On Kant’s Remarks on Ludwig Heinrich Jakob's Examination of Men-delssohn's Morgenstunden (preface to the publication)
AbstractThis article considers the circumstances of the appearance of Kant’s remarks on the last book of M. Mendelssohn Morgenstunden… in relation to its analysis in L. G. von Jakob’s work. It is explained why Kant had to participate in debates with his opponents, despite the resolution to avoid them and concentrate on constructing a consistent and thus solid and effective system of philosophy. The significance of Kant’s small polemic works lies in that they explain the key elements of his system. Due to the objection to Mendelssohn’s reduction of philosophical debates to linguistic misunderstandings, i. e. discussions of words, it becomes clear that, from the perspective of the Königsberg philosopher, philosophy cannot exist as a linguistic theory. Therefore, similar attempts made after Kant are as futile as those made during his lifetime. Kant does not only discover mistakes in the works of his opponents, but also demonstrates their logical nature.