The Kantian Concept Ho

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The Kantian Concept Immanuel Kant A German philosopher born in Königsberg in East Prussia on April 22, 1724. He entered the University of Königsberg, where he studied philosophy, mathematics, and the natural sciences under a young instructor named Martin Knutzen, who first introduced him to the philosophy of Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz and Christian von Wolff His philosophy is essentially a "criticism", because it is an examination of knowledge, and "transcendental", because its purpose in examining knowledge, is to determine the a priori, or transcendental, forms. Two Periods of Kant’s Literary Activity Pre-Critical Period Kant, taught the philosophy then prevalent in Germany, which was Wolff's modified form of dogmatic rationalism. Apparent contradictions which he found to exist in the physical sciences, and the conclusions which Hume had reached in his analysis of the principle of causation, "awoke Kant from his dogmatic slumber" Starting from the year 1770, Kant showed his tendency of forming an independent philosophy and he spent the following years in preparation for his first major work considered in his critical period, which is, the “Critique of Pure Reason” Critical Period It will be found most convenient to divide the study of Kant's critical philosophy into three portions: 1. "Critique of Pure Reason" 2. "Critique of Practical Reason“ 3. "Critique of the Faculty of Judgment" "Critiques" -- so named because, in the true sense of the word, "to criticize" means to discuss and judge. Kant's entire work is a careful examination and judgment of Rationalism and Empiricism, with a view to determining the merits and deficiencies of the two.

Bautista, Gascon, Sayson The Kantian Concept

Human Consciousness and Conduct Kant reached back to Plato's concept of reality Kant indicated that the nature of his philosophic thought goes beyond the realm of sense experience ideas and concepts can be formed and organized in the human intellect independently of feelings and inclinations For Kant, Hume's idea is not pure knowledge but only experimental knowledge "there is, therefore, a priori knowledge" The Principle of Rightness

Precepts of natural law are the telos that the legal order should strive to attain Precepts of the natural law are not prompted by sense-experience but by the ethical attitude to do what is right and avoid what is wrong with the use of the unique faculties of human consciousness, namely: thinking, volition and judgment Critique of Pure Reason Kant teaches that there is another type of judgment called synthetic a priori. For the formation of any synthetic a priori judgment it is necessary to have form and matter. The form is given by the intellect, independent of all experience, a priori, and signifies the function, manner and law of knowing and acting,

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which the subject finds in itself prior to all experience. The matter is the subjective sensations which we receive from the external world. This work is divided into three parts: Transcendental Aesthetic – investigates the elements of sensible knowledge in reference to a priori forms of space and time Transcendental Analytic – an inquiry into intellectual knowledge Transcendental Dialectic – has for its object that reality which lies beyond our experience; namely, the essence of God, man and the world Critique of Practical Reason Kant makes the universality and necessity of the moral law dependent, not on the empirical act and the end that we might intend in our actions, but on a categorical imperative, in the will itself. "Duty for duty's sake" Among all the imperatives that can determine the will to action it is necessary to distinguish the hypothetical from the categorical Hypothetical imperatives - impose a command in order to attain an end and are hence conditioned on that end. Categorical imperatives - impose themselves automatically. Only categorical imperatives enjoy universality and necessity, and hence only they can be the foundation of morality. Critique of Judgment Both the Critique of Pure Reason and the Critique of Practical Reason have established a dualism -- of phenomenon (knowable by the senses) and noumenon (thing in itself), of the sensible and suprasensible, the conditional and unconditional, mechanical necessity and liberty. Kant maintains that such a synthesis is possible through the judgment of sentiment, the study of which he presents in the Critique of Judgment. In the Critique of Judgment Kant presents only two reflecting judgments -- that which arises from the finality of nature (teleological), and that which is called aesthetic. Teleological Judgement -creative activity of nature develops itself in a successive series of phenomena connected with one another

Bautista, Gascon, Sayson Kantianthe Concept mechanically, thatThe is, through laws of causality. -this teleological view, in which we consider the world of beings and of events as ordained to an end and ultimately to our spiritual exigencies, finds its reason in sentiment and not in the intellect.

