#stuart clark

As astonishing as it may seem, rain falls to Earth for the same reason that a shooting star burns across the night sky: because gravity is acting.

The poets of the period (the Enlightenment) fully explored the effect of being beneath the night. In particular, nocturnes were a popular form of poetry that fitted the discussion perfectly. They typically celebrated the common experience of finding it easier for the mind to let go of the tangible world at night-time. When darkness falls, so our thoughts strive toward more contemplative subjects.

This connection is the key for Kant because the starry heavens and the moral law within represent oppositely directed human tendencies that must be reconciled. On the one hand, our view of the night sky locates us in a vast cosmos, making us feel small and inconsequential. Kant goes as far as to say that this realisation 'annihilates' our importance as individuals. On the other hand, our recognition of right and wrong and the choice this gives us over our actions elevates us above all the other animals. [...] In effect, what Kant is describing is the sublime, that strange mix of fear (at annihilation) and pleasure (at comprehension).