I am reading through a translation of Immanuel Kant, Critique of Judgement, and there is a mentioning of Homer and Wieland. But Homer and Wieland lived after Kant's death, is that right? Did the translator put in those names or am I missing something?

by VeryShiba

In the book it states as follows:

"The reason is that Newton could make all his steps, from the first elements of geometry to his own great and profound discoveries, intuitively plain and definite as regards consequence, not only to himself but to every one else. But a Homer or a Wieland cannot show how his ideas, so rich in fancy and yet so full of thought, come together in his head, simply because he does not know and therefore cannot teach others."

Wiki says:

Immanuel Kant: April 22, 1724 – February 12, 1804 Winslow Homer: February 24, 1836 – September 29, 1910 Hans Beat Wieland: June 11, 1867 – August 23, 1945

What's going on, are those dates correct or am I missing something? Is he talking about another Homer or Wieland, or did the translater improvise something here?

regular_gonzalez

Winslow Homer was a painter and surely not who Kant was referring to, which was the Homer of antiquity, author of the Iliad and Odyssey

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homer

The Wieland in question was probably Christoph Martin Wieland, German poet

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christoph_Martin_Wieland

The quoted passage seems to indicate that mere writers such as Homer and Wieland can not fully express their thoughts as they do not have the logical, rational background of a scientist like Newton or (in Kant's estimation) a philosopher.