On 30 May 2024, an event “Breakfast with Kant” was held within the series of events “Kant 300” on Level 11 of the National Library of Latvia.
An Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges said about his experience of reading Kant: “Kārlails mani iedvesmoja mācīties vācu valodu, un es mēģināju lasīt Kanta “Tīrā prāta kritiku” vāciski. Protams, es tajā iestigu – tāpat kā vairums cilvēku tajā iestieg, arī vairums vāciešu.” Together with the philosophers Elvīra Šimfa and Igors Gubenko, we will try to read a text written by Kant and to become mired in it.
This time it was not the book “Tīrā prāta kritika” or any of Kant’s renowned works belonging to his philosophical system, but his pre-critical period work “Kāda garreģa sapņi” about the Swedish mystic Emanuel Swedenborg. The realm into which we become mired by following Kant in his exploration of Swedenborg’s dreams, is a “realm of shadows”, a “paradise of fantasists”, a “limitless land which they can arrange as they want”, using a “hypochondriac mood, fairy tales and wonder-stories” a as building material. Kant criticizes, even ridicules Swedenborg, the mystic, however, he is also fascinated by Swedenborg. There is plenty of such fantastic, exciting, and possibly also dangerous persons like Swedenborg even in our days.
The philosophers discussed how to recognize modern-day Swedenborgs, how to treat them and to what extent each of us resembles the famous visionary.
Persons which participated in the conversation:
Elvīra Šimfa is a Doctor of Philosophy, leading researcher at the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology of the University of Latvia, Assistant Professor at the Faculty of History and Philosophy of the University of Latvia, she specializes in German philosophy of the 18th and 19th centuries, especially in philosophy of Immanuel Kant.
Igors Gubenko is a Doctor of Philosophy, leading researcher at the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology of the University of Latvia, Assistant Professor at the Faculty of History and Philosophy of the University of Latvia, he specializes in French philosophy of the 20th century.
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