- Reinhardt , O. and Oldroyd , D.R. 1982 . Kant's Thoughts on the Ageing of the Earth . Annals of Science , 39 : 349 – 369 .
- Kant , I. 1912–1921 . “ Die Frage, ob die Erde veralte, physikalish erwogen ” . In Immanuel Kant's Sämtliche Werke in Sechs Bänden (Grossherzog Wilhelm Ernst Ausgabe). Zweiter Band, Naturwissenschaftliche Schriften Edited by: Gross , F. Vol. VI , 447 – 468 . Leipzig (1912)
- Kant , I. 1755 . Allgemeine Naturgeschichte und Theorie des Himmels oder Versuch von der Verfassung und dem mechanischen Ursprung des ganzen Weltgebäudes nach Newtonischen Grundsätzen abgehandelt Königsberg Kant's Cosmology as in his Essay on the Retardation of the Rotation of the Earth and his Natural History and Theory of the Heavens, translated by W. Hastie (Glasgow, 1900; New York and London, 1970).
- For a modern account of the event and its aftermath, see, for example Kendrick T.D. The Lisbon Earthquake London 1956 For particular discussion of the phenomena from a geological standpoint, see H. F. Reid, ‘The Lisbon Earthquake of November 1, 1755’, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, 4 (1914), 53–79; and C. Davidson, Great Earthquakes (London, 1936), pp. 1–28.
- Reid . 1914 . “ The Lisbon Earthquake of November 1, 1755 ” . In Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America Vol. 4 , 66 – 66 . estimated that in all about 16 million square kilometres—roughly 3% of the Earth's surface—was affected.
- Pope wrote at the conclusion of ‘Epistle I’: ‘All Nature is but art, unknown to thee; All chance, direction, which thou canst not see; All discord, harmony not understood; All partial evil, universal good: And, spite of pride, in erring reason's spite, One truth is clear, Whatever is, is right.’ See The Poetry of Pope: A Selection Abrams M.H. New York 1954 56 56
- See Voltaire Poème sur le Désastre de Lisbonne, ou Examen de cet Axiome: Tout est Bien Voltaire, Candide Brumfitt J.H. Oxford 1968 153 160
- For these publication details, see Kant's Gesammelte Schriften, herausgegeben von der königlich Preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaft Berlin 1902–23 I 568 568 13 vols 1910 570 and 575.
- See Kant I. Allgemeine Naturgeschichte und Theorie des Himmels oder Versuch von der Verfassung und dem mechanischen Ursprung des ganzen Weltgebäudes nach Newtonischen Grundsätzen abgehandelt Königsberg 1755 and 27
- See Paisley P.B. Oldroyd D.R. Science in the Silver Age: Aetna, A Classical Theory of Volcanic Activity Centaurus 1979 23 1 20 and M. N. Shute, (Ancient Imagination and Seismic Disruption’, The Yale Review, 69 (1979), 55–71.
- Lémery , N. 1706 . “ Explication physique & chymique des Feux souterrains, des Tremblemens de Terre, des Ouragans, des Eclairs & du Tonnere ” . In Histoire de l'Academie Royale des Sciences. Année M.DCC. Avec les Memoires de Mathematique & de Physique pour la même Année 131 – 142 . Amsterdam Lémery wrote (p. 137): ‘Les tremblemens de terre sont apparemment causez par une vapeur, qui ayant été produite dans la fermentation violente du fer & du soulfre, s'est convertie en un vent sulfureux lequel se fait passage, & roule par où il peut, en soulevent & ébranlant les terres sous lesquelles il passe. Si ce vent sulfureux se trouve toûjours renfermé sans pouvoir pénétrer aucune issue pour s'échaper, il fait durer le tremblement de terre long-temps & avec de grands efforts jusqu'à ce qu'il ait perdu son mouvement; mais s'il trouve quelques ouvertures pour sortir, il s'élance avec grande impetuosité, & c'est ce qu'on appelle Ouragan, il écarte la terre & fait des abîmes, il déracine les arbres, il abat les maisons; & les hommes mêmes ne seroient la precaution de se jetter promptement la bouche & le ventre contre terre, non seulement pour s'empecher d'être enlevez, mais pour éviter de respirer ce vent sulfureux & chaud qui les suffoqueroit’.
