6 - On the causes of earthquakes on the occasion of the calamity that befell the western countries of Europe towards the end of last year (1756)

Summary

EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION

A major earthquake struck off the coast of Lisbon, Portugal, on 1 November 1755, killing tens of thousands of the city's citizens and, compounded by flooding and fires, destroying over two-thirds of its buildings. The magnitude of the disaster shocked the collective consciousness of Europeans. In Candide, Voltaire used the event to criticize Leibniz's doctrine of optimism, that ours is the best of all possible worlds, along with various other, more implicit targets. Others, taking note of the fact that the tragedy occurred on All Saints’ Day and annihilated most of the major churches in Lisbon, claimed that it was divine punishment for corruption and sin. Though Königsberg was not itself directly affected, Kant wrote, in quick succession, three essays that attempted to reassure its citizens that the events attending the earthquake were not to be viewed as an unspeakable evil inconsistent with God's existence and the perfection of the world or as an act of divine vengeance for the decadent behaviour of Lisboans. Instead, he endeavoured to show that earthquakes have purely physical causes and that they should therefore incite not fear, which is, in any case, a very weak motive for virtuous behaviour in his view, but rather careful thought about how best to control their effects (by engaging in, for example, appropriate urban planning).

Kant published the first essay, “On the causes of earthquakes on the occasion of the calamity that befell the western countries of Europe towards the end of last year”, in two instalments, in the 24 and 31 January issues of the Wöchentliche Königsbergische Frag- und Anzeigungs-Nachrichten of 1756. His main contention in this essay is that earthquakes are caused by the conflagration of a mixture of iron filings, sulphur, or vitriolic acid, and water that has been compressed in extensive caverns lying below the Earth's surface (both under land and under the ocean floor). He also argues that earthquakes are connected with volcanic activity, which have the same cause. He denies that they are caused by electricity, but allows for a connection with magnetic materials and atmospheric changes. Further, he argues that the frequency and direction of earthquakes in mountainous regions is consistent with his view of the cause of earthquakes.