[310 words]
My graduate philosophy instructor was a newly minted PhD, and he was an expert in Immanuel Kant. A well-informed, thoroughly devoted expert. His seminar on the German philosopher was, of course, excellent.
His cardinal rule for our class was simple: Read Kant.
Too many instructors present philosophy and philosophers through the writings of other interpreters. They rely on broad historical overviews and topical anthologies — academic texts that cover hundreds of philosophical concepts — to expose students to a wide range of ideas. As valuable as such resources may be, nothing takes the place of reading what the original thinker thought.
My instructor once mentioned a paper he had presented at a philosophy conference. I would have to dig up my old notes to recall the specific topic, but I believe it was one of those over-the-top academic treatises that only fellow philosophers (especially the Kantians) would appreciate.
After the presentation, a world renowned Immanuel Kant scholar approached him, shook his hand and said, “You’ve read Kant.”
My instructor was thrilled.
Of course he’d read Kant. He didn’t just read what other people said that Kant said. He read Kant. His thorough familiarity with the philosopher’s thought was evident. Clearly, he had immersed himself in Kant’s own words.
The application for Christians? Don’t just read what someone else says the Bible says. Read the Bible.
Handbooks and commentaries and background studies are all excellent tools. But if these are your main source of knowledge, and you fail to read his word directly, you might miss what God actually wants you to know.
If you want to know what Immanuel Kant thought and said, I suggest you go to the primary source. Read Kant.
If you want to know what God wants you to know and how God wants you to live, go to the primary source. Read God’s word.
Jody Apple
Dahlonega church of Christ
Dahloneha, GA