Kant's theory of earthquakes and volcanic action

Abstract

In response to the Lisbon earthquake of 1 November 1755, and the subsequent seismic activity in Europe, Kant wrote several articles on earthquakes and volcanic phenomena. Full translations of the most important parts of these articles are presented, and summaries for the remainder. Kant developed a carefully worked out theory to account for seismic activity, based on his reading of the scientific literature, the reports received in K6nigsberg of the Lisbon earthquake and associated events, and his general theory of the origin of the Earth's crust, as presented in his Allgemeine Naturgeschichte of 1755. Following L6mery, Kant supposed that volcanic action was due to the subterranean combination of sulphur and iron, and he rejected the suggestion that earthquakes might be due to the gravitational pull of heavenly bodies. Kant's theory was naturalistic, but his account was not wholly divorced from physicotheological considerations.

Geopower

“…Kant's work is critical because of his strong links 333 with the eighteenth century aesthetic of the sublime (which sought to understand the close 334 relationships between beauty and fear in nature), and also because his work was scientifically rather 335 than theologically driven: he saw the earthquake as a challenge to natural philosophy, and sought to 336 explain the physical processes involved. He also noted the benefits to humanity of geological 337 phenomena, such as hot springs and metal ores, in a manner not dissimilar to the literature on 338 sustainable livelihoods (see Reinhardt and Oldroyd, 1983). These attempts to reconcile issues of 339 morality with ideas about nature, causality and society fed into the development of the geological sciences in the nineteenth century, and the establishment of institutions tasked with the surveillance 341 of natural phenomena (such as the Vesuvius Observatory).…”

Disasters and Responsibility. Normative Issues for Law Following Disasters

“…Rather than insight into God's providence, disasters become insight into how little we actually know of nature. The 1755 earthquake in Lisbon accordingly spurred an enormous interest in the natural sciences, an interest that even prompted the German philosopher Immanuel Kant to write a series of essays analysing the causes of the quake (Reinhardt and Oldroyd 1983). In this optic, disasters are no longer God's intention, but the result of an unmoral Nature's unforeseeable ways.…”

The 1755 Lisbon earthquake

“…Following the events in Lisbon, the Reverend John Michell of Cambridge used the Royal Society accounts and a compilation of evidence edited by John Bevis (1757), to argue convincingly that earthquakes are caused by waves originating in the Earth (Michell, 1760), though he still held to the opinion that earthquakes were produced by explosions. In mainland Europe the 1755 earthquake encouraged the young Immanuel Kant to propose his theory that earthquakes are caused by a subterranean combination of iron and sulphur (Reinhardt and Oldroyd, 1983). It is only later that Kant re-directed his interests towards philosophy and metaphysics.…”