Freedom as the Guarantor of the Possibility of the Highest Good

2020 ◽  
pp. 264-282
Author(s):  
Christopher J. Insole
Keyword(s):  
Moral Status ◽  
Human Freedom ◽  
Existence Of God ◽  
Highest Good ◽  
First Cause ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Free Actions

The chapter articulates the following problem: given all that Kant’s notion of freedom, and the intelligible realm can achieve, what precisely is the role of God? That is, what do we need God for? And then, even if we have identified a role which God is expected to fill, there is the further question of whether God can fulfil this role, consistently with Kant’s wider commitments. It is suggested that God either seems to be ‘too much’, or ‘not enough’: ‘too much’, in that God can seem redundant, given all that is achieved by the notion of freedom, and ‘not enough’, in that, were God needed to make up some sort of deficit in our moral status, this would seem to violate Kant’s restrictions on human freedom, which is always ‘all or nothing’, such that all our free actions must come as a first cause from ourselves, and ourselves alone. This is a problem that threatens the cogency of Kant’s ‘moral proof’, which is to say, his understanding of the relationship between the highest good, happiness, and the existence of God.

scholarly journals Arendt’s Political Theology—From Political Religion to Profanation

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 111-131
Author(s):  
Bulent Diken ◽  
Carsten Bagge Laustsen ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Political Theology ◽  
Human Freedom ◽  
Political Community ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Religion ◽  
Politics And Religion ◽  
The Republic ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Voluntary Servitude

The article elaborates on Arendt’s take on the religious and the political and on how they interact and merge in modernity, especially in totalitarianism. We start with framing the three different understandings of religion in Arendt: first, a classic understanding of religion, which is foreign to the logic of the political; second, a secularized political religion; and third, a weak messianism. Both the classic understanding of religion and the political religion deny human freedom in Arendt’s sense. Her transcendent alternative to them both is the notion of the democratic political community: the Republic. Then we turn to Arendt’s political theology, illuminating why interrogating Nazism is central to examine the relationship between politics and religion in modernity. This is followed by a discussion of Nazism as a type of political religion. We focus here on totalitarianism, both as an idea and actual institution. We conclude with an assessment of the role of profanation in Arendt’s work and its significance vis-à-vis the contemporary ‘return of religion’ as well as totalitarian tendencies which call for new forms of voluntary servitude.

Ending Malaria with Gene Drive Technologies? A Normative Analysis of the Role of Humans in Nature

2021 ◽  
Vol 66 (Special Issue) ◽  
pp. 60-60
Author(s):  
Nienke de Graeff ◽  
Karin Jongsma ◽  
Annelien Bredenoord
Keyword(s):  
Moral Status ◽  
Gene Drive ◽  
Moral Permissibility ◽  
Ethical Debate ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
As Species ◽  
Intractable Problems ◽  
Vector Borne ◽  
The Relationship

"Gene drive technologies (GDT) promote the rapid, progressive spread of gene alterations within a population or a species of wild organisms. If GDT are successfully developed and implemented, they could help to resolve intractable problems in the realm of vector-borne disease, invasive species and pest control, but these technologies have also raised concerns regarding the moral permissibility of interfering in nature in this way. In particular, it has been argued that perspectives on humans’ relationship to nature and their impact on and manipulation of ecosystems play a crucial role in determining the moral permissibility of GDT. Nonetheless, these perspectives have thus far remained underexplored in the emerging ethical debate on GDT. In this presentation, I identify these perspectives and concerns and analyse them normatively. Four issues are demonstrated to be of central importance in deciding whether (a particular) use of GDT is in accordance with the relationship humans should have to nature: (1) the moral status of and direct duties towards different organisms; (2) the prioritisation of duties towards different organisms in case of conflicting claims; (3) the moral (ir)relevance of ‘wildness’; and (4) the moral status of holistic entities such as species and ecosystems. The normative positions that can be taken on these issues are presented and critically assessed to determine the moral permissibility of particular applications of GDT. Doing so elucidates the central trade-offs and points of contention in the ethical debate on interfering in nature in this way. "

