“Zwei Dinge erfüllen das Gemüt mit immer neuer und zunehmender Bewunderung und Ehrfurcht, je öfter und anhaltender sich das Nachdenken damit beschäftigt: Der bestirnte Himmel über mir und das moralische Gesetz in mir”. (Immanuel Kant: Critique of Pure Reason: Conclusion. 1781)
“Two things fill the mind with every new and increasing wonder and awe – the starry heavens above and the moral law within me.
(Immanuel Kant: Kritik der reinen Vernunft (Critique of Pure Reason) (1781 & 1787)
Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason (Kritik der reinen Vernunft), first published in 1781 (A edition) and revised in 1787 (B edition (I
Since the 1780s when Kant wrote these lines Astrophysicists have made many discoveries/advances, so that the starry heavens above, though they do cause much awe, are no longer that much of a wonder, as may be seen in the Q&A below:
Q&A
WHAT ARE STARS?
Twinkle, Twinkle,
Twinkle, twinkle, oh Big Star!
We think we know what you are:
Lots and lots of Hydrogen
And other gases now and then,
Nuclear fusion at your core
And activities a lot, lot more.
Depending on how large you are
Whether near or way too far,
Some day you may simply morph
Into a supernova or white dwarf.
Those who know well what you are
Say you may become a neutron star.
Twinkle, twinkle, oh Bright Star
We know more or less what you are.
(Poem by V. V. Raman: 2002)
V. V. Raman
7 Feb 2026
Spurts of Thought 