Reason and

Freedom, History

and Grace

Prepared by Mr. Roland Lorenzo M. RubenPhilosophy section, SSDDe La Salle University - Dasmariñas

1724-1804

1724 Born on 22 April in Königsberg, Kingdom of Prussia (now Kaliningrad, Russia) as the fourth of nine children (five of them reached adulthood).

1732 Joined the Collegium Fridericianum, a Pietist school. 1737 Mother died when he was 13 yrs old. His mother,

Anna Regina Porter (1697-1737) was the daughter of a saddle/harness maker, of German origin, uneducated but intelligent.

1740 Completed schooling. Enrolled in the University of Königsberg.

1746 Father died when he was 22 yrs old. His father Johann Georg Kant (1682-1746) was a German craftsman from Memel, Germany's northeasternmost city (now Klaipėda, Lithuania). Refused a position offered by the Lutheran Church.

Biography

University of Königsberg

Königsberg

1804 Died on February 12 in Königsberg.

MAJOR WORKS: Kant’s critical trilogy1781

This first major work of the critical trilogy represented the crystallization of Kant’s ideas, a result of 12 years of intense reflection.

He wrote the book in just four to five months. Written in an obscure and pedantic style, the book is extremely dense even for those well versed in philosophy. It heralded a new era in philosophy.

Kant himself believed that he had brought about a Copernican revolution in philosophy, and that he had solved all problems of metaphysics. ‘Pure reason’ refers to à priori knowledge, that requiring no experience, and ‘critique’ refers to the inquiry into the limits of this knowledge.

1788 1790

MAJOR WORKS: Kant’s critical trilogy

He woke up everyday at 4:55 in the morning, exactly five minutes before the time he was born. He would have his breakfast at 5 a.m. and lunch at 12:15 p.m. He had a time fixed for daily walks. His punctuality was legendary; so much so that people set their watches by his daily walks. The only time he missed his walk was while reading Rousseau’s Emile, and on the day he heard of the French Revolution. He always went to bed at 10. He never ever deviated from this routine.

This intellectual giant was just five feet tall. His curved spine made him appear even shorter. He had to follow a strict regimen to survive his physical weakness. One of his beliefs was that several diseases could be avoided by not breathing through the mouth. This belief was so strong that he never opened his mouth to talk on his daily walks.

Kant remained a bachelor all his life. He did come close to getting married twice, but he never tied the knot. Almost everyday he invited over friends for lunch, but none of them were women.

SPECIAL TRIVIA

II. Metaphysics and Epistemology

II. Metaphysics and Epistemology

David Hume, the 18th century Scottish philosopher, had declared that there was no law of causality i.e. what we think of as cause and effect do not really exist. Since our knowledge only consists of a series of impressions, there is no reason for us to believe that the impressions of two events that occur one after the other are related as cause and effect.

Thus, at one stroke, Hume destroyed the law of causality and the whole edifice of science that was based on the concept of Reason. Hume did this by proving that the law of causality is synthetic.

Kant saved this law, and Reason, by showing that it is synthetic as well as à priori.

According to Kant,

The Rationalist-Empiricist Dispute

Sandali lang…

à priori...

à posteriori…

“all knowledge begins with sense experience, but not all knowledge arises out of sense experience.”

à posteriori knowledge, which arises from & depends on sense experience;

à priori knowledge, which arises from the operations of the mind & is independent of sense experience.

There are two basic types of human knowledge:

Kant's "Copernican Revolution in Philosophy"

Mind

Objects?

The mind does not conform to its objects. On the contrary, the objects of consciousness conform to the structure & operations of the mind itself.

OBJECTS MUST CONFORM TO OUR KNOWLEDGE

Kant's "Copernican Revolution in Philosophy"

The world is known only “as it appears to us” (‘thing-as-we-know-it’ phenomenon), not “as it is in itself” (‘thing-in-itself’ noumenon).

The world of appearances (as experienced) is imbued with the forms of our perception (space and time), and the forms of our thought (categories-the logical forms of judgments).

Reality first impinges itself upon the mind as sensations. These sensations are organized in terms of space, time and the categories (perception & thought) to give an experience of reality.

Transcendental IdealismKnowledge comes in the form of ideas, and ideas arise from sensations. Sensations can come only from outside. This proves the existence of external objective world. Kant now attempts to find if it is possible to know the true nature of this external world.

