Über die Vulkane im Monde

What it is

This is an essay by Immanuel Kant, “Über die Vulkane im Monde” (On the Volcanoes on the Moon), written in German. The facts say it was published in 1785. The text comes from the 1913 edition of Kant’s collected works, Immanuel Kants Werke, Volume IV, published in Berlin by Bruno Cassirer and edited by Artur Buchenau and Ernst Cassirer. The text available today is a digital transcription by volunteers who kept the original spelling and punctuation.

Why it matters

The essay begins with a letter printed in the Gentleman’s Magazine in 1783. In it, the Russian councillor Aepinus wrote to Pallas about a volcano that Herschel had discovered on the Moon on 4 May 1783. Aepinus had argued in 1781 that the Moon’s rough surface had a volcanic origin. Kant’s essay shows how scientists of the time exchanged discoveries across Europe and tested theories about the Moon.

Look closer

• What evidence does the essay use to discuss whether the Moon has volcanoes?
• Who are the scientists named, and how do they know about each other’s work?
• What does the essay not settle, and what would a modern astronomer need to check?