Immanuel Kant, born in Königsberg, Prussia (now Kaliningrad, Russia), in 1724, is one of the most influential philosophers of the modern era. His life coincided with a period of radical transformation in Europe, marked by the Enlightenment, a movement that promoted reason as the best tool for reforming society and understanding the world. During his life, Kant witnessed revolutionary events such as the American Revolution (1776) and the French Revolution (1789), whose ideas of liberty and equality profoundly influenced his thinking. Kant devoted himself primarily to the study of metaphysics and epistemology, but his contributions also extended to ethics and aesthetics. He developed the ’Critique of Pure Reason’, which examines the limits and capabilities of human reason and introduced a fundamental distinction between things as they appear to us and things in themselves. This distinction has had a lasting impact on all subsequent philosophy. Kant’s approach paved the way for future developments in philosophy and influenced Western thought on many levels.



Kant’s Enlightenment
In his 1784 essay ’What is Enlightenment?’, Immanuel Kant defines Enlightenment as the liberation of man from his state of immaturity, which he attributes to a lack of courage and determination in using one’s own intellect without the guidance of others. ’Sapere aude! Have courage to use your own intellect!’ is therefore the motto of the Enlightenment.’ This key passage underlines the importance that Kant gives to the autonomous use of reason as fundamental to personal and collective progress. Minority is self-imposed when its cause lies not in a lack of intelligence, but in a lack of determination and courage to use one’s mind without the direction of another.According to Kant, freedom is essential for the full development of the individual and, collectively, of society. He argues that a public can only achieve Enlightenment if it is allowed to make free and public use of reason in all fields, calling for a kind of emancipated thought and action.

Kant and Science: The Integrative Enterprise
Immanuel Kant, in his profound philosophical examination, was significantly influenced by the scientific revolution, especially by the works of Isaac Newton. Seeking to establish a metaphysics that could coexist harmoniously with natural science, Kant developed a unique understanding of critical concepts such as space and time. In his work ’Critique of Pure Reason’, he proposed that space and time were not absolute entities, but a priori forms of intuition that structure our sensory experience, an idea that revolutionized philosophical thought and anticipated future physical theories. This approach not only did he integrate the rigorous Newtonian scientific method into philosophy, but he also opened a new way to understand how we know the physical world. His vision suggested that the laws of nature and the events of physics were accessible through the synthesis of pure reason and empiricism, a balance that still resonates in contemporary science.



Kant and the Limit of Reason
In the ’Critique of Pure Reason’, Immanuel Kant carries out a revolutionary analysis of the use and limits of reason itself, proposing to distinguish between synthetic a priori judgments and analytical a posteriori judgments. The former, central to his philosophy, are judgments that expand our knowledge without deriving directly from experience.Kant, through this work, tries to contain the path of human knowledge within the confines of what is purely rational, clearly separating the phenomenon (reality as we perceive it) from the noumenon (reality as it is in itself, independent of our perception). This distinction is vital to understanding the limitations of our reason and the nature of our perceptions. Kant argues that the noumenon is something not completely accessible through pure reason, marking with this statement one of the most significant dichotomies of modern thought.

Beauty and the sublime in Kant’s Critique of Judgement
Immanuel Kant, in his work ’Critique of Judgement’, explores deeply the human aesthetic faculty, laying the foundations of modern philosophical aesthetics. This third critique not only completes his colossal critical project, but also opens new ways to understand the role of aesthetics in the human mind. Kant distinguishes between the beautiful and the sublime, two central concepts of his aesthetic discourse. beautiful, according to Kant, is that which is universally pleasant without a concept, unlike the sublime which evokes a pleasure mixed with awe, a feeling that surpasses any attempt at sensory representation. This work emphasizes how the faculty of judgment plays a crucial role in aesthetic interpretation, acting as a bridge between the sensory world and the intellectual realm. Aesthetic judgment, therefore, not only evaluates what is sensorially perceptible, but also strengthens the bond between sensibility and intellect, elevating human experience beyond mere sensory pleasure.

The Rigour of the Categorical Imperative According to Kant
Immanuel Kant, an 18th-century Prussian philosopher, formulated one of the most influential and rigorous ethical theories: the categorical imperativeThis principle, the foundation of Kantian morality, states that an action is morally right only if it can be universalized, that is, applied in every similar situation, regardless of personal interests or desires. The categorical imperative is divided into three formulations, but the most famous one exhorts us to act in such a way that the maxim of our action can become a universal law of nature. Kant insists on the autonomy of the will as a pillar of ethics, proposing a model of morality based not on the outcomes of actions, but on their conformity to universal laws. For example, in the case of a promise made with the intent of not keeping it, according to Kant, if everyone lied, trust would be lost and the very concept of a promise would lose meaning, making the act of promising impossible.

Kant’s legacy in contemporary philosophy
Immanuel Kant’s presence in contemporary philosophy remains marked and undisputed, permeating various areas of modern thought. His critical reflections on the autonomy of reason and the limits of human knowledge have laid the foundations for various developments in subsequent philosophical thought, influencing both metaphysics and ethics. Despite universal appreciation, some of his ideas, such as the rigid division between phenomena and noumena, have been subject to criticism and re-elaboration in the context of post-Kantian theories. Critics such as Hegel have contested Kant’s approach to the duality between reason and reality, seeking a more integrated synthesis of these dimensions. Similarly, in the ethical realm, despite the power of his ’categorical imperative’, Kantian formalism has been seen as limiting, pushing subsequent thinkers to seek a more concrete and pragmatic ground for ethics.Today, the debate between opposing schools of thought and those that build on the Kantian edifice testifies to the enduring relevance of Kant, who continues to be a central figure in contemporary philosophical debate.