Genesis of the Polish translation of Prolegomena to Any Future Metaphysics That Will Be Able to Present Itself as a Science

Abstract

Immanuel Kant's critical philosophy made its presence in Polish philosophy at the turn of the 20th century through translations of two works: the Prolegomena and the Critique of Pure Reason. The initiator of this undertaking was Henryk Struve, supported by Kazimierz Twardowski and Władysław Weryho. It was through the determination of these scholars that Polish philosophy assimilated Kant’s most important works of critical philosophy. In a mere dozen or so years, the Polish philosophical community received translations of almost all of Kant’s major works. This article presents the genesis of the emergence of the first Polish translation of the Prolegomena. It describes the issues faced by translators and editors, and points out the polemics and discussions sparked by the first Polish translation of the Prolegomena.