Kant, the most revolutionary and important figure in Western philosophy since Aristotle, wrote the
Critique of Judgment as the capstone of his trilogy of
Critiques. Through its investigation of the beautiful and the sublime, it set the terms for modern aesthetics and art criticism. Its discussion of the significance of nature is important for theology and science alike. Most important, the third
Critiques exploration of the contributions that scientific thinking and aesthetic sensitivity each make to our sense of humanity remains of the most profound significance to anyone interested in morality and the development of culture.
About the author
Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) has been caricatured as a stiff German professor whose Stoic habits were so predictable that the people of Königsberg, his hometown, could set their clocks by his daily walks. Kants life is best described as a heroic struggle to discover order within chaos or, better, an effort to fix human thought and behavior within it proper limits. He lived and worked during the Enlightenment, a time when political, religious, and intellectual freedom erupted across the Western world.