolute" that is such a m... more have seemed to many readers to presage the new preoccupation with "the absolute" that is such a marked feature of the later, post-Jena versions of the Wissenschaftslehre and thus to herald the transition to a new systematic standpoint. Though not everyone will be convinced by Z611er's ingenious defense of the indispensability to Fichte's Jena project of the concept of "pure willing," no serious student of the early Wissenschaftslehre can afford to ignore his arguments.
This work attempts _to show that the Sc0ttish common sense philosophers Thomas Reid~ James Oswald... more This work attempts _to show that the Sc0ttish common sense philosophers Thomas Reid~ James Oswald and James Beattie, had a substantial influence upon the development of German thought during the period of the late enlightenment. Their works were thoroughly reviewed in German philosophical journals and translated in~o German soon after they had •appeared in English. Whether it was Mendelssohn, a rationalist~ Lossius, a materialist, Feder, a sensationalist, Tetens, a critical empiricist, or Hamann and Jacobi, irrationalist philosophers of faith, impor'tant philosophers tead the Scots and found them relevant for the solution of their problems. The Scots were seen as not just opposing Hume 1 s skepticism, but also as complementing his more positive tenets. The most important chapter of this work shows that even Kant, who in this regard is known only for his devastating criticism of the Scots, learned much from them. It is argued that the Scott~sh influence opens a new perspective for the understanding of the German enlightenment, ~evealing how central were the twin problems of idealism versus realism, on the one hand, and of philosophical justification versus mere descriptive metaphysics, on the other.
The Early Years of Retirement (1796–1798): “Somewhat Changed” J achmann , who lived outside of Ko... more The Early Years of Retirement (1796–1798): “Somewhat Changed” J achmann , who lived outside of Konigsberg and who came only a few times a year to the city, was perhaps in the best position to observe changes in Kant that would have been more difficult to see for those who saw him daily, or almost daily. He wrote in 1804: I already found him somewhat changed eight years ago, even though there were some days when he exhibited his former mental powers. This happened when nature functioned smoothly. But after this period the decrease of his powers became more noticeable … the power of the greatest thinker slowly disappeared until he was completely incompetent. It is this tragedy that still needs to be told. In the records of the university senate for the winter semester of 1796–97, the following entry could be found: “Immanuel Kant, Log. et Metaph. Prof. Ordin. Facult. Phil. Senior : ‘I did not give any lectures because of age and indisposition.’” An entry for the summer of 1797 read: “he could not lecture because of age and weakness,” and the one for the winter of 1797—98: “could not give lectures because of age and sickness.” These notes, written by Kant himself, show — at least indirectly — that he became incapable of teaching beginning in the summer of 1796, when he had to cut his lectures short. This was the very period during which Jachmann noticed the first signs of mental weakness.
have seemed to many readers to presage the new preoccupation with "the absolute" that is such a m... more have seemed to many readers to presage the new preoccupation with "the absolute" that is such a marked feature of the later, post-Jena versions of the Wissenschaftslehre and thus to herald the transition to a new systematic standpoint. Though not everyone will be convinced by Z611er's ingenious defense of the indispensability to Fichte's Jena project of the concept of "pure willing," no serious student of the early Wissenschaftslehre can afford to ignore his arguments.
This work attempts _to show that the Sc0ttish common sense philosophers Thomas Reid~ James Oswald... more This work attempts _to show that the Sc0ttish common sense philosophers Thomas Reid~ James Oswald and James Beattie, had a substantial influence upon the development of German thought during the period of the late enlightenment. Their works were thoroughly reviewed in German philosophical journals and translated in~o German soon after they had •appeared in English. Whether it was Mendelssohn, a rationalist~ Lossius, a materialist, Feder, a sensationalist, Tetens, a critical empiricist, or Hamann and Jacobi, irrationalist philosophers of faith, impor'tant philosophers tead the Scots and found them relevant for the solution of their problems. The Scots were seen as not just opposing Hume 1 s skepticism, but also as complementing his more positive tenets. The most important chapter of this work shows that even Kant, who in this regard is known only for his devastating criticism of the Scots, learned much from them. It is argued that the Scott~sh influence opens a new perspective for the understanding of the German enlightenment, ~evealing how central were the twin problems of idealism versus realism, on the one hand, and of philosophical justification versus mere descriptive metaphysics, on the other.
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