Immanuel Kant
5 After reading the sections on Kierkegaard and Nietzsche, you may be getting the idea that philosophers are generally pessimists. 2Kant should be a nice change of pace as he clearly held strong views on morality and God that will be of interest to anyone questioning standard religious dogma.
Who Was He?
3Like Nietzsche, Kant was born in Prussia (though the modern-day location is now part of Russia, not Germany) in 1724. 4He had a very strict religious upbringing and most of his early education focused on Biblical studies rather than more typical academics of the time. 5Even so, he developed a strong scepticism for religion and eventually left the faith altogether as an agnostic.
6He soon became a teacher and started doing further work in philosophy. 7His life was spent at various teaching positions while he continued to write. 8His critical attitude toward the Church got him into trouble until he swore that we would never write on the subject of religion again, an oath he kept until the death of the King. 9Kant himself died in 1804.
Theory of Perception
10Kant s book The Critique of Pure Reason is considered to be one of his most important works and that is where this concept is most fully outlined. 11The ideas put forward in the book have influenced thinkers ever since, but they are not easily explained to the non-philosopher. 12Take a little time to digest this summary as best you can. 13This is his theory of transcendental idealism.
14He felt that experience was made up of our perceptions of the world around us as well as a framework of innate knowledge we already possess (he used the term a priori knowledge). 15T h i s a priori knowledge is fundamental and it exists without any prior experience to create it. 16The most common example of this is the statement, all bachelors are unmarried . 17The fact is inherent within the statement itself and nothing further has to be inferred from any prior experience for it to make sense.
180ur understanding of our perceptions is coloured by facts we already know rather than just on what we perceive at that moment. 19The basic premise is that objects around us are perceived partially based on the person doing the perceiving. 20So the reality outside us is not absolute, or at least not perceived in an absolute manner.
21He also felt that space and time were not true objects of their own, but rather a framework that we perceive through. 22If we need both space and time to perceive anything, then there is no way for us to perceive those things on their own.
The Nature of Morals
23Kant s works on this subject spanned the course of three of his works: Critique of Practical Reason, Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals , and The Metaphysics of Morals. 24Needless to say, these are not simple theories because they took him three separate books to elaborate upon. 25He put forward a number of moral formulas that worked together to create his categorical imperative :
i. Formula of Universal Law – Consider the rationality of your choices as though they were universally held laws that everyone followed. If that scenario is irrational, then said choices should not be followed from a moral point of view.
ii. Formula of the End in Itself – Always consider other people to be an end unto themselves and never just the means to an end.
iii. Formula of Autonomy – This is a mix of the first two formulations, fundamentally stating that we are all bound by the two prior formulas.
26Though these ideas are far more complicated than this summary, the basic premise seems to simply be: treat others as you would like to be treated yourself.
Belief in God
27Kant believed in God, or at least the general idea of a supreme being from a logical viewpoint (like most philosophers). 28In his mind, the very concept of morals must come from a belief in God and since he felt that morals did exist, therefore God must also exist. 29However, he did admit that it is not possible to truly know or understand the full nature of God.
30Though he personally did believe in God, he was vocally critical of the Church and many artificial aspects of organised religion. 31To Kant, only true moral living would be pleasing to God and all the rest was irrelevant.
More of His Work
32Here is a short list of books by Kant that would be a great help for any continuing research on his thoughts and theories. 33His main works have already been mentioned.
i. Critique of Judgement
ii. Religion within the Limits of Reason Alone
iii. Metaphysics of Ethics
iv. Universal Natural History and Theory of Heaven
v. The Only Possible Argument in Support of a Demonstration of the Existence of God
vi. An Answer to the Question: What is Enlightenment?