“Laziness and cowardice are the reasons why so great a portion of mankind, after nature has long since discharged them from external direction (naturaliter maiorennes), nevertheless remains under lifelong tutelage, and why it is so easy for others to set themselves up as their guardians. It is so easy not to be of age. If I have a book which understands for me, a pastor who has a conscience for me, a physician who decides my diet, and so forth, I need not trouble myself. I need not think, if I can only pay - others will easily undertake the irksome work for me.That the step to competence is held to be very dangerous by the far greater portion of mankind...”

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About Immanuel Kant

German philosopher

Immanuel Kant was a German philosopher of the Enlightenment, born in Königsberg in the Kingdom of Prussia. He remains a central figure in modern Western philosophy. His work ranged across epistemology, metaphysics, logic, ethics, aesthetics, political theory, and philosophy of religion. These wide-ranging writings made him one of the most influential and closely discussed thinkers in the modern tradition.

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Books by Immanuel Kant

Kritik der reinen Vernunft

2007

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Kritik der praktischen Vernunft

2007

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Kritik der Urteilskraft

1970

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Prolegomena

2005

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The Metaphysical Elements of Ethics

2006

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