Kant’s Version of Lessing’s Ditch: The Historical as a Drawbridge to the Rational

While Kant is often seen as agreeing with Lessing’s ditch, this paper argues that Kant provides his own version of the ditch between the historical and the rational. Lessing’s ditch concerns rational truths revealed in history; Kant’s version is more focused on the realization of rationality within history. Kant agrees with Lessing that rational truths are necessary and historical truths are contingent and dispensable. However, Kant views human nature as containing a weakness such that the historical might always be needed for the recognition of the rational. Kant divides his treatment of Christianity into natural/revealed and natural/learned. Considering a religion as natural/revealed concerns its origin and essence. Kant deals with Christianity as natural/revealed in Parts One–Three of Religion, finding harmony between historical Christianity and rational religion, going so far as to say that the universal church originated with historical Christianity. Considering a religion as natural/learned concerns how the religion is spread. Kant deals with Christianity as natural/learned in Part Four, saying that Jesus taught simply natural religion; later forms of Christianity are learned religion, in which the historical should be seen as a means, serving the rational end. Due to the (current) need for the historical, Kant allows for a drawbridge connecting the historical and rational, even though the rational does not rely on the historical for validity. Kant is uncertain of the future development of human reason, so he is unsure if the drawbridge can ever be raised, leaving us with only the rational.