Books

First edition. Warda 193, Adickes 96a. This book brought together three essays previously written by Kant but blocked by the Religionsexaminations-Kommission headed by the Prussian censor-in-chief, Johan Christoph W�llner. Following the death of Frederick Willhelm II in November 1797 and the consequent sacking of W�llner, their publication as "The Conflict of the Faculties" became possible. In the Introduction Kant gives the full text of a 1794 letter of reprimand by Frederick Willhelm and his own answer. He also rejoices that there is now enlightened government again, releasing the human spirit from its chains. 'What follows is a mixed bag. Even though Kant tried to unify these three disparate themes into a book � it is only the first essay [on the relation between the philosophical and the theological faculties] that deals with such a conflict � The second is indeed an interesting essay [on whether the human race is progressing] but whether it amounts to a discussion of the relation between the faculty of philosophy and the faculty of law may be doubted � The third essay [ostensibly on the conflict between philosophy and medicine] is highly interesting for understanding Kant's own view of life and death' (Kuehn, Kant, A Biography, pp. 404-6). PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: 8vo, xxx, 205 pp., early 19th-century marbled boards with red spine label lettered gilt, rubbed at extremities and chipped at spine foot, internally clean and fresh, with no stamps or inscriptions and only isolated light spots, a very good copy.

Immanuel Kant's 'The Conflict of the Faculties' explores the competing authorities of the faculties within a university framework, advocating for the autonomy of philosophical inquiry.