Kant attempted to conduct his philosophy purely on the basis of argument and rationality within the tradition of philosophy itself as evidence in the work of individuals such as Locke and Hume.
But one of the greatest obstacles to reading and understanding Kant lies beyond the content of his philosophy.
Unfortunately, his writing style is difficult and even painfully excruciating to read. His writing is obscure and comprehending the meaning behind his comments is burdensome.
The question emerges as to why his prose is so challenging.
Some have proposed that he likely wrote so poorly because he was by profession an academic and he writes in a heavily academic style. He utilizes academic terminology and jargon. He is not writing for the common man.
In addition, others have argued that Kant is difficult to read because he was entering into the final stages of his life. He was nearly 60 years when he wrote much of his great work and he was dogged by the thought that he might die before he got it all. Consequently he wrote quickly.
Finally, another possible reason for the difficulty of Kant's writing lies in the reality that he was writing in German. At the time of his writing, German had barely become accepted in academic circles. Most individuals wrote in either French or Latin. There wasn't an established style in German prose, but Kant paved a new pathway in this respect.
Many regard Kant as the greatest of the philosophers and this assessment to be rooted in two qualities of his thought. First, he was extremely intellectually penetrating and thoughtful, as well as analytical. Kant's work reveals the extremely methodical mind.
Second, Kant's greatness also lay in his ability to see how the total picture fit together. Again, in this sense Kant was extremely methodical.
