Chapter “Contributions to a Kantology”. Schleiermacher’s Critical Assessment of Anthropology from a Pragmatic Point of View

Abstract

The paper examines Friedrich Schleiermacher’s 1799 review of Immanuel Kant’s Anthropology from a Pragmatic Point of View. Schleiermacher’s critique, published anonymously in the Athenaeum, adopts a harsh and ironic tone, deeming Kant’s work as trivial and flawed. Schleiermacher argues that Kant’s attempt to reconcile systematic and popular elements within his anthropology led to its failure, coining the term “Kantology” to refer to a superficial study of Kant’s personality rather than a substantive contribution to anthropology. Schleiermacher contends that Kant’s anthropology is internally inconsistent and overly reliant on a rigid distinction between physiological and pragmatic anthropology. According to Schleiermacher, this distinction oversimplifies human nature by neglecting the necessary unity between bodily and mental aspects. The paper highlights how Schleiermacher’s review is an important critique of Kant’s Anthropology, providing insights into both Kant’s and Schleiermacher’s philosophical views. Schleiermacher criticizes Kant’s approach as falling into “lower realism,” missing the transcendental and “higher realism” that he associates with religion and human freedom. Despite its acerbic tone, the review is seen as a valuable contribution to the study of Kant’s anthropology and Schleiermacher’s philosophical development. Schleiermacher’s review raises fundamental questions about the compatibility of Kant’s anthropology with his broader critical philosophy and offers a re-evaluation of how Kant’s ideas on human nature, freedom, and history are integrated into his system of thought.