- Lémery , N. 1706 . “ Explication physique & chymique des Feux souterrains, des Tremblemens de Terre, des Ouragans, des Eclairs & du Tonnere ” . In Histoire de l'Academie Royale des Sciences. Année M .DCC. Avec les Memoires de Mathematique & de Physique pour la même Année 139 – 139 . Amsterdam
- Michell , J. 1760 . Conjectures Concerning the Cause, and Observations upon the Phaenomena of Earthquakes. Particularly of that Great Earthquake of November, 1975, which proved to be fatal to the City of Lisbon, and whose Effects were felt as far as Africa, and more or less throughout all Europe;… . Philosophical Transactions, giving some Account of the Present Undertakings, Studies, and Labours, of the Ingenious, in many Considerable Parts of the World , 51 : 566 – 634 . Michell relied (p. 572) on eye-witness reports to support his theory of the wave-like transmission of earthquakes. He supposed that the disturbances were caused by the passage of water onto subterranean fires, with collapse of material into the subterranean fiery caverns. Then, arguing by analogy, ‘Suppose a large cloth, or carpet (spread upon a floor) to be raised at one edge, and then suddenly brought down again to the floor, the air under it, being by this means propelled, will pass along, till it escapes at the opposite side, raising the cloth in a wave all the way as it goes. In a like manner, a large quantity of vapour may be conceived to raise the earth in a wave, as it passes between the strata, which it may easily separate in a horizontal direction, there being,…, little or no cohesion between one stratum and another’ (pp. 600–1).
- Persz , E. July 1982 . Institut de Géologie, Université de Neuchâtel July , Directeur pers. comm. 12
- 1755 . An Account of the late Earthquakes of Novem. 1, and 9, 1755, as felt at Neufchatel in Swisserland, in a Letter from Mons. de Vautravers, F.R.S. to Thomas Birch, D.D. Secr. R.S. . Philosophical Transactions, Giving Some Account of the Present Undertakings, Studies and Labours, of the Ingenious, in many Considerable Parts of the World , 49 : 436 – 438 .
- See Gribben J. Plagemann S. The Jupiter Effect London 1974
- See 254 254
- See de Buffon G.L.L. Histoire Naturelle, Générale et Particulière, avec la Description du Cabinet du Roi Paris 1749–1804 I 522 522 44 vols below. Buffon, like Kant, and many others, attributed earthquakes and volcanoes to subterranean conflagrations and fermentations. But he distinguished between the minor earthquakes associated with volcanic eruptions and major shakings of the Earth, which he attributed to pent-up subterranean conflagrations caused by the percolation of water into subterranean beds of sulphur and pyrite. The lateral transmission of the effects of an earthquake from its epicentre he attributed to winds driving through underground passages and caverns. He denied that mountains (containing shells in strata) were actually produced by earthquakes. The motion of the sea, associated with earthquakes, supposedly arose from the shock communicated to the waters by the subterranean explosions.
- See, for example Holmes A. Principles of Physical Geology , 2nd edn London 1965 897 900 Holmes mentions Kant's naturalistic account of earthquakes, but states, incorrectly, that Michell was the first to suggest that volcanoes act as ‘safety valves’ in the Earth's crust. This idea is, in fact, to be found in Kant's text. (See p. 256.)
- Werner supposed that volcanoes resulted from the combustion of coal. See Werner A.G. Short Classification and Description of the Various Rocks Translated with an Introduction and Notes by Alexander M. Ospovat New York 1971 137 137 For Leopold Von Buch's theory, see, for example, his Description Physique des Iles Canaries, suivie d'une Indication des Principaux Volcans du Globe … traduite … par C. Boulanger …(Paris, 1836), p. 342 & passim; and for Léonce Elie de Beaumont his Mémoires pour Servir à une Description Géologique de la France, rédigés … sous la direction de M. Brochant de Villiers,…par MM. Dufrénoy et Elie de Beaumont, 4 vols (Paris, 1830–1838), IV, 116 and passim.
