The Self-Apperception and the Knower as Agent: an introduction to Maine de Biran’s Notes about Kant

Maine de Biran’s references to Kant are often characterized by a rhapsodic unfold¬ing and can be read only upon close scrutiny within the weave of Biran’s phi¬losophy. We can consider as exceptions to this rule only two short texts: Note sur les antinomies de Kant (Note on Kant’s antinomies) and the denser Notes sur la philosophie de Kant (Notes on Kant’s philosophy), probably written between 1815 and 1816, which are the only instrument that allows us to recon-struct the history of this dialogue. Undoubtedly, Biran’s in¬terpretation of Kant’s thought is somehow forced, so that, rather than talking about a “French Kant”, according to Jules Lachelier’s emphatic definition, in this article we show how Kant is crucial for the reflection on his own thought carried out by Biran.