Kant’s Version of Lessing’s Ditch
The Historical as a Drawbridge to the Rational
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21336300 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Brandon Love (0000-0001-7149-1669, Hong Kong Baptist University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 99 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Publication date | 2026-06-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | International Journal for Philosophy of Religion (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0020-7047 • E-ISSN: 1572-8684 |
| Publisher | Springer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1007/s11153-026-10007-7 |
| OpenAlex | W7161817875 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 14 |
While Kant is often seen as agreeing with Lessing’s ditch, this paper argues that Kant provides his own version of the ditch between the historical and the rational. Lessing’s ditch concerns rational truths revealed in history; Kant’s version is more focused on the realization of rationality within history. Kant agrees with Lessing that rational truths are necessary and historical truths are contingent and dispensable. However, Kant views human nature as containing a weakness such that the historical might always be needed for the recognition of the rational. Kant divides his treatment of Christianity into natural/revealed and natural/learned. Considering a religion as natural/revealed concerns its origin and essence. Kant deals with Christianity as natural/revealed in Parts One–Three of Religion , finding harmony between historical Christianity and rational religion, going so far as to say that the universal church originated with historical Christianity. Considering a religion as natural/learned concerns how the religion is spread. Kant deals with Christianity as natural/learned in Part Four, saying that Jesus taught simply natural religion; later forms of Christianity are learned religion, in which the historical should be seen as a means, serving the rational end. Due to the (current) need for the historical, Kant allows for a drawbridge connecting the historical and rational, even though the rational does not rely on the historical for validity. Kant is uncertain of the future development of human reason, so he is unsure if the drawbridge can ever be raised, leaving us with only the rational
Christianity · Harmony (color) · Natural (archaeology) · Philosophy of religion · Rationality · Sensibility · Globalization, Historical Perspectives, and International Relations · Kantian Philosophy and Modern Interpretations · Philosophical Ethics and Theory
Immanuel Kant: Prolegomena to Any Future Metaphysics
The Ethical Commonwealth in History
On the proof of the spirit and of power (1777)
The two parts of Kant’s moral religion
The role of divine grace in Kant’s rational religion
Radical Evil, Social Contracts and the Idea of the Church in Kant
The education of the human race (1777–80)
Custom and Reason in Hume
Three Perspectives on Abraham's Defense against Kant's Charge of Immoral Conduct
| Highly cited | No |
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