Commemorative and Anniversary Philosophical Medals as a Visual Aid and Philosophical Source

Abstract

The paper demonstrates the significance of commemorative and anniversary philosophical medals that are seen as a special visual aid for problematic issues in the history of philosophy specification. The author puts forward the thesis that such medals can clarify the perception of philosophical doctrine and the context of philosophical doctrine consideration at a particular time. So, they greatly assist as an additional historical and philosophical source, but they can hardly be helpful with the interpretation of either various aspects of a philosophical doctrine or a particular statement of a particular philosopher. The rationale for the thesis presents the analysis of four philosophical medals: the medal commemorating the foundation of the alethophile society (1740), A. Abramsonʼs medal in honor of I. Kantʼs sixtieth anniversary (1784), A. Abramsonʼs medal for the death of I. Kant (1804), A.L. Heldʼs medals in honor of the sixtieth anniversary of G.W.F. Hegel (1830). If the first three medals contribute to a better understanding of the philosophical traits of the German Enlightenment, the reasons for appealing to Horace's words “sapere aude”, Kant's peculiarity as an Enlightenmentist, philosophical meaning of the Kantian Copernican Revolution and the transformation of the perception of the “Critique of Pure Reason” in the late 18th century, expectations regarding the fourth medal has proved misplaced. It cannot clarify the Hegelian phrase about reason as a rose on the cross of modernity and reconciliation with reality. In addition, in the course of clarifying the meaning of the four aforementioned medals, the author also turns to the commemorative medal of Chr. Wolff by J. Dassier (c. 1733), the medal for the return of Chr. Wolff to Halle by J.Chr. Koch (1740) and the medal for Kantʼs death by F.W. Loos (1804).