Universal Natural History / the Theory of the Heavens Pb [Paperback]

Immanuel Kant (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1981

Using Isaac Newton s mathematical principles and laws of motion and taking up an idea first suggested by Emanuel Swedenborg, Immanual Kant, the greatest philosopher of the eighteenth century, in 1755 produced a detailed account of what has come to be known as the Nebular hypothesis, still considered the most plausible explanation for the formation of the solar system: the structure of the universe develops from widely dispersed materials scattered throughout space which, under the influence of the forces of attraction and repulsion, rotate, flatten, and over time produce stars and planets. In his account, Kant also considers the ring of Saturn, the formation of moons, and other celestial phenomena (like the axial rotation of the planets and the development of comets). He also lets his imagination run rampant in a fascinating exploration of what living creatures must be like on other planets.The extent to which Kant fully understood the mathematical complexities involved in his explanation has been strongly challenged, but, for all that, his account is an important document in the most important trend of natural science in the eighteenth century, that is, placing scientific accounts of natural phenomena on a historical basis and seeing them as the result of a process of development maintained by mechanical forces (a revolutionary trend which culminates a century later in the work of Charles Darwin). In this way, while honoring Newton s achievement, Kant is also issuing a direct challenge to it.Kant s work also offers an enthusiastic defense of the design argument (that the harmonies in the design of the solar system are the best physical evidence we have for the existence of God), a claim which, ironically enough, his later philosophy would do so much to undermine.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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Language Notes

Text: English, German (translation)

Product Details

• Paperback: 312 pages
• Publisher: Mercat Press (August 1981)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0707302943
• ISBN-13: 978-0707302942
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,944,719 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) was one of the most influential philosophers of all time. His comprehensive and profound thinking on aesthetics, ethics, and knowledge has had an immense impact on all subsequent philosophy.

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THE FIRST PRESENTATION OF THE "NEBULAR" HYPOTHESIS, BY A MAJOR PHILOSOPHER, June 24, 2010

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Steven H. Propp (Sacramento, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Universal Natural History and Theory of the Heavens (Paperback)

Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) was an 18th-century German philosopher. In this book, which was written in 1755 (and was virtually unknown in its day, and was not appreciated for another century), he develops the "nebular hypothesis" (which had been proposed in 1735 by Emanuel Swedenborg) for the origin and development of the solar system.

Kant notes early on, "I recognize the great value of those proofs which are drawn from the beauty and perfect arrangement of the universe to establish the existence of a Supremely Wise Creator." He adds, "there is a God, just because nature even in chaos cannot proceed otherwise than regularly and according to order.... I have tried to remove the objections which seemed to threaten my positions from the side of religion."

He defines as the "Systematic Constitution of the Universe" the fact that "a number of heavenly bodies which are arranged round a common centre, have at the same time been so limited to a certain plane that they have freedom to diverge from it on both sides only as little as possible; when the divergence takes place gradually and only in those bodies which are furthest removed from the centre, and therefore have less participation in the relations indicated than the others."

He makes the noteworthy prediction, "we may cherish the hope that new planets will perhaps be discovered beyond Saturn, and that these will be found to be more eccentric in their orbit than Saturn, and therefore nearer the character of comets."

He also notes, "All existing beings depend on One Cause, which is the intelligence of God; they can therefore bring no other consequences with them than such as carry with them a representation of the perfection which is included in the Divine idea."