- See, for example Hopkins W. Report on the Geological Theories of Elevation and Earthquakes Report on the Seventeeth Meeting for the Advancement of Science; held at Oxford in June 1847 London 1848 33 92
- A very small portion has previously been published in English in Rabel G. Kant Oxford 1963 27 30
- Kant . 1910 . Kant's Gesammelte Schriften, herausgegeben von der königlich Preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaft Vol. 13 , 417 – 427 . Berlin This paper was not published in the earlier collections of Kant's works. It was first included in the Hartenstein edition of 1867/8.
- Kant's ideas concerning the formation of subterranean caverns are to be found in his Allgemeine Naturgeschichte 1755 in which he developed a theory of the cosmos according to which the heavenly bodies gradually formed in a law-like manner by the accretion of the original chaos of matter, consisting of particles of different densities. Kant wrote: ‘A heavenly body which passes out of its first fluid condition into the solid state, when it develops itself completely in this way, undergoes a great alteration in the regularity of its surface. This becomes fixed and hardened, whereas the deeper materials have not yet sunk sufficiently in accordance with the ratio of their specific gravity. The lighter kinds of matter, which were intermingled with the common mass, ultimately find their place after they have separated from the others beneath the outermost part, the now fixed crust, and produce the great cavities which—from causes it would take too long to state here—are found to be the largest and broadest under or near the equator; and into these the said crust ultimately sinks, and produces thereby manifold inequalities in mountains and valleys.’ (Kant, footnote 3, 1970, p. 110. See also pp. 259–60 below.) Kant did not refer to his theory, thus developed in 1755, in his earthquake papers of 1756. But his Allgemeine Naturgeschichte, though printed in 1755, was not publicly issued, owing to the bankruptcy of the publisher Johann Friedrich Petersen. See Kant (footnote 3, 1970), vii.
- See de Buffon G.L.L. Histoire Naturelle, Générale et Particulière, avec la Description du Cabinet du Roi Paris 1749–1804 I 522 522 44 vols Buffon was quoting from La Barbinais le Gentil, Nouveau Voyage autour du Monde. Enrichi de plusieurs Plans, Vues et Perspectives des Principales Villes & Ports du Perou, Chily, Brésil, et de la Chine. Avec une Description de l'Empire de la Chine,…où il est traité des Moeurs, Religion, Politique, Éducation et Commerce des Peuples de cet Empire. Et deux Mémoires sur les Royaumes de Cochinchine, de Tonquin et de Siam, 3 vols (Paris and Amsterdam, 1728), I, 172ff.
- Kant refers here to the earthquake of 9 December 1755. See below, 266 266
- As will be shown below 269 269 Kant, in his ‘Concluding Remark’, was disinclined to allow the phenomena of earthquakes to play a part in natural theology. Nevertheless, we can see here that the possibility was not ruled out entirely. See also his section on ‘The uses of earthquakes’ (p. 269).
- In 1692 there was a severe earthquake at Port Royal in Jamaica. However, Kant was probably referring to the effects of an extensive earthquake that occurred in Europe that year, centred on Brabant. See Mallett R. Third Report on the Facts of Earthquake Phenomena. Catalogue of Recorded Earthquakes from 1606 B.C. to A.D. 1850 Report of the Twenty-Second Meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science; held at Belfast in September 1852 London 1853 1 176 (at p. 100).
