Kant and the Skull Collectors: German Anthropology from Blumenbach to Kant

In Corey Dyck & Falk Wunderlich (eds.), Kant and His German Contemporaries : Volume 1, Logic, Mind, Epistemology, Science and Ethics. New York, NY, USA: Cambridge University Press. pp. 192-210 (2017)
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Abstract

This essay lays out the historical case for a broader assessment of Kant’s relationship to Blumenbach by focusing first on Kant’s review of Herder in 1785 as the best lens through which to understand not only their respective theories of generation but indeed the specific motivation leading to Kant’s support for Blumenbach at all. The results of this inquiry will suggest that while Kant might have been interested in gaining the support of the rising star of the Göttingen medical faculty, Blumenbach’s own theories did little to influence Kant’s approach to either generation-theory or race.

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Jennifer Mensch
Western Sydney University

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Works Cited.[author unknown] - 2020 - In María Del Del Rosario Acosta López & Colin McQuillan (eds.), Critique in German Philosophy: From Kant to Critical Theory. Albany: SUNY Press. pp. 395-414.

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