Aesthetic Judgement -we judge an object to be pleasurable -begins by our separating the object from every determined concept and from every practical interest, and by referring the object thus freed to the subject -the object of an aesthetic judgment is the "form" of the object considered in itself and referred to the subject -In becoming aware of aesthetic pleasure, the subject (ego) feels himself free of any theoretical or practical interest; he feels himself to be one, a person, the subject of spiritual activity. How and Why Something May be Considered Moral “Everyone must admit that a law, if it is to hold morally, i.e., as a ground of obligation, must imply absolute necessity; he must admit that the command, “Thou shall not lie,” does not apply to men only, as if other rational beings had no need to observe it. The same is true for all other moral laws properly called.” Morality exists a priori. Morality is the unconditional ought. Application of Kant’s Principle of Rightness Deals with the problem of determining when conduct and decisions are or are not injurious to others. “How may conduct and decisions be considered in accord with the principle of rightness with certainty?” It is unsound to deal with the problem relating principle of rightness with conduct and decisions by relying on the empirical nature of senseexperience. Principles of natural law would not be binding on all rational persons at all times. Kant relied on the “ethical ought” rather than on the “legal ought.”

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Bautista, Gascon, Sayson The Kantian It commands each individual to regardConcept him as determining, by its decision to act in a certain way. That everyone (including himself) will always act according to the same general rule in the future. No person would accept a proposal that would contradict itself. It is an impetus whether an act is moral or not.

Universal Criterion Must be absolute and obligatory. It can never be hypothetical nor tentative. Hypothetical v Categorical Imperative

Categorical Imperative Imperative A command. It commands people to exercise their wills in a particular way, not to perform some action or other. Categorical People possess rational wills. Without reference to any ends they might or might not achieve. A test or method of determination on whether or not a specific act is considered to be morally right, morally wrong or somewhere beyond moral realm. “Act only on that maxim whereby thou canst at the same time will that is should become a universal law.” In order for an act to be categorically imperative, it must be thought to be good in itself and in conformity to reason. Whether or not a person can “universalize” his actions. Whether others would act in accordance with the same rule in a similar circumstance.

The Conception of Rightness Right has regard only to the external and practical relation of one person to another, in so far as they can have influence upon each other , immediately or mediately , by their actions as facts The conception of right does not indicate the relation of the action of an individual to the wish of the mere desire of another , as in acts of benevolence or of unkindness, but only the relation of his free action to the freedom of action of the other In this reciprocal relation of voluntary actions, the conception of right does not take into consideration the matter of act of will in so far as the end which any one may have in view in willing it, is concerned Kant on the Golden Rule Kant states that what he is saying is not the same as the Golden Rule; that the Golden Rule is derived from the categorical imperative with limitations. That, under the Golden Rule many things cannot be universal. aaa Metalegal Basis of Law A Priori v A Posteriori Kant distinguishes between a priori knowledge, which is based on reason, and a posteriori knowledge, which is based on experience. A priori knowledge may be pure, if it has no empirical element, or impure if it has an empirical element. A priori truths are logically necessary truths, while a posteriori truths are empirical, contingent truths. A priori judgments are characterized by logical necessity and by strict universality. A posteriori judgements are not characterized by logical necessity or by absolute universality. Transcendental Aesthetics The beginning of knowledge is in sensibility, in the reception of sensations. In order to constitute

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knowledge, sensations must be located in space, if they come to us through the external senses; and in time, i.e., succeeding one another, no matter what their origin -- even if they be simple states of consciousness, such as pleasure and pain. The pure intuitions of time and space give us a manifold but disorganized knowledge of nature. The human spirit, which tends to the unification of knowledge, cannot stop at these confused intuitions. It feels impelled to progress to a higher degree of understanding which is centered in the intellect and whose activity consists in organizing the sensible data dispersed in space and time. This is possible through the a priori forms or categories with which the intellect is endowed. The classification of sensible intuitions, performed by the intellect through its categories, does not attain perfect unity. It remains always in the world of phenomena, in a phenomenal series which extends itself indefinitely in space and time. Within us, however, there is the tendency to achieve a definite unification of phenomena, and as a consequence there arise in us certain "ideas" which serve as a point of reference and organization for the totality of phenomena. These "ideas" are personal ego, the unifying principle of all internal phenomena; the external world, the unifying principle of all phenomena coming from without; and God, the unifying principle of all phenomena, regardless of their origin. NOTES: ___________________________________________ ___________________________________________ ___________________________________________ ___________________________________________ ___________________________________________ ___________________________________________ ___________________________________________ ___________________________________________ ___________________________________________ ___________________________________________ ___________________________________________ ___________________________________________ ___________________________________________ ___________________________________________ ___________________________________________ ___________________________________________ ___________________________________________ ___________________________________________ ___________________________________________

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