Offsetting a study of Kant's theory of cognition with a mixture of intellectual
history and biography, Kant's Organicism offers readers an accessible portrait
of Kant's scientific milieu in order to show that his standing interests in
natural history and its questions regarding organic generation were critical for
the development of his theoretical philosophy. By reading Kant's theoretical
work in light of his connection to the life sciences?especially his reflections
on the epigenetic theory of formation and genesis?Jennifer Mensch provides a new
understanding of much that has been otherwise obscure or misunderstood in it.
?Epigenesis"?a term increasingly used in the late eighteenth century to describe
an organic, nonmechanical view