Who was Immanuel Kant?

‘School of Thought’ is the IEA discussion series based on ‘101 Great Liberal Thinkers’ by Dr Eamonn Butler. Each week, Professor Syed Kamall, Academic and Research Director at the Institute of Economic Affairs, discusses classical liberalism’s role in bringing the modern world into existence, profiling the lives and ideas of some of the leading thinkers on individual liberty and examining their relevance today.

In this week’s episode, Syed sits down with Adam Bartha to discuss philosopher Immanuel Kant. Adam is the Director of the European Policy Information Center (EPICENTER), an independent initiative of nine leading think tanks from across the European Union.

Brief Bio:

Immanuel Kant (1724–1804). German philosopher.

Key ideas: Universal right to freedom; individuals as ends, not means; state limited to defending rights and freedom; moral action demands free choice; moral and political principles must be universal; rights are conventional, not natural; government as contractual and limited, not democratic; rule of law.

Key works: Critique of Pure Reason (1781); The Metaphysics of Morals (1797).