Universal Natural History and Theory of Heaven

Universal Natural History and Theory of Heaven

The German edition
Author Immanuel Kant
Original title Allgemeine Naturgeschichte und Theorie des Himmels
Country Germany
Language German
Published 1755
Media type Print

Universal Natural History and Theory of Heaven (German: Allgemeine Naturgeschichte und Theorie des Himmels) is a work written and published anonymously by Immanuel Kant in 1755, based on a 1750 work by English astronomer Thomas Wright.

According to Kant, the Solar System is merely a smaller version of the fixed star systems, such as the Milky Way and other galaxies. The cosmogony Kant proposes in this book is closer to today's accepted ideas than that of some of his contemporary thinkers, such as Pierre-Simon Laplace. Moreover, Kant's thought in this volume is strongly influenced by atomist theory, in addition to the ideas of Lucretius.

In his introduction to the English translation of Kant's book, Stanley Jaki criticizes Kant for being a poor mathematician and downplays the relevance of his contribution to science. However, these criticisms are on the whole unfair, as they are blaming Kant for not knowing about twentieth-century developments.[1]

Kant's book ends with an almost mystical expression of appreciation for nature: "In the universal silence of nature and in the calm of the senses the immortal spirit’s hidden faculty of knowledge speaks an ineffable language and gives [us] undeveloped concepts, which are indeed felt, but do not let themselves be described."[2]

The first English translation of the work was done by the Scottish theologian William Hastie in 1900.[3] Other English translations include those by Stanley Jaki and Ian Johnston.[4]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Stephen Palmquist, "Kant's Cosmogony Re-Evaluated", Studies in History and Philosophy of Science 18:3 (September 1987), pp.255–269.
  2. ↑ Immanuel Kant, Universal Natural History and Theory of the Heavens, p.367; translated by Stephen Palmquist in Kant's Critical Religion (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2000), p.320.
  3. ↑ Michael J. Crowe (1999). The Extraterrestrial Life Debate, 1750-1900. Courier Dover Publications. p. 48. ISBN 978-0-486-40675-6.
  4. ↑ Immanuel Kant; Eric Watkins (4 October 2012). Kant: Natural Science. Cambridge University Press. p. 187. ISBN 978-0-521-36394-5.
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