Kant was an 18th century German philosopher who was born in 1724 and died in 1804. Kant was the last influential philosopher of modern Europe in the sequence of the theory of knowledge during the enlightenment. He believed in democracy and had strong views regarding the Rights of Man which is clear when he states, "There can be nothing more dreadful that that the actions of a man should be subject to the will of another."
Kant's most important book is the 'Critique of Reason' which is written with the aim to prove that knowledge cannot always transcend experience however knowledge is in effect a priori and is not always taken from experience.
German idealism is similar to the Romanticism movement, and Kant was the founder of German Idealism. Characteristics of German Idealists are as follows:
- The critique of knowledge as a means of reaching philosophical conclusions is emphasized by Kant and accepted by his followers.
- There is an emphasis on mind as oppose to matter which in the end leads to the assertion that only mind exists.
- There is a passionate rejection of Utilitarian ethics (greatest good for the greatest number) in favour of systems which are held to be demonstrated by abstract philosophical arguments.
- They made innovations in theory, but they did so in the interests of religion.
Kant uses the term priori which means we have knowledge prior to experiencing things. Kant's theory states that if the mind can think only in terms of causality, then we can know prior to experiencing them that all objects we experience must either be a cause or an effect.
Kant made a distinction between these terms, 'analytic' and 'synthetic', and 'a priori' and 'empirical'. An 'analytic' proposition is one which the predicate is part of the subject, for example, 'a tall man is a man' or 'an equilateral triangle is a triangle'. However, all propositions that we know only through experience are 'synthetic'. 'Synthetic' means something is made up of several other things, so here take the example of a cake, in order to make a cake you need flour, eggs and sugar, which therefore demonstrates that the cake is synthetic. An 'empirical' proposition is one which we cannot know except by the help of sense-perception, either our own or someone else's who we trust. And lastly, 'a priori' proposition is one which is more likely to have a basis other than experience. Here Russell gave the example of a child learning arithmetic where they may use objects to illustrate numbers. So 2 marbles plus 2 marbles equals 4 marbles, however, when the concept is understood the marbles are no longer needed.
Kant established a question to prove that although the law on causality is not analytic, it is still known as a priori. He said, "How are synthetic judgements a priori possible?" Meaning how are unnatural judgements possible if you have knowledge based on something other than experience?
Kant's philosophy on space and time is that they are not concepts they are forms of intutition. With this he created 12 categories which are derived from the forms of the syllogism. All of the categories are possible and are all subjective like space and time.
Also within the 'Critique of Reason' Kant states there are only three proofs to the existence of God:
- The ontological proof which defines God as the most real being;
- The cosmological proof which means if anything exists then an absolutely necessary Being must exist;
- And the physicotheological proof which means the univers exhibits an order which is evidence of purpose.
The other philosopher we have been looking at was Hegel, 1770-1831.
Hegel concluded the movement in German philosophy which started with Kant.
Hegel saw that nothing is ultimately and completely real except the Whole. One of Hegel's famous statements is 'the real is rational and the rational is real'. An empiricist will view certain aspects to be facts when they are irrational.
Hegel's idea that the Whole is completely real leads him to state that the Whole is called the 'Absolute' which is spiritual.
He has a metaphysical outlook to which he distinguished himself to other men with two aspects; one is his emphasis on logic and the other is the triasic movement called the 'dialectic'.
Two examples are given to illustrate his dialectic methods:
- He assumes that the Absolute is Pure Being'. No qualities have been assigned to the Being so it is nothing.
- And this leads to assuming the Absolute is Becoming but nothing becomes from this.
Hegel has set out a process which is essential to the understanding of the result. He says it is impossible to reach the truth except by going through all the steps of the dialectic. Imagine knowledge as a triangle to which there are three aspects of gaining knowledge. This process begins with sense perception, whereby there is only awareness of the object.
Then through sceptical criticism of the sense, it becomes purely subjective. To conclude it reaches the stage of self-knowledge where the subject and the object are no longer distinct. It is said that the highest form of knowledge is self-conciousness and the Absolute must possess this quality.
Hegel also believed that nothing was wholly false and nothing that we know can be wholly true. The Absolute is thought thinking about itself.
He explains that you cannot distinguish between ethical sense and the logical sense as logical perfection consistss of being a 'perfect' whole without independent parts but united like a human body.
Another one of Hegel's strong beliefs is that there is no freedom without law, so wherever there is law there is freedom.
As Hegel was a German philosopher, he believed that the German spirit is the spirit of the new world. Many people may disagree with Hegel when he states that there is no real State in America, because a real State requires a division of classes into rich and poor. He then goes on to say that the State is the Divine Idea as it exists on earth.
'The State is the reality of the moral idea'. If the State existed only for the interests of individuals, an individual might or might not be a member of the State. It is said that the duty of a citizen is entirely confined to upholding the substantial individuality and independence and sovereignty of his own State.
Hegel's next statement was very interesting, as I think it may contrast other philosopher's beliefs. 'It is good to have wars from time to time, [because] war is the condition in which we take seriously the vanity of temporal goods and things.'
No comments:
Post a Comment