136 Kant: A Biographythe Illnesses of the Head" in the Königsberger Gelehrte und Politische Zeit¬
ungen in February of 1764; and a review of a book that offered a theory of
the "fireball" that had appeared in the sky on July 23,1762, was published
in March of 1764 in the same journal.17S So, the period ended as it started:
with a flurry of literary activity.
Most of this was written after October 1762, that is, after the Russians
had left Königsberg. It almost seems as if Kant now took up where he left
off when the Russians marched into Königsberg, now again pursuing wider
philosophical recognition in Germany. The first of these post-Russian pub¬
lications was not very different from his pamphlets advertising his lec¬
tures. Indeed, it most likely started out as such a pamphlet. Kant described
The False Subtlety as the "product of a few hours," and he said that his main
purpose was to introduce some materials that he could not extensively
treat in his lectures on logic.^176 The work was probably concluded by early
fall 1762. In any case, Hamann could already quote from it in a passage
written on November 17.^177 It is not a highly original work. Its thesis that
the Aristotelian theory of syllogism is too elaborate was already well known.
Most of what Kant says in the work can already be found in Wolff, Thoma-
sius, Meier, and Crusius.^178 No more should be expected from an expanded
pamphlet advertising his lectures.
The "Prize Essay" was written for a competition sponsored by the Berlin
Academy. The question was whether "the metaphysical truths in general,
and the first principles of theologiae naturalis and morality in particular,
admit of distinct proofs to the same degree as geometrical truths; and if
they are not capable of such proofs, one wishes to know what the genuine
nature of their certainty is, in what degree the said certainty can be brought,
and whether this degree is sufficient for complete conviction."^179 The
question was published in June of 1761, but Kant began to work on it only
late, and he sent his essay off at the very latest possible date (December 31,
1762). Furthermore, he himself remarked that it was far from being a fin¬
ished product.^180 This makes sense. Since the Russian occupation lasted
until early July 1762, and since the Russians, in spite of their great friend¬
liness, would not have looked with great favor on a member of the univer¬
sity who was dealing with the enemy, he probably started it only after
Königsberg was again in Prussian hands.^181 Mendelssohn received the first
prize, but Kant's Inquiry was judged to be of almost equal merit. As a mat¬
ter of fact, Kant's essay does not even come close to Mendelssohn's much
more polished effort. Perhaps there was also a bit of politicking at work in
the academy to reward someone from Königsberg.