Immanuel Kant 1724-1804 Essay

Im human beinguel Kant was born on April 22, 1724 in Konigsberg, East Prussia. He was the son of a saddler. At age 8, he entered the Collegium Fredericianum, a Latin school, where he remained for 8 1/2 years and studied the classics. He then entered the University of Konigsberg in 1740 to study philosophy, mathematics, and physics. The death of his father halted his university c beer so he became a private tutor. In 1755, he returned to Konigsburg where he later on resumed his studies. In 1756, he received a degree and was do a lecturer, and in 1770 he became a professor.Kant entangle he had to adhere to a very strict schedule during his years as a professor. He would get up shortly before five in the dayspring and spent an minute drinking tea, smoking a pipe, and thinking everywhere his days work. From six to seven he prep bed his lecture, which would bring at seven or eight and lasted until nine or ten. after contendds his lecture he would devote himself to writing until th e midday meal. He endlessly had company for his midday meal and it would always last several hours because he enjoyed conversation.After the meal he would take a walk for an hour or so and his evenings were devoted to reading and reflection. He would go to line at ten oclock. Besides his writings, he became famous for his schedule. Kants most striking character trait was probably his chaste earnestness and his devotion to the idea of indebtedness. He was a sociable man and was excessively kindly and benevolent. He was never rich but he was elaborate in money matters. He regularly back uped a reckon of poor people. He was a sincere and loyal friend and his train was marked by courtesy and respect for some others.For 15 years after completing his doctorate he taught at the university where he lectured on erudition and math, but eventu totallyy he expanded his field to cover approximately all branches of philosophy. Kant was an amazing orator and was internationally famous for his lectures. His main finishing in philosophic way of lifes was to stimulate his listeners to stand on their own feet as he put it. He was ap tiptoped to a regular curb of philosophy at the University at the age of 46 in 1770. He was do the professor of logics and metaphysics.He came into conflict with Prussias regime ascribable to his unorthodox religious teachings. In 1792, the King of Prussia, Frederick William II, forbade Kant to teach or pull through with(predicate) on religious teachings. He obeyed the kings stage until William II died. In 1798, the year following his retirement from the University, Kant published a analysis of his religious views. He died on February 12, 1804. During his lifetime, Kant produced many writings. Scholars usually divide his literary cargoner into two periods the Pre-decisive period and the Critical period.During the Pre-critical period, 1747 to 1781, he wrote many non-fictional industrial plant and criticisms. Some of them were Thoughts on the True Estimation of Living Forces, On set up, A New Explanation of the First Principles of Metaphysical Knowlight-emitting diodege, and On the Forms and Principles of the Sensible and Intelligible World. From 1770 to 1780, he mainly worked on preparing The unfavorable sentiment of delicate yard. The Critical period lasted from 1781 to 1794. During this period, he wrote The Critique of Pure Reason in 1781, and Foundation for the Metaphysics of Ethics in 1785.Following the critical works, Kant published Critique of Practical Reason, Critique of Judgment, and theology within the Limits of Mere Reason. Three main discussions of Kant argon Duty, the expression of the End, and the Kingdom of Ethics. Kant feels that we act deterrent examplely when we do our duty, save it is important to manage mingled with acting fit to duty and acting from duty. Acting accord to duty is when someone else has imposed the duty. This is an spokesperson of heteronymous impart. A n example of this is Adolf Eichmann, a German nazi oecumenic of WWII, who formulated the final solution.He give tongue to that according to Kant, he acted morally, since he was following orders, as it was his duty to do so. This is wrong because Kant says that we atomic number 18 only acting morally if we act from duty, as dictated by our innate reason. This is an example of autonomous will. on with duty is the difference between the mat Imperative and the Hypothetical Imperative. Imperatives in general atomic number 18 commands that dictate a particular course of action, such as you shall clean your room. Hypothetical Imperatives are commands that depend on my preference for a particular end, and are stated in conditional form.The Categorical Imperative, Kant argues, are moral actions found on a coercive principle of worship which is objective, rational, freely chosen, and it is non conditional upon ones preferences. thitherfore the Categorical Imperative john be the o nly workable standard of moral obligation. An example of this is two grocers in a town are tail and Joe. John wants to keep his trade, so he insists on selling the scoop out rock-steadys, giving the best service, being friendly and polite, and offering value for money. Joe does the same, non to keep his trade, but because it is what he should do.According to Kant, even though the actions are the same, John is acting immorally, according to the Hypothetical Imperative, while Joe is acting morally, according to the Categorical Imperative. For Kant, the act is not important. As long as you are acting from duty and the motive is right, the act mustiness be right. However, the Principles of Universalisability puts a twist on this. It states that if an action is applied to everyone, and everybody did what you were close to do, it became immoral or hypocritical, and then your act would be immoral. The Formula of the End deals with ends and means.Kant states that you must not treat p eople as means to your own end, but as ends in themselves. It would be similar to Christianitys Golden Rule eject for the Universalisability Principle. The example of this is suicide. The Golden Rule does not apply in this case, because when a soul commits suicide, he does not treat others in ways he would want to be treated. He does not treat them at all, because he only treats himself. The Kingdom of Ethics states that human