Idea for a Universal History with a Cosmopolitan Purpose
Encyclopedia
"Idea for a Universal History with a Cosmopolitan Purpose" or "The Idea of a Universal History on a Cosmopolitical Plan" is a 1784 essay by Prussian philosopher Immanuel Kant
(1724 – 1804), a lecturer in anthropology
and geography
at Königsberg University. The essay was published as Kant was gaining repute as a philosopher following the publication of his revolutionary treatise on epistemology, The Critique of Pure Reason (1781) and preceding his critique of ethical theory, Critique of Practical Reason
(1788). "Idea for a Universal History with a Cosmopolitan Purpose" embroiled Kant in controversy due to the political implications of its critique of his contemporary Johann Gottfried Herder
, the doyen of German nationalism.
The essay proceeds by way of nine propositions through which Kant seeks to prove his claim that rational and moral autonomy
will inevitably defeat the compulsions of self-interested individualism. Kant seeks to achieve this by advancing a hierarchical account of development of world history
. In writing from the perspective of a universal future history
, Kant valorizes an unrealized future state (though he is aware, however, of the problem of theorizing without empirical basis, recognizing the appearance of irrationality that such an enterprise exhibits and criticizing Herder for extracting conclusions from speculative pyschologizing).
Kant classifies the constitutional republics of contemporary Western Europe—marked as they were by federalism, status-seeking, individualism and a degree of moral and cultural maturity—as belonging to an advanced, yet still intermediate, stage of development, judging them to be civilized but not thoroughly moral. All other societies are deemed inferior and judged according to the benchmark of European nation-states. Kant proposes that the European nations were tending towards statehood in a federation characterized by a universalist and cosmopolitan moral culture—a historical end-state also approached (albeit at a slower pace) by those inferior non-European societies, defined as they still were by the embrace of faith.
Immanuel Kant
Immanuel Kant was a German philosopher from Königsberg , researching, lecturing and writing on philosophy and anthropology at the end of the 18th Century Enlightenment....
(1724 – 1804), a lecturer in anthropology
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
and geography
Geography
Geography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
at Königsberg University. The essay was published as Kant was gaining repute as a philosopher following the publication of his revolutionary treatise on epistemology, The Critique of Pure Reason (1781) and preceding his critique of ethical theory, Critique of Practical Reason
Critique of Practical Reason
The Critique of Practical Reason is the second of Immanuel Kant's three critiques, first published in 1788. It follows on from his Critique of Pure Reason and deals with his moral philosophy....
(1788). "Idea for a Universal History with a Cosmopolitan Purpose" embroiled Kant in controversy due to the political implications of its critique of his contemporary Johann Gottfried Herder
Johann Gottfried Herder
Johann Gottfried von Herder was a German philosopher, theologian, poet, and literary critic. He is associated with the periods of Enlightenment, Sturm und Drang, and Weimar Classicism.-Biography:...
, the doyen of German nationalism.
The essay proceeds by way of nine propositions through which Kant seeks to prove his claim that rational and moral autonomy
Autonomy
Autonomy is a concept found in moral, political and bioethical philosophy. Within these contexts, it is the capacity of a rational individual to make an informed, un-coerced decision...
will inevitably defeat the compulsions of self-interested individualism. Kant seeks to achieve this by advancing a hierarchical account of development of world history
History of the world
The history of the world or human history is the history of humanity from the earliest times to the present, in all places on Earth, beginning with the Paleolithic Era. It excludes non-human natural history and geological history, except insofar as the natural world substantially affects human lives...
. In writing from the perspective of a universal future history
Future history
A future history is a postulated history of the future and is used by authors in the subgenre of speculative fiction to construct a common background for fiction...
, Kant valorizes an unrealized future state (though he is aware, however, of the problem of theorizing without empirical basis, recognizing the appearance of irrationality that such an enterprise exhibits and criticizing Herder for extracting conclusions from speculative pyschologizing).
Kant classifies the constitutional republics of contemporary Western Europe—marked as they were by federalism, status-seeking, individualism and a degree of moral and cultural maturity—as belonging to an advanced, yet still intermediate, stage of development, judging them to be civilized but not thoroughly moral. All other societies are deemed inferior and judged according to the benchmark of European nation-states. Kant proposes that the European nations were tending towards statehood in a federation characterized by a universalist and cosmopolitan moral culture—a historical end-state also approached (albeit at a slower pace) by those inferior non-European societies, defined as they still were by the embrace of faith.
See also
- Federal Europe, a political aspiration of cosmopolitan Europeans
- Genealogical methodGenealogical methodThe genealogical method is a well-established procedure in ethnography. It was initiated by early ethnographers to identify all-important links of kinship determined by marriage and descent. Genealogy or kinship commonly plays a crucial role in the structure of non-industrial societies,...
, a mode of cultural theorising most memorably employed by Friedrich Nietzsche in the 19th century - Phenomenology of SpiritPhenomenology of SpiritPhänomenologie des Geistes is one of G.W.F. Hegel's most important philosophical works. It is translated as The Phenomenology of Spirit or The Phenomenology of Mind due to the dual meaning in the German word Geist. The book's working title, which also appeared in the first edition, was Science of...
, a seminal work by German Idealist philosopher Hegel which advances a determinist account of history - Three Worlds TheoryThree Worlds TheoryThe Three Worlds Theory , developed by Chinese Communist leader Mao Zedong , posited that international relations comprise three politico–economic worlds: the First World, the superpowers, the Second World, the superpowers' allies, and the Third World, the nations of the Non-Aligned...
, according to which nations fall into one of three stages of development
External links
- Idea For A Universal History With A Cosmopolitan Purpose at the Marxist Internet Archive