ABSTRACT
Immanuel Kant was a Prussian philosopher who shaped the course of modern Western philosophy. Kant published the Critique of Pure Reason in 1781. A highly original work of philosophy, the Critique presented the foundations of a new philosophical system. Kant believes we have a priori knowledge only of appearances, not of things as they are in themselves. Kant also discusses metaphysics. Traditionally, metaphysics addresses such things as God, the soul, and the question of whether life after death exists. Despite discussing these issues for thousands of years—and in contrast with the progress science had made in explaining the natural world—metaphysicians had still not managed to resolve them. Kant's argument causes us to move inward, to see how knowledge depends on both our minds and the outside world. Kant introduces many new and strange terms the reader must learn in order to understand the argument.
