Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysic of Morals

Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) was a Prussian philosopher whose best-known works include the Critique of Pure Reason, the Critique of Practical Reason, the Critique of Judgment, and the Metaphysics of Morals. The fourth of eleven children, he attended the University of Königsberg beginning in 1740, where he later became a professor of philosophy. A central figure in moral philosphy, Kant's doctrines rely upon the principles of human autonomy and rationality. His work influenced-either as a foundation or a point of opposition-such later philosophers as Hegel, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, and Foucault, and his ideas have affected fields ranging from metaphysics and ethics to epistemology and political philosophy.