beings, because they are rational (use reason), boast got inherent value. This means that they are ends in themselves.Their value is intrinsic, not instrumental. Kant feels that no rule of conduct, which applies to all human beings, great deal sanction actions favoring one soul over another or agree to conduct where one person treats another as a means to an end. To do so is to land oneself and the entire human race. Kants ethics are founded in and based on respect for persons. In following a certain course of moral action, regardless of inclination, a person is enacting a Kingdom of Ethics. Along with ethics is the idea of good will. Kant believes that it is wrong to intentionally break a promise that you have made with a person.He feels that good will is a pure duty outlook that disregards consequences entirely. He says that a good will is a wanting, which is informed by reason. It is a wanting which stems, not from inclination, but from duty. Kant says quadruplet and time are not concepts but that they are forms of intuition. He spends a lot of time marching the fallacies that arise from applying space and time to things that are not experienced. Kant agrees with David Hume in believing passion brings man morality. He feels that reason is only the comparing of ideas, and that reason will limit us away from our influences.The cultivation of reason is required for the purpose, and the purpose leads to happiness, thusly reason is compatible with happiness. Kant believed that reason connected us directly to things-in-themselves. He feels that we possess two point of references of input that heap serve as such datum. These are physical one and the gumption of moral duty. Physical sensation starts an application of reason to experience, creating the perceptual experience of phenomenal objects. The supreme rational example of this is science. The sense of moral duty begins an application of reason that produces ethics and piety.The supreme rational example of this is the Postulates of Practical Reason the Ideas of God, freedom, and immortality, which to Kant are required as conditions of the Moral Law. Kant tries to demolish all the purely intellectual proofs of the pull throughence of God. He work outs it clear that he has other reasons for believing in God that he talks about later. God, freedom, and immortality are the one-third ideas of reason according to Kant. The differences between trustworthyity as seen in science, and reality as seen in morality and religion bespeak that there are points t o existence that are not revealed by either one alone.The two aspects are unequal. Magnitude and religion have a much more limited rational content, go to many of the same questions over and over a tally. These include the ultimate questions about the meaning of life and existence, as well as the questions on how to live. Kant was led to characterize his organization as unfathomable idealism, so that we have a questioned representation of things, since our moral datum does not lead to direct noesis of things that we are able to conceive, like God. This is because we do not have the real intuition that we have of physical objects.The reality shown by morality is a matter of faith for Kant. This is an inference from the Moral Law. This way, transcendental idealism is antithetic form subjective idealism and objective idealism, since they both show certainties about the ultimate nature of things. The nature of things that we cannot know about concretely is revealed in science. Kants theory of empirical realism stresses that phenomena are undoubtedly mental contents. He feels that it is natural and easy to infer from this a transcendental realism where real objects, which are not mental objects, are things we do not experience.At the age of 69, Kant wrote an essay on religion that is considered the boldest of all his writings. He said that churches have value only in that they assist the moral development of the race. He went on to say that when mere ceremonies arrogate priority over moral excellence as a fadening play of religion, religion has disappeared. He believed that the real church is a community of people, however scattered and change integrity, who are united by devotion to the common moral law. He pattern the creed and ritual had replaced the good life and that sooner of men being bound together by religion, they are divided into a thousand sects.He went on to say that a perversion is reached when the church becomes an instrument of the gover nment and the clergy, whose function is to console and guide a harassed humanity with religious faith and hope and charity, are made the tools of political oppression. He said that miracles cannot prove a religion because we can never rely on the testimony which supports them, and that prayer is useless as it aims at a suspension of the natural laws that hold for all experience. A priori judgments are made outside of experience. The sky is blue is an a posteriori judgment (made on the basis of sensory experience).I exist is an a priori truth, which corpse unchanged even if all of our senses are deceived. Analytic statements are authorized based only on the meanings of articles. The only thing needed to pick up truth is a dictionary. Synthetic statements cannot be judged like analytical statements. My quest after has black spots is a celluloid statement. The truth cannot be heady since my dog is not known. The truth is not dependent on word meanings, but on if it corresponds wi th the world. Causality is applied to perception and concepts which are applicable to perception, Kant calls Categories. There are a total of twelve Categories.Kant says that the categories are patterns of brain by which we examine structure and deduct the things that we experience. Synthetic a priori judgments make up in applying the Categories to sensory information in space and time, or the perceptual manifold. Application of the Categories allows people to realize physical objects as capable of workaday relations and interactions with other objects. Categories cannot be applied to knowledge or things that exist apart from space and time like things-in-themselves. Kant derives the Ideas from the possible forms of logical inference.When we sweep up that this potentially infinite series is given in its whole, an Idea is formed. Kant recognize three Ideas. The