Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-94fs2 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-13T15:14:05.332Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Chapter 8 - Kant and Anthropology

from Part II - Sources of Philosophical Anthropology

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 March 2014

Ananta Kumar Giri
Affiliation:
University of Kentucky
Get access

Summary

In this chapter, we explore the challenge of rethinking modernist knowledge by looking at Kant's conception of anthropology. Kant taught courses in both anthropology and physical geography, and his book Anthropology from a Pragmatic Point of View (1798) was published nearly thirty years after his initial engagement with anthropology. While his lectures embodied his crisis of identity as a professional philosopher, thus facilitating a border crossing between philosophy and anthropology, Anthropology from a Pragmatic Point of View was far short of his earlier critique of metaphysics. Kant wanted anthropology to play by universal principles, if not be totally subordinate to metaphysics. The book is especially interesting from the point of view of border crossing: ‘In this work Kant comes as close as possible to combining the qualities of English and continental philosophy. The power of the intellect and the attraction of the imagination both merge into a system of common human concern which has more relevance today then it had before’ (Zammito 2002). The word ‘pragmatic’ in the text is important, and nearly two hundred years later new democratic possibilities seem to have arisen from border-crossing dialogue between American pragmatism and Kantian traditions, as in the works of Karl-Otto Apel and Jürgen Habermas. As we shall see in the case of Kant himself, Rousseau was a major influence who inspired him to use the project of philosophical anthropology for the education of mankind. Thus, Kantian engagement with anthropology embodies several border crossings, first between different intellectual and philosophical traditions, and second between academic philosophy and popular philosophy.

Type
Chapter
Information
Philosophy and Anthropology
Border Crossing and Transformations
, pp. 141 - 146
Publisher: Anthem Press
Print publication year: 2013

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×