''Thoughts on the True Estimation of Living Forces'' () is

Immanuel Kant Immanuel Kant (, , ; 22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804) was a German philosopher and one of the central Enlightenment thinkers. Born in Königsberg, Kant's comprehensive and systematic works in epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, and ...

's first published work. Written in 1744–46Eric Watkins (ed.), ''Immanuel Kant: Natural Science'', Cambridge University Press, 2012
"Thoughts on the true estimation..."
and published in 1749, it reflected Kant's position as a

metaphysical Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that studies the fundamental nature of reality, the first principles of being, identity and change, space and time, causality, necessity, and possibility. It includes questions about the nature of conscio ...

dualist at the time. In it he argues against the ''vis motrix'' ("moving force") view supported by Wolff and other post-

Leibniz Gottfried Wilhelm (von) Leibniz . ( – 14 November 1716) was a German polymath active as a mathematician, philosopher, scientist and diplomat. He is one of the most prominent figures in both the history of philosophy and the history of ma ...

ian German

rationalists In philosophy, rationalism is the epistemological view that "regards reason as the chief source and test of knowledge" or "any view appealing to reason as a source of knowledge or justification".Lacey, A.R. (1996), ''A Dictionary of Philosophy ...

that proposed that bodies have no essential force, and claimed that, instead, the existence of an essential force can be proven by metaphysical arguments. Kant criticized Leibniz's followers for looking "no further than the senses teach," and stayed close to Leibniz's original '' vis activa'' ("active force"; also known as ''vis viva'', "living force") point of view.

Notes

References

* Carpenter, Andrew N.
"Review of The Philosophy of the Young Kant: The Precritical Project."
''Kantian Review'' 5: 147–153.

External links

1749 books Books by Immanuel Kant German non-fiction books {{metaphysics-book-stub