- Kant's reference is not only incomplete but inaccurate. It should be: Carré L. Sur la Refraction des Balles de Mousquet dans l'Eau, & sur la Résistance de ce Fluide Histoire de l'Académie Royale des Sciences. Année MDCCV. Avec les Memoires de Mathematique & de Physique, pour la même Année Amsterdam 1707 277 287 (The Paris edition begins on p. 211.) Carré's paper described investigations (undertaken in the light of the Cartesian corpuscularian philosophy) made in order to determine the refraction of a musket ball when fired obliquely from air into water. The paper was written by the Academician, Louis Carré; but the experiments were, he informed his readers, carried out by ‘one of my friends’. However, despite Kant's inaccurate reference, he was correct in his description of the experiment. (See p. 278.) Carré noted, incidentally, that the musket shot became flattened as a result of its impact with the water in the box.
- For a discussion of Kant's ideas on meteorology, see Körber H.-G. Meteorologische Anschauungen bei Immanuel Kant NTM—Schriftenreihe zur Geschichte der Naturwissenschaften, Technik und Medizin 1977 14 29 36
- Kant . 1910 . Kant's Gesammelte Schriften, herausgegeben von der königlich Preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaft 429 – 461 . Berlin 13 vols
- Kant . 1910 . Kant's Gesammelte Schriften, herausgegeben von der königlich Preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaft 431 – 434 . Berlin 13 vols
- We infer from this that Kant did not suppose that rivers carved their own valleys. See also Allgemeine Naturgeschichte 1755
- See Hübner J. Vollständige Geographie , second edition Berlin 1745 II 566 567 4 vols
- In his Allgemeine Naturgeschichte, Kant stated that ‘the Sun has no effect at all upon the interior of the planets’, arguing that the different densities of the planets could not be attributed to the different amounts of the Sun's radiation that they received. See Kant Allgemeine Naturgeschichte und Theorie des Himmels oder Versuch von der Verfassung und dem mechanischen Ursprung des ganzen Weltgebäudes nach Newtonischen Grundsätzen abgehandelt Königsberg 1970 85 86 Here he offers some simple empirical evidence in support of this view.
- Cf. Allgemeine Naturgeschichte 1755 Kant here restates his view that the largest subterranean cavities will be nearest the equator. But he has no satisfactory theory as to why this should be so.
- Kant . 1910 . Kant's Gesammelte Schriften, herausgegeben von der königlich Preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaft 434 – 436 . Berlin 13 vols
- Here Kant drew on information from Scheuchzer's J.J. Natur-Historie des Schweizerlandes Zurich 1752 117ff 117ff 3 parts in 2 vols Part 1 where reference was made to some twenty fissures in the ground which on occasions emitted draughts of wind.
- Kant . 1910 . Kant's Gesammelte Schriften, herausgegeben von der königlich Preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaft 436 – 437 . Berlin 13 vols
- This more or less agrees with estimates made by modern writers who have compared a variety of contemporary sources. Kendrick The Lisbon Earthquake London 1956 24 24 suggests 9.30 a.m. as the time of the first shock. Reid (footnote 4, 57) accepts 9.40 a.m.
- This we doubt. See Persz E. Institut de Géologie, Université de Neuchâtel 1982 July Directeur pers. comm. 12
- Kant . 1910 . Kant's Gesammelte Schriften, herausgegeben von der königlich Preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaft Vol. I , 437 – 443 . Berlin 13 vols
- Buffon . 1749–1804 . Histoire Naturelle, Générale et Particulière, avec la Description du Cabinet du Roi Vol. I , 523 – 524 . Paris 44 vols
- Buffon . 1749–1804 . Histoire Naturelle, Générale et Particulière, avec la Description du Cabinet du Roi Vol. I , 253 – 259 . Paris 44 vols (at p. 257).
