BODY AND PRACTICE IN KANT

34
of mental illness results. 59 In his description of the functioning of the
mind, Kant also includes what in other contexts is called imagination
[Einbildungskraft]. He describes the capacity of the mind to ‘paint
pictures of things that are not immediately present’. 60 When this capacity
is disturbed there occurs the mental illness called Verrückung.
What is interesting in all this is not only that we recognize the
perspective from Universal natural history but it is also worth noting how
the cognitive powers of the mind, later to appear in the elevated spheres
of transcendental philosophy, are here discussed within the down-toearth
field of mental diseases. Kant more than suggests that these diseases
are caused by bodily disturbances. 61 He warns against what he takes to be
a common prejudice of his time, namely the assumption that mental
illnesses have only mental causes. Contrary to this common belief, the
causes of mental illnesses are primarily to be sought in bodily
disturbances, he claims. 62
The idea that mental diseases are caused by
bodily disturbances is also implied by his constant shifting between the
notion of a disturbed head [Kopf] or brain [Gehirn] on the one hand
and a disturbed mind [Gemüt] or soul [Seele] on the other, as if it were
obvious and beyond dispute that these corresponded to each other.
Maladies of the mind is a text devoid of any ontological hypotheses.
This does not mean, however, that Kant has now put all interest in
ontology behind him. On the contrary, two years later, in 1766, ontology
again becomes a major topic of discussion. However, the approach is
now more critical and agnostic than ever.
1.8 Dreams of a spirit-seer
Dreams of a spirit-seer from 1766 is one of the most commented on of all
Kant’s works apart from the three Critiques. Its association with the
Swedish mystic Emmanuel Swedenborg, its dialectical and ironic style,
and its critical examination of central aspects of traditional ontology have
continued to intrigue readers up until our own time, resulting in a
number of commentaries. 63 It is often seen as heralding a new critical
59
THE EMBODIED MIND
Ak II: 264.
60
Ak II: 265.
61
That physical decay may negatively influence our cognitive functioning, was
maintained also in Universal natural history, cf. Ak I: 357.
62
Ak II: 270.
63
For a discussion of Dreams of a spirit-seer and its significance within in Kant's
development, as well as a survey of various interpretations of this text, see for
instance Laywine (1993), 15ff. or Shell (1996), 106ff.