Look closely. The beautiful may be small.
immanuel Kantquotes
1724 - 1804
The great German-Philosopher, Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) initiated a revolution in philosophical thought with his famous work, Critique of Pure Reason. Arguably one of the greatest philosophers of all time, Kant not only influenced the thinkers of the Enlightenment, but all subsequent philosophies in Western thought as well.
Kant earned his doctorate in Philosophy from the University of Konigsberg. He was denied professorship there again and again, but refused to accept prestigious teaching offers elsewhere because he was content with his simple life in the small city. He worked as a lecturer and tutor for 15 years until he became a full professor and spent the rest of his career teaching metaphysics and logic.
Other notable works include his Critique of Practical Reason and his Critique of Judgment.
While Kant published hundreds of papers and critiques over his lifetime, his strongest contribution to philosophy was his focus on ethics and the study of moral actions. He synthesized two opposing theories, rationalism and empiricism, and found a middle ground of thought between them.
He argued for a radical idea that, as individuals, our minds organize our experiences to make sense of how the world works. He believed that reason could not prove or disprove theories of God, freedom or immortality since those ideas exist beyond the scope of human experience. But he held they were good and rational beliefs since they contributed to an orderly and moral society.
Committed to his work, Kant never married, and despite an embittering loss of memory, he continued to write until his dying day.
Act in such a way that you treat humanity, whether in your own person or in the person of any other, never merely as a means to an end, but always at the same time as an end.
Dare to think!
One who makes himself a worm cannot complain afterwards if people step on him.
We are not rich by what we possess but by what we can do without.
Two things awe me most, the starry sky above me and the moral law within me.
He who is cruel to animals becomes hard also in his dealings with men. We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals.