Organism

![CDATA[Kant’s references to organic life are most readily captured by the English term “organism.” Kant did in fact use both Organism (twelve times) and Organismus (five times) in his works, but he more often chose to use organische Korper (fourteen times) or its variants, organische Wesen (five times) and organisierte Wesen (seven times). All of these terms were conceptually connected, moreover, to Kant’s most common way of referring to an organism – as a Naturzweck (twenty two times) – since, as he understood it, “Things, as natural ends [Naturzweck], are organized beings [organisierte Wesen]” (CPJ, 5:372 [1790]/CECPJ:244). Organisms, in other words, are defined in the first instance by their being organized. How they are organized is a matter for reflective judgment to consider (CPJ, 5:193/CECPJ:78), but in general, Kant is clear that we must view such organization to be somehow oriented by an organism’s need to defend itself against the various ill effects of disorganization or entropy (CPJ, 5:371/CECPJ:243).]]