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Immanuel Kant

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Autographs Start Price:NA Estimated At:30,000.00 - 40,000.00 USD
Immanuel Kant

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Auction Date:2015 Feb 11 @ 18:00 (UTC-5 : EST/CDT)
Location:236 Commercial St., Suite 100, Boston, Massachusetts, 02109, United States
ALS - Autograph Letter Signed
ANS - Autograph Note Signed
AQS - Autograph Quotation Signed
AMQS - Autograph Musical Quotation Signed
DS - Document Signed
FDC - First Day Cover
Inscribed - “Personalized”
ISP - Inscribed Signed Photograph
LS - Letter Signed
SP - Signed Photograph
TLS - Typed Letter Signed
Excessively rare handwritten manuscript in German, unsigned, one page both sides, 4 x 4.5, no date but circa 1766. Kant pens his thoughts on society, taste, and aesthetics. In part (translated): “V. The most important means of finding anywhere the happiness of life is society. Hence originates the need for society, but after having experienced it for a long time, there comes the longing for retreat, to be secluded from society…Man is seeking unity with other people, whereas nature wants discord in order to spur incessant action. Friendship resulting from affection is a mere idea. He is sociable who can be a pleasant part of any society. My dear friends, there is no friend…One can only live a useful life in one’s own eyes by acting, not by enjoying. A useful man is at the same time a happy man, especially if he has restrained his self-interest. If one is used to seeking happiness in distraction, the mood becomes empty in solitude and a horrible wasteland…All that is pleasing without any interest is beautiful. All that interests us, but only insofar as it is created by the subject itself, is good. All that is pleasing for objective reasons is beautiful.” Scattered foxing and toning, otherwise fine condition. Accompanied by a small offprint article by Arthur Warda.

This sheet comes from Kant’s personal copy of his work Observations on the Feeling of the Beautiful and Sublime, first published in Konigsberg in 1764. He added notes in the margins and on individual sheets interleaved within the book, most of which have since been published as ‘Remarks’ in conjunction with Observations. In addition to his ideas on aesthetics, Kant explores human nature and differences between people. As a whole, Observations represents an important stage in the development of Kant’s later philosophy. At the bottom of this sheet is a two-line addendum in the hand of the clergyman Christian Friedrich Puttlich, who had attended Kant’s lectures and in whose estate this leaf was found. Exceptional content in this rare manuscript from early in the career of the influential philosopher.