KANT - BACKGROUND

<BODY> <CENTER><FONT SIZE=5><B><FONT SIZE=6>KANT</FONT><BR> THE CRITIC</B></FONT></CENTER><P> <FONT SIZE=4><B>Background</B></FONT><P> <FONT SIZE=4><B>ACADEMIC</B></FONT><BR> The son of a saddler, Immanuel Kant was born in the East Prussian town of Königsberg, where he remained all of his life. Kant's studies at the University of Königsberg were interrupted by the death of his father, after which he worked as a private tutor, but in 1755, he returned to complete his masters degree. Though he was offered professorships at other universities, he declined, preferring the peace of his home town and in 1770 he was finally appointed a professor in <A HREF="../t03/g027.html" TARGET="_top">logic</A> and <A HREF="../t03/g032.html" TARGET="_top">metaphysics</A>. When Kant wrote "Critique of Pure Reason", he was fifty-seven years old and had been a lecturing in philosophy at Königsberg university for twenty-five years.<P> <FONT SIZE=4><B>TIME OF THE ESSENCE ?</B></FONT><P> <TABLE ALIGN=Left BORDER=0 CELLSPACING=2 CELLPADDING=1> <TR> <TD><IMG ALIGN=Left SRC="1502a.jpg" WIDTH="121" HEIGHT="152" ALT="WATCH"></TD> </TR> </TABLE> For Kant, time (as well as space) was not external to the human mind. It was part of the way the human mind organised and came to understand sensory input. Not only his mind, but also his entire life seemed dominated by the concept of time. He lived the fastidious and ordered life of a bachelor. Legend has it that the citizens of Königsberg set their clocks by his daily walk. This same sense of order is evident in his writings. They follow a strict logical argument and the terminology is that of the logician. Unlike <A HREF="../11/11f01.html" TARGET="_top">Descartes</A>, he did not write for the general public. He was an academic through and through. Inspired by philosophers, he wrote for philosophers. For him, the central issue of the work is formulated thus: "How are synthetic <A HREF="../t03/g003.html" TARGET="_top">a priori</A> judgements possible?". <BR clear=left><BR> <HR width=100%> <A HREF="http://www.creatorix.com.au"><IMG SRC="../creatorix.gif" WIDTH="85" HEIGHT="40" BORDER="0" ALT="Creatorix" align=right></A> </BODY>