The Müller-Lyer Illusion is a good analogy to illustrate the difference between noumenon and phenomenon. The second arrow appears to be

longer. This is the thing-as-we-know-it (phenomenon). Actual measurement shows the two arrows to be of equal length. This is the thing-in-

itself (noumenon). It follows that there is no reason to believe that the connections observed by the mind are true of the

things-in-themselves as well. If we attempt to understand things that are not experienced by the

mind in terms of space, time and categories, contradictions arise.

??!?

III. Theory of Human Nature

a. Knowledgeb. Morality

Reconcile claims of morality and religion (as he saw them) with scientific knowledge (as he understood it) = relate physical nature and human nature

Knowledge springs from 2 fundamental sources of the mind: 1. The capacity for receiving representations;2. The power of knowing an object through these representations.

III. Theory of Human Nature

1. Sensibility - the capacity for receiving representations, i.e. organization of sensations into perceptions.

Through the first an object is given to us:

A sensation is merely the awareness of a stimulus, such as a taste on the tongue, pressure on the hand, or a flash of light in the eye. These scattered sensations do not constitute knowledge.

Soap bubbles

are bubbles.

2. Understanding - the power of knowing an object through these representations, i.e. organization of perceptions into conceptions or thoughts

The mind raises the perceptual knowledge of objects into the conceptual knowledge of relationships, sequences and laws…

Bubbles rise to the surface of the liquid.

The mind arranges perceptions (objects and events) about certain basic ideas…

Through the second the object is thought:

BUT… To neither of these powers may be a preference be given over.

Without sensibility no object would be given to us, without understanding no object would be thought.

Thoughts without experiences are empty, experiences without

thought are blind.

Knowledge is sensibility and understanding…

n

3. Imagination - is synthesis, almost entirely unconscious…like when one sees a newspaper cartoon and as representing a particular individual.

4. Reason (more than understanding) - leads us towards an ever-increasing unification of our knowledge under general laws or principles…

Human beings are agents of reason… we act, and we give reasons to it.

Kant attempted to find à priori elements in morality to give it an unshakable foundation. Every person has a conscience that expresses itself in the form of moral commands or imperatives. These imperatives can be either hypothetical or categorical.

Kant argued that the source of the good lies not in anything outside the human subject, either in nature or given by God, but rather only the good will itself.

A good will is one that acts from duty in accordance with the universal moral law that the autonomous human being freely gives itself.

MORALITY

categorical imperatives, i.e., absolute & unconditional moral commands (e.g., "Be honest");

2 reasons of moral actions:

hypothetical imperatives (e.g., "If you wish to have a good reputation, be honest").

A hypothetical imperative is a commandment of reason that applies only conditionally: if A, then B, where A is a condition or goal, and B is an action. Then "A" would be a reaction of action "B". If you want A, then you ought to do B.

For example, if you wish to remain healthy, then you should not eat spoiled food.

Thus, a hypothetical imperative is not justified in itself, but as a means to an end;

Thus, almost any moral "rule" about how to act is hypothetical, because it assumes that your goal is to be moral, or to be happy, or to please God, etc.

Hypothetical imperative

What is, own want

Categorical Imperative - what ought, obligation (“act only on that maxim through which you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law.") You ought to do A.

Categorical Imperative

He believed that the moral law is a principle of reason itself, and is not based on contingent facts about the world, such as what would make us happy, but to act upon the moral law which has no other motive than "worthiness of being happy" (Critique of Pure Reason, A806/B834).

Derived from the

concept of DUTY

A categorical imperative is an unconditional obligation; that is, it has the force of an obligation regardless of our will or desires.

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FORMULATIONS OF THE CATEGORICAL IMPERATIVE

1. UNIVERSALITY - “Always act in such a way that the maxim of your action can be willed as a universal law of humanity.”

2. RESPECT - “Always treat humanity, whether in yourself or in other people, as an end in itself and never as a mere means.”

1. Find the agent's maxim. The maxim is an action paired with its motivation. Example: "I will lie for personal benefit." Lying is the action, the motivation is to get what you desire. Paired together they form the maxim.

