Philosophy of Religion Research

The Influence of Swedenborgian Experiences on Kant's Thought

Document Type : Original Research

Authors

1 Assistant Professor, Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, Yasouj University, Yasouj, Iran

2 M.A. Student of Philosophical Logic, Department of Philosophy and Logic, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran.

Abstract

The conventional interpretation of Kant's critical philosophy, which emphasizes his response to Hume's empiricism and delineates the limits of knowledge, overlooks this crucial point that Kant's entire thought cannot be fully examined without considering his concern for conceptualizing the noumenal world and its relation to the phenomenal world. Contrary to the tenets of the Enlightenment, Kant grappled with Swedenborg's mystical experiences, realizing that the phenomenal indeterminacy of the object of such experiences does not negate their possibility of existence and significance. This recognition compelled Kant to integrate the formulation of the noumenal world and its connection to the phenomenal world within his critical system. Despite strong denials, one could argue that the influence of Swedenborg's thought on the overall structure and some of Kant's ideas and concepts is notable enough to raise questions about the similarities between his system and that of the great Swedish mystic. This inquiry, using a hermeneutic approach, invokes Swedenborgian teachings, concepts, and terminologies in comparison with elements of critical philosophy, highlighting both similarities and differences. Among the notable similarities are the distinctions and correlations between the phenomenal and noumenal worlds, the subjectivity of the concepts of space and time, the proportionality of actions to the moral law as a primary condition for attaining the highest good, and the concept of the kingdom of ends. While these parallels may reflect the depth of the influence of Swedenborgian experiences on the Kantian system or the possibility of a shared origin, they do not undermine the originality of Kant's philosophy.

Keywords

Main Subjects

Cassirer, Ernst. 1983. Kant's Life and Thought. Translated by James Haden. New Haven and London: Yale University Press.
Esterson, Rebecca Kline. 2017. Secrets of Heaven: Allegory, Jews, the European Enlightenment and the Case of Emanuel Swedenborg. Boston University Theses & Dissertations. Massachusetts: Boston University.
Goldmann, Lucien. 1401 SH. Immanuel Kant. Translated by Parviz Babaei. Gilan: Negah Publication. [In Persian]
Heine, Heinrich. 2007. On the History of Religion and Philosophy in Germany and Other Writings. Translated by Terry Pinkard. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Johnson, Gregory R. 2002. Kant on Swedenborg: Dreams of a Spirit-Seer and Other Writings. Translated by Gregory R. Johnson and Glenn A. Magee. West Chester, PA: Swedenborg Foundation.
Kant, Immanuel. 1383 SH. Critique of Judgment. Translated by Abdolkarim Rashidian. Tehran: Nashr-e Ney. [In Persian]
Kant, Immanuel. 1399 SH. The Conflict of the Faculties. Translated by Sayyedeh Masumeh Mousavi. Tehran: Shabkhiz. [In Persian]
Kant, Immanuel. 1400 SH. Critique of Pure Reason. Translated by Behrouz Nazari. Tehran: Qoqnoos. [In Persian]
Kant, Immanuel. 1401 SH. Critique of Practical Reason. Translated by Sayed Masoud Hosseini. Tehran: Nashr-e Ney. [In Persian]
Kant, Immanuel. 1900. Dreams of a Spirit-seer. Illustrated by Dreams of Metaphysics. Translated by Emanuel F. & Frank Sewall. London: S. Sonnenschein.
Kant, Immanuel. 1969. Dreams of a Spirit Seer. Translated by John Manolesco. New York: Vantage Press.
Kant, Immanuel. 1992.  Theoretical Philosophy 1755-1770. Translated by David Walford & Ralf Meerbote. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Kant, Immanuel. 1996a.  Practical Philosophy. Edited by Mary J. Gregor. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Kant, Immanuel. 1996b. Religion and Rational Theology. Translated by Allen W. Wood & George Di Giovanni. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Kant, Immanuel. 1997.  Leaures on Ethics. Translated by Ralf Peter Heath. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Kant, Immanuel. 1999. Correspondence. Edited by Arnulf Zweig. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Kant, Immanuel. 2009.  Universal Natural History and Theory of the Heavens. Translated by Ian Johnston. Virginia: Richer Resources Publications.
Palmquist, Stephen R. 2019. Kant and Mysticism: Critique as the Experience of Baring All in Reason's Light (Contemporary Studies in Idealism). New York: Lexington Books.
Russell, Bertrand. 1388 SH.  A History of Western Philosophy. Translated by Najaf Daryabandari.  Digital Edition. [In Persian]
Sewall, Frank. 1910. Swedenborg and the Sapientia Angelica. Montana: Kessinger Publishing.
Swedenborg, Emanuel. 1955. The Letters and Memorials of Emanuel Swedenborg, vol. 2. Translated by Alfred Acton. Bryn Athyn, Pa.: Swedenborg Scientific Association.
Swedenborg, Emanuel. 1998. Arcana Coelestia. Translated by John Clowes. West Chester, PA: Swedenborg Foundation.
Swedenborg, Emanuel. 2009. Heaven and Its Wonders and Hell.  Translated by John C. Ager. West Chester, PA: Swedenborg Foundation.
Swedenborg, Emanuel. 2010. True Christianity, vol. 1. Translated by Jonathan S. Rose. West Chester, PA: Swedenborg Foundation.
Temple, Dennis. 1994. “Kant's Vision of the Moral Hero and the Laws of Arithmeric.” Ultimate Reality and Meaning 17 (2):108-117.
Vaihinger, Hans. 1892. Kommentar zu Kants Kritik der reinen Vernunft, vol. 2. Stuttgart, Berlin, and Leipzig: Union Deutsche Verlagsgesellschaft.
Philosophy of Religion Research
Volume 23, Issue 1 - Serial Number 45
April 2025
Pages 101-122