Home > Philosophy, Theology > Vol 12 2025 Abstract 1
Article Icon Article Information
Original Research Article | Open Access | Peer Reviewed update icon Check for updates

Some Speculations on Biological Evolution from Kant’s and Goethe’s Responses to Egyptian Philosophy

Ryan L. Vilbig
Abstract Both Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) have been recognized for their scientific ideas that anticipated the later theory of biological evolution (Mayr 1959; Wells 1967). While Kant had referenced the evolutionary rebirth of the phoenix in 1755 and then quoted the inscription of the Egyptian goddess Isis’ Temple as early as 1763, he later questioned in 1796: “though unable to lift the veil of Isis, can [philosophers] yet make it so thin that one may divine the goddess beneath it”? (1796/2002: 439). Along similar lines of thought, Goethe had written of nature’s veil in his artistic and experimental portrayals of biological phenomena in 1808 as follows: “A weaving flowing, Life all-glowing, Thus at Time’s humming loom ’tis my hand prepares, The garment of Life which the Deity wears!” (Goethe 1808/2018: 17). For both, their diverse and subtle references to Egyptian philosophical imagery helped frame their proposals of evolutionary concepts, and these together are demonstrable of characteristics, simultaneously, of a hesitancy to speculate beyond the bounds of their reason, as well as a willingness to allow their thoughts to emerge in new and unexplored contexts.
Full Text: PDF   |   DOI: https://doi.org/10.15640/jpt.v12p1
Article History:
Received: 14 February 2025 | Accepted: 11 March 2025 | Published: 24 March 2025
Reviewer(s): Kevin Kimble, National Chung Cheng University, Taiwan; Phone Number: 886-5-272-0411.
Email: [email protected] Dr. Oluwasegun Aluko, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife 220103, Osun, Nigeria; ORCID iD: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1248-1633; Phone Number: +234(0)805-508-9002.
Email: [email protected]
Address for Correspondence: Ryan L. Vilbig, St Louis, Missouri 63021-5996.
Email: [email protected]
Cite this article:
APA | MLA | Chicago | Harvard | Vancouver
Article Metrics (Citations):
For the most up-to-date citation information for this article, please refer to Google Scholar.

Note: Citation statistics will only be available once the article is indexed in Google Scholar.