2. Imagine a possible world in which everyone in a similar position to the real-world agent followed that maxim.

3. Decide whether any contradictions or irrationalities arise in the possible world as a result of following the maxim.

4. If a contradiction or irrationality arises, acting on that maxim is not allowed in the real world.

5. If there is no contradiction, then acting on that maxim is permissible, and in some instances required.

universalizability test

1.UNIVERSALITY - “Always act in such a way that the maxim of your action can be willed as a universal law of humanity.”

Question: Can a person in dire straits make a promise with the intention of breaking it later?

Proposed rule: “I may make promises with the intention of later breaking them.”

The person in trouble wants his promise to be believed so he can get what he needs.

Universalize rule: Everyone may make & break promises.

Everyone breaking promises would make promises unbelievable, contradicting desire to have promise believed.

The rule is flawed. The answer is “No.”

For example: Making promises

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1.UNIVERSALITY - “Always act in such a way that the maxim of your action can be willed as a universal law of humanity.”

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The Formula of the End Itself

Ends, not mere means: don’t treat rational agents (others or yourself) as mere objects to be used or exploited.

Foundation of this principle: rational nature exists as an end in itself.

That is, treat people as intrinsically-valuable beings, and not as mere instruments for your own benefit.

Based on the idea that human beings have a special dignity because of their ability to act freely on principles, which must be respected in all people.

Personhood is the basis of ethical value and can’t be subordinated to other values. Mustn’t sacrifice the few even to benefit the many.

RESPECT - “Always treat humanity, whether in yourself or in other people, as an end in itself and never as a mere means.”

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Plagiarism Scenario Carla

◦Single mother◦Works full time◦Takes two evening courses/semester

History class◦Requires more work than normal◦Carla earning an “A” on all work so far◦Carla doesn’t have time to write final

report Carla purchases report and submits it as

her own work.RESPECT - “Always treat humanity, whether in yourself

or in other people, as an end in itself and never as a mere means.”

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Kantian Evaluation

Carla submitted another person’s work as her own.

She attempted to deceive her professor. She treated her professor as a means to an

end◦End: passing the course◦Means: professor issues grade

What Carla did was wrong.

RESPECT - “Always treat humanity, whether in yourself or in other people, as an end in itself and never as a mere means.”

'Categorical imperatives' are commands to act without any end in mind. The act should be an end in itself. A categorical imperative is synthetic as well as à

priori. Thus the practical reason underlying categorical imperatives gives us a strong reason to believe in innate morality.

IV. DIAGNOSIS (of the human condition)

Human condition – mixed tension: beings with needs, but with practical reason; finite beings with needs (physical desires, etc) and rational beings (moral obligation)

Human being: contrast with animals (desire) and angels (duty)

IV. DIAGNOSIS (of the human condition

• Desires for immediate satisfaction and consideration of prudent, longer-term self-interest

• Short term (hypothetical) vs. long term (categorical) goals = Balance is to be truly human

Moral man: have the will to do the right action just because it is right

Short time or Long time??

The only motivation he approves is “the grim determination to do one’s duty irrespective of one’s own inclinations”

The MORAL PERSON has the will to do the right action because IT IS RIGHT.

Acting for a universal maxim: treating man as ENDS in themselves. – Our moral actions are directed to the other person.

George Ristuccia :You know, Ben, I keep asking you this but why me? Ben Thomas: Because you are a good man. George Ristuccia: No, really. Ben Thomas: Even when you don't know that people are watching you.

V. PRESCRIPTION

But leading a moral life invariably leads to unhappiness. This leads us to believe in the existence of a just God who would set this right.

Overcoming evil through religious answer We cannot prove the existence of God, but

Kant recognizes three principle ideas of reason -- God, freedom and immortality -- which pure reason leads us to form for practical, i.e., moral considerations.

There is a final end – justice requires a “Supreme Reason”

There must exist an ideal world - Hope for doing good, virtuous actions

V. PRESCRIPTION

The immortality of the Soul

The Existence of God;

For such an ideal world to exist, two things are

necessary:

• Only God can guarantee the ideal proportionality of morality & happiness.

• If happiness & unhappiness are to be necessary consequences of our conduct in the empirical world, then there must be a future world in which the soul lives on.

• So Kant proves that God exists because we have morality, whereas other philosophers believed it was morality that derived from God. Thus, Kant made a half-hearted attempt to revive the God he had destroyed earlier.

“Two things fill the mind with ever new and increasing admiration and awe, the more often and steadily we reflect upon them: the starry heavens above me and the moral law within me.”

end of presentation