The power and originality of the philosopher is conveyed in an outstanding way by the design on the 20 euro collector's coin. The artist Martin Dašek from Staré Hradiště (CZ) combines the silhouette of the philosopher, based on contemporary silhouettes, with a starry firmament and the quote "The starry sky above me and the moral law within me". He thus vividly places two essential aspects of Kant's thought at the centre: the traceability of the natural order to the structures of the human mind and the self-legislation of human reason in the moral law. The value side is a successful compositional response to the picture side.
The 20 euro collector's coin ‘300th birthday of Immanuel Kant’ honours the person and work of the Königsberg philosopher.
Kant dedicated his entire life to his work: he remained a bachelor, never travelled and turned down all invitations and appointments to other places. He came from a respectable family of craftsmen, but they became impoverished during his childhood. Scholarships and the support of an uncle enabled him to attend grammar school and study at the ‘Albertina’, Königsberg University. After graduating, he initially worked as a tutor before returning to the University of Königsberg in 1755. He lectured there continuously for over 40 years, his lectures covering a wide range of subjects from logic and metaphysics, physical geography, mineralogy and practical philosophy to ethics, natural law and pedagogy. However, Kant seems to have been anything but a cerebral theorist: he is described as a fun-loving person and a brilliant entertainer, won money playing billiards and cards and socialised in the distinguished circles of Königsberg society. He changed his lifestyle after his 40th birthday, probably triggered by the death of a friend. He went out less and subjected his life to strict rules. For example, he got up at 5 a.m. every day in order to triggered by the death of a friend, from his 40th birthday. He went out less and subjected his life to strict rules. For example, he got up at 5 a.m. every day to start work. Nevertheless, he remained a sociable person. In 1770, he finally received the professorship for logic and metaphysics at Königsberg University, having applied for it unsuccessfully since 1756. After a ‘decade of silence’, during which he published nothing apart from occasional writings, he published ground-breaking works from 1781 onwards, the first of which was to usher in a new era in the history of philosophy: the ‘Critique of Pure Reason’. This was followed by the famous essay ‘Answering the Question: What is Enlightenment?’ (1784), the ‘Grundlegung zur Metaphysik der Sitten’ (1785), in which the categorical imperative is formulated for the first time, its detailed justification in the ‘Kritik der praktischen Vernunft’ (1788) and the ‘Kritik der Urteilskraft’ (1790).
