Kant’s Christian Eschatology within the Boundaries of Mere Reason A Systematic Overview

Resumen

The aim of this paper is to systematically reconstruct the essential tenets of Kant’s doctrine of hope regarding the ‘last things’, as presented in the form of a Christian-inspired eschatological treatise. This Kantian doctrine is not only dispersed in Religion within the Boundaries of Mere Reason but also in various short writings on the philosophy of history and political philosophy from 1784 to 1798. The two main theses guiding and underpinning this paper are, firstly, that Kant’s philosophical eschatology can be accurately described, in a very precise sense, as ‘Christian eschatology within the boundaries of mere reason,’ and secondly, that it is necessary to distinguish within it two main parts: ‘phenomenal eschatology’ and ‘noumenal eschatology.’ Furthermore, Kant’s concern with the various issues involved in philosophical eschatology allows us to discover the intimate unity of many of his later writings, which on the surface deal with topics that seem far removed from one another. This concern also reveals essential aspects of Kant’s thought in his later years.