Kant on Fear and Courage, Freedom and Anxiety
-
Bärbel Frischmann
Abstract
Fear and anxiety are constitutive of human nature. They inform us about danger and thus help us to protect ourselves from it. The topic of fear – anxiety does not play a significant role in Kant’s philosophy. Nevertheless, it serves as an informative example of how Kant views humanity. In his Anthropology from a Pragmatic Perspective Kant identifies – regarding fear – different degrees that correspond to his division into nature, temperament and character. Kant’s primary interest lies in repeatedly examining what it means to be human in relation to the central task of self-determination through one’s own reason. If reason succeeds in not allowing fear to dominate one’s actions, the person concerned demonstrates courage of character. Kant also recognized that there is a kind of anxiety of one’s own freedom, because autonomy requires courage, which should also be mentioned because of an interesting parallel to Kierkegaard’s important concept of anxiety.
References
Begemann, C. 1987. Furcht und Angst im Prozeß der Aufklärung. Zur Literatur und Bewußtseinsgeschichte des 18. Jahrhunderts. Frankfurt: Athenäum.Suche in Google Scholar
Bergo, B. 2021. Anxiety. A Philosophical History. Oxford: Oxford University Press.10.1093/oso/9780197539712.001.0001Suche in Google Scholar
Blanke, T. 2006. Das Böse in der politischen Theorie. Die Furcht vor der Freiheit bei Kant, Hegel und vielen anderen. Bielefeld: transcript.10.1515/9783839404652Suche in Google Scholar
Brandt, R. 1999. Kritischer Kommentar zu Kants Anthropologie in pragmatischer Hinsicht. Hamburg: Meiner.10.28937/978-3-7873-2796-6Suche in Google Scholar
Fremstedal, R. 2020. “Kant and Existentialism: Inescapable Freedom and Self-Deception.” In The Palgrave Handbook of German Idealism and Existentialism, edited by Jon Stewart. Basingstoke, 51-75. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan.10.1007/978-3-030-44571-3_3Suche in Google Scholar
Frischmann, B. 2023. Angstwesen Mensch. Furcht, Ängste, Angst und was sie bedeuten. Berlin: J.B. Metzler.10.1007/978-3-662-67876-3Suche in Google Scholar
Kant, I. 1783. “Beantwortung der Frage: Was ist Aufklärung?” In Kants Werke. Akademie Textausgabe, vol. VIII. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter [1968].Suche in Google Scholar
Kant, I. 1786. “Mutmaßlicher Anfang der Menschengeschichte.” In Kants Werke. Akademie Textausgabe, vol. VIII. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 1968.Suche in Google Scholar
Kant, I. 1798. “Anthropologie in Pragmatischer Hinsicht.” In Kants Werke. Akademie Textausgabe, VII. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter.Suche in Google Scholar
Kant, I. 1996. “An Answer to the Question: What Is Enlightenment?” In Immanuel Kant. Practical Philosophy, translated and edited by Mary J. Gregor, 11–22. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.10.1017/CBO9780511813306.005Suche in Google Scholar
Kant, Immanuel 2006. Anthropology from a Pragmatic Point of View. Translated and edited by Robert B. Louden. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Suche in Google Scholar
Kant, I. 2013. “Conjectural Beginning of Human History.” In Anthropology, History, and Education, edited by Günter Zöller, and Robert B. Louden, 163–75. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Suche in Google Scholar
Kant-Lexikon 2015. Edited by Marcus Willaschek, Jürgen Stolzenberg, Georg Mohr, Stefano Bacin. Berlin: De Gruyter.Suche in Google Scholar
Kierkegaard, S. 1980. The Concept of Anxiety. Edited and Translated by Reidar Thomte in collaboration with Albert B. Anderson. Kierkegaards Writings, VIII. Princeton: Princeton University Press.Suche in Google Scholar
Rohls, J. 2014. “Kierkegaards Reflexionen über Geist und Sünde im Kontext des deutschen Idealismus.” In Kierkegaard im Kontext des deutschen Idealismus, edited by Axel Hutter, and Anders Moe Rasmussen, 203–40. Berlin: De Gruyter.Suche in Google Scholar
Stewart, J. 2020. “Kierkegaard: A Transitional Figure from German Idealism to Existentialism.” In The Palgrave Handbook of German Idealism and Existentialism, edited by Jon Stewart, 209–40. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan.10.1007/978-3-030-44571-3_9Suche in Google Scholar
© 2025 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