- Kant's information appears to have been drawn from: Histoire Physique de la Mer. Ouvrage enrichi de Figures Dessinées d'apres le Naturel. Par Louis Ferdinand Comte de Marsilli [sic], Membre de l'Academie Royale des Sciences de Paris Amsterdam 1725 10 11 However, Marsigli (an Italian count, geographer and natural historian) had himself only made direct observations off the South coast of France, where he measured a depth of 150 brasses (approx. 750 ft). He thought that the depth might be greater elsewhere, and he quoted the opinion of fishermen who believed that there was no limit to the depth of the sea—though he was sceptical of this. Marsigli speculated that the depth of the sea bed might be equal to the height of the highest mountain. Cassini, when establishing the meridian of the Paris Observatory, had found Mount Canigou to have a height of 1400 toises (approx. 8400 ft). This appears to have been the source of Kant's figure for the depth of the Mediterranean. It suggests either that he read the Histoire Physique carelessly (or with an imperfect knowledge of French), or that he relied on an erroneous secondary source. (We are much indebted to Dr W. A. Smeaton for furnishing these details of Marsigli's publication, by consulting on our behalf the British Library copy of the Histoire Physique—the Australian Museum's copy being lost!)
- It appears from more authoritative reports that the waters of the Atlantic Ocean were disturbed in the West Indies some 10 hours after the effects were felt in Portugal. See Mallet R. Third Report on the Facts of Earthquake Phenomena. Catalogue of Recorded Earthquakes from 1606 B.C. to A.D. 1850 Report of the Twenty-Second Meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science; held at Belfast in September 1852 London 1853 171 171
- Kant's account is confirmed in Zedler's Universal Lexicon Halle & Leipzig 1733 which describes the lake and its irregular disappearance and appearance.
- Kant . 1910 . Kant's Gesammelte Schriften, herausgegeben von der königlich Preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaft 443 – 443 . Berlin 13 vols
- Kant . 1910 . Kant's Gesammelte Schriften, herausgegeben von der königlich Preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaft 443 – 445 . Berlin 13 vols
- Kant . 1910 . Kant's Gesammelte Schriften, herausgegeben von der königlich Preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaft 445 – 445 . Berlin 13 vols
- Kant . 1910 . Kant's Gesammelte Schriften, herausgegeben von der königlich Preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaft 500 – 503 . Berlin 13 vols
- Pierre Bouger was one of the French academicians whose work was directed towards determining the figure of the Earth. See his paper Relation Abrégée du Voyage Fait au Pérou par Messieurs de l'Académie Royale des Sciences, pour Mesurer les Degrés du Merédien aux Environs de l'Equateur, & en Conclurre la Figure de la Terre Histoire de l'Académie Royale des Sciences. Année M .DCCXLIV. Avec les Mémoires de Mathématique & de Physique pour la même Année Paris 1748 249 300 For an account of his explorations in English, see ‘An Abridged Relation of a Voyage to Peru … By M. Bouger’, in A General Collection of the Best and Most Interesting Voyages and Travels in all Parts of the World; many of which are now first translated into English. Digested on a new plan, edited by J. Pinkerton, 17 vols (London, 1808–1814), XIV, 270–312. Bouger's theory of earthquakes was very similar to that adopted by Kant, as the following passage clearly shows: ‘The materials which take fire in the bowels of the earth, and which cause earthquakes, must necessarily be subject to the same changes. When the fire takes in a concavity, the dilatation of the inflammable matter and air will naturally spread wide, and be conveyed to other subterranean cavities communicating with the first. The roof of the vault is also violently forced, as are its sides, although the mass of matter lies precisely beneath. The direction of the effort will depend then upon the horizontal or inclined position of the cavity; … The roof of the vault returns to its place, after the necessary vibrations, which are independent of the action of the fire. Their speed must depend on the size of the vault, its thickness, and the nature of the materials of which it is formed. But the effort of the explosion abating a little, while the air becomes much too compressed in the adjacent cavities, it makes a violent reflux towards the place of eruption, which opens another access, and gives occasion to a new and more violent shock. Thus there must necessarily be returns marked by a more excessive agitation; and their intervals will be more sensibly regular, till some considerable change happens, either in the inflamed matter, or the disposition of the cavity.’ (Page 306.)
- See: Mariotte E. Traité du Mouvement des Eaux et des Autres Corps Fluides … Oeuvres de Mr. Mariotte, de l'Académie Royale des Sciences; … Leyden 1717 II 326 355 (at p. 346). (Mariotte's treatise was first published in Paris in 1686.)
