Immanuel Kant

Immanuel Kant was born on April 22, 1724 in Konigsburg, East Prussia. At age 8, he entered the Collegium Fridiricianum, a pietistic Latin school, where he remained for 8 1/2 years and studied the classics. he then entered the University of Konigsburg in 1740 to study philosophy, mathematics, and physics. In 1756, he received a degree and was made a lecturer, and in 1770 he became a professor. The death of his father halted his university career so he became a private tutor. …

…was a "realist" believing that objects exist separately from us. He also thought that we could only know their essences through "clear and distinct" innate ideas. This made him a "transcendental" realist. Kant's thoughts were mainly influenced by the rationalism of Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz, Christian Wolff, and the empiricism of David Hume. Since Kant's thought is truly the basis of modern philosopy, it is still the main point of departure for the 21st century.