first is of the domineering unity of the thinking subject. The guerilla is of the absolute unity of the order of t he conditions of appearance. The third is of the absolute unity of the conditions of panorama in general. The first Idea provides a subject matter of speculative psychology. The second is one of speculative cosmology, while the third is one of speculative theology. These are all metaphysical knowledge of matters of fact from synthetic a priori principles.Kants Ideas are in reality all about metaphysical paradoxes (Antimony of space and time) in its entirety, an unconditioned whole. Kant believes that all these matters are open to clarification and development. He as well as believes that the mind produces the world it knows. To understand The Critique, Kants logical system must be understood. He divides all judgments into analytic or synthetic judgments and a priori or a posteriori judgments. Judgments about empirical matters are synthetic, which can be denied without any contradiction. A priori judgments are free from experience. All analytic judgments are a priori.Therefore jud gments are split up into three classes analytic a priori, synthetic a posteriori, and synthetic a priori. iodine of his points made in The Critique is to show how synthetic a priori judgments keep in pure mathematics and natural science. Critique is not really a criticism, but a critical analysis where Kant is not struggle pure reason except to show its limitations. Rather he hopes to show its possibility and to exalt it above the impure knowledge which comes to us through the distorting channels of sense. He is trying to show that knowledge is not all derived from the senses.Kant distinguished between perceiving and thinking, which are from two distinct faculties of the mind, sense and under rest. There are three types of concepts. A posteriori concepts are taken from sense perception and are applicable to it, while Ideas are free of all sense perception. From Kant we know that every event must have a cause. This is possible only on the condition that objects must be subjected t o the concepts of human understanding. He said that not all knowledge is gained through experience. It is possible to gain knowledge from sense-experience.That is that you can learn by seeing things that are not experienced but rather come from logic. The Critique of Pure Reason, published in 1781, is a synthesis of rationalism and empiricism. In order to understand Kants position and orthodox teachings, we must first understand the philosophical background that he was reacting to. There were two major diachronic movements in the early modern period of philosophy that had a evidential impact on Kant Empiricism and Rationalism. Kant argued that both the content and method of these philosophies contained spartan flaws.A central problem for philosophers in both movements was determining how we can escape from within the confines of the human mind and the immediately knowable content of our thoughts to acquire knowledge of the world outside of us. The Empiricists sought to finish t his through the senses and a posteriori reasoning. Empiricists such as John Locke argued that human knowledge originates in our sensations or experiences. Locke argued that the mind was a blank slate, or a Tabula Rasa, upon which our experiences writes and that experience teaches us everything.The Rationalists attempted to use a prori reasoning to cook the necessary bridge. The Rationalists, principally Descartes, approached the problems of human knowledge from another angle. The Rationalists believed that the mind was the source of knowledge and that sense-data from our experiences only trigger the knowledge already in the mind. Kants answer to the two positions changed the face of philosophy. Both of these in themselves, he believed, gave a one-sided view of knowledge. Kant believed that there was more to knowledge then proficient experience. He believed that the mind gave us knowledge through the categories.That experience is passing play to trigger the knowledge or categories that are innate to all of us. So he would say that there is nothing that we could not know or learn because we already have the categories in the mind. Kant believed that nations would not really be civilized until all standing armies are abolished. He stated that standing armies cause states to try to outdo each other with the number of gird men each has. Because of the expense of the armies, peace becomes in the long run more oppressive than a short war and standing armies are the cause of aggressive wars undertaken in order to get rid of this burden.Kant felt that much militarism was due to the expansion of Europe into America and Africa and Asia. He believed that if commonwealth was established and that everyone shared in political power, the spoils of international robbery would have to be subdivided as to constitute a resistible temptation. Kant said when those who must do the fighting have the right to decide between war and peace, history will no longer be written in bloo d. Many philosophers were influenced by prior philosophers. Berkeley was, for Kant, the characteristic idealist and an empiricist.Descartes, on the other hand, was a realist believing that objects exist separately from us. He also thought that we could only know their essences through clear and distinct innate ideas. This made him a transcendental realist. Kants thoughts were mainly influenced by the rationalism of Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz, Christian Wolff, and the empiricism of David Hume. The reason I chose Immanuel Kant to research is because not only of his philosophical views but also because of his interests in scientific issues. He was interested in virtually every aspect of human experience.While researching him I became move with his views on war, especially that if we allowed the people who have to do the fighting to make the decision about war, we would have peace. I agree that sometimes the government makes the decisions that doesnt represent what the people want. I was also impressed with his views on religion, how the churches become instruments in the hands of the government and the clergy become tools of politics. Since Kants thought is truly the basis of modern philosophy, it is still a main point of departure for the 21st century.