Religion within the Boundaries of Mere Reason

XVI

that world" Referring to the spirit world or the afterlife discussed in the previous section on Dreams of a Spirit-Seer. is concerned, Kant advises the curious to be patient until they—arrive there, and concludes with the words from Voltaire’s Candide: "Let us look after our happiness, go into the garden and work!" original: "Laßt uns unser Glück besorgen, in den Garten gehen und arbeiten!" This is a German translation of the famous closing line of Voltaire's Candide: "Il faut cultiver notre jardin" (We must cultivate our garden).

9. Finally, the Dissertation of 1770 Kant's inaugural dissertation, On the Form and Principles of the Sensible and the Intelligible World, which marked a transition toward his mature philosophy. does indeed define God once (§ 9) as the most perfect being original: "vollkommenstes Wesen." In Latin, this is the ens perfectissimum, a core concept in traditional proofs for God's existence. in a theoretical sense and elsewhere (§ 22, Addition) argues against Malebranche’s mystical intuition Nicolas Malebranche was a philosopher who argued that we "see all things in God." Kant rejected this as a form of religious enthusiasm or mysticism that lacked rational grounding. of God, but otherwise has no connection to our theme.

c) Critical Period.

1. Regarding Kant's religious views during the decade from 1771–1781—which was entirely dedicated to the elaboration of his great critical masterpiece The Critique of Pure Reason, published in 1781.—several letters provide us with welcome insight. In them, we already see the fundamental ideas of Religion within the Boundaries of Mere Reason before us, eighteen years prior to its publication. Of particular importance are a detailed letter and a draft to Lavater (1775), as well as a letter to Chr. H. Wolke (1776).

On April 8, 1774, Lavater Johann Caspar Lavater was a Swiss poet and theologian famous for his work on physiognomy and his intense religious devotion. had sent a letter overflowing with reverence, asking for Kant’s judgment on his treatise on faith and prayer. In his reply on April 28, 1775, our philosopher developed his religious and historico-religious views, which differed entirely from those of the "Prophet of Zurich." In a manner reminiscent of Lessing Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, a leading Enlightenment dramatist and philosopher who advocated for a religion of reason over historical dogma., he distinguishes the teachings of Christ from the reports we have about them. "In order to extract the former in its purity, I seek first of all to separate the moral teaching from all New Testament statutes Referring to specific religious laws, rituals, or dogmas established by church authority rather than by universal reason.. This is certainly the fundamental doctrine of the Gospel," everything else being merely "auxiliary doctrine." When we have done what is within our power, we can humbly trust that God—given the "holiness of His law and the invincible evil of our heart"—will necessarily provide some "supplement for our deficiency."