- Kant . 1910 . Kant's Gesammelte Schriften, herausgegeben von der königlich Preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaft 448 – 450 . Berlin 13 vols
- See again Allgemeine Naturgeschichte 1755
- Kant . 1910 . Kant's Gesammelte Schriften, herausgegeben von der königlich Preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaft 450 – 452 . Berlin 13 vols
- Buffon . 1749–1804 . Histoire Naturelle, Générale et Particulière, avec la Description du Cabinet du Roi Vol. I , 534 – 534 . Paris 44 vols
- Kant . 1910 . Kant's Gesammelte Schriften, herausgegeben von der königlich Preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaft 452 – 453 . Berlin 13 vols
- Kant . 1910 . Kant's Gesammelte Schriften, herausgegeben von der königlich Preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaft 453 – 455 . Berlin 13 vols
- See Musschenbroeck P. Observations Météorologique Faites à Utrecht Pendant l'Année 1736. Extraites d'une Lettre de M. Musschenbroek Histoire de l'Académie Royale des Sciences. Année M .DCCXXXVI. Avec les Mémoires de Mathématiques & de Physiques pour la même Année Paris 1739 503 505
- We are unable to locate this reference in Boyle's Collected Works
- Kant . 1910 . Kant's Gesammelte Schriften, herausgegeben von der königlich Preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaft 455 – 458 . Berlin 13 vols
- Kant . 1910 . Kant's Gesammelte Schriften, herausgegeben von der königlich Preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaft 458 – 459 . Berlin 13 vols
- Kant . 1910 . Kant's Gesammelte Schriften, herausgegeben von der königlich Preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaft 459 – 461 . Berlin 13 vols
- Kant . 1910 . Kant's Gesammelte Schriften, herausgegeben von der königlich Preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaft 462 – 472 . Berlin 13 vols
- Profe , G. 1712–1770 . was Principal of the Gymnasium in Altona (Hamburg). Kant refers to an article published in the Schleswig-Holstein Anzeigen, 1755, Nos. 47, 51 and 52. See Kant, footnote 8, 1910, 575.
- See Pinkerton Relation Abrégée du Voyage Fait au Pérou par Messieurs de l'Académie Royale des Sciences, pour Mesurer les Degrés du Merédien aux Environs de l'Equateur, & en Conclurre la Figure de la Terre Histoire de l'Académie Royale des Sciences. Année M .DCCXLIV. Avec les Mémoires de Mathématique & de Physique pour la même Année Paris 1748 303 303 The anonymous work was entitled D.Horloge Astronomique des Tremblemens de Terre, and was published in 1729.
- See Pinkerton Relation Abrégée du Voyage Fait au Pérou par Messieurs de l'Académie Royale des Sciences, pour Mesurer les Degrés du Merédien aux Environs de l'Equateur, & en Conclurre la Figure de la Terre Histoire de l'Académie Royale des Sciences. Année M .DCCXLIV. Avec les Mémoires de Mathématique & de Physique pour la même Année Paris 1748 304 304
- This figure Kant doubtless derived from Newton's Principia, Bk. III, Ph. IV. See Sir Isaac Newton's Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy and his System of the World Cajori F. New York 1969 2 404 404 II Here Newton gives the ratio of the mean distances of Jupiter and the Earth to the Sun as 520,096 to 10,000.
- The figure of 2 ft, proposed by Kant, is somewhat unexpected, given that Newton had calculated that the Sun was capable of raising the oceans by only 9 in at the equator. See Principia Book III, ¶591: Newton (footnote 103), II, 591.
- We might add also that the ‘Jupiter effect’, predicted for early 1982 by Gribben Plagemann The Jupiter Effect London 1974 101 105 did not in fact take place.
- Holman , S.C. 1756 . Göttingen Anzeigen von gelehrten Sachen 164 – 164 . (1696–1787) was a Göttingen professor of philosophy, whose suggestion was published in the (See Kant, footnote 8, 1910, 576.)
Annals of Science
Volume 40, 1983 - Issue 3