From Freedom to Freedom

2020 ◽  
pp. 77-102
Author(s):  
Christopher J. Insole
Keyword(s):  
Human Freedom ◽  
Significant Shift ◽  
Highest Good ◽  
Critical Thought ◽  
Physical Universe ◽  
First Cause

This chapter studies the significant shift, in the 1760s and 1770s, in Kant’s conception of what human freedom must consist in: from compatibilism to transcendental freedom. We find that in his early thought, a deterministic conception of freedom is not merely presented as compatible, in some sense, with a notion of freedom. Although committed to a ‘Newtonian’ account of the behaviour of the physical universe, the success of such accounts, for the pre-critical Kant, is grounded upon a Platonic conception of fundamental reality, which makes recourse to the notion of an intrinsic teleology within all created beings. For this reason, determinism is celebrated as a manifestation and emanation of the order, harmony, and divinity that characterize the being of God. The chapter shows how this changes in the 1760s and 1770s, as Kant pivots into his radically different critical conception of freedom, and of our highest created good. By the 1780s Kant is convinced that we are only free, if we are, in some fundamental sense, the first cause of our actions, without any exterior or prior causal forces acting upon us. Everything Kant says about happiness and the highest good that comes after this shift will look quite different, although, the chapter suggests, there are some subterranean continuities between his pre-critical and critical thought.

Regulative principles and ‘the Wise Author of Nature’

2010 ◽  
Vol 47 (4) ◽  
pp. 411-429 ◽  
Author(s):  
LAWRENCE PASTERNACK
Keyword(s):  
Pure Reason ◽  
Critique Of Pure Reason ◽  
Design Argument ◽  
Highest Good ◽  
Theological Argument ◽  
The Relationship

AbstractThere is much more said in the Critique of Pure Reason about the relationship between God and purposiveness than what is found in Kant's analysis of the physico-theological (design) argument. The ‘Wise Author of Nature’ is central to his analysis of regulative principles in the ‘Appendix to the Transcendental Dialectic’ and also appears in the ‘Canon’, first with regards to the Highest Good and then again in relation to our theoretical use of purposiveness. This paper will begin with a brief discussion of the physico-theological argument before moving on to the Appendix and the Canon. Finally, it will consider some changes to the role of the Wise Author in the Critique of Judgement.

Kant and the Divine

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher J. Insole
Keyword(s):  
Human Freedom ◽  
Western Philosophy ◽  
Divine Action ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
Christian Doctrine ◽  
Highest Good ◽  
Internal Coherence ◽  
Theological Critique ◽  
The Relationship

The book offers a definitive study of the development of Kant’s conception of the highest good, from his earliest work, to his dying days. It is argued that Kant believes in God, but that he is not a Christian, and that this opens up an important and neglected dimension of Western philosophy. Kant is not a Christian, because he cannot accept Christianity’s traditional claims about the relationship between divine action, grace, human freedom, and happiness. Christian theologians who continue to affirm these traditional claims (and many do), therefore have grounds to be suspicious of Kant as an interpreter of Christian doctrine. As well as setting out a theological critique of Kant, the book offers a new defence of the power, beauty, and internal coherence of Kant’s non-Christian philosophical religiosity, ‘within the limits of reason alone’, which reason itself has some divine features. This neglected strand of philosophical religiosity deserves to be engaged with by both philosophers, and theologians. The Kant revealed in this book reminds us of a perennial task of philosophy, going back to Plato, where philosophy is construed as a way of life, oriented towards happiness, and achieved through a properly expansive conception of reason and happiness. When we understand this philosophical religiosity, many standard ‘problems’ in the interpretation of Kant can be seen in a new light, and resolved. Kant witnesses to a strand of philosophy that leans into the category of the divine, at the edges of what we can say about reason, freedom, autonomy, and happiness.

Choosing a Markov blanket

2020 ◽  
Vol 43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Parr
Keyword(s):  
Markov Blanket ◽  
Target Article ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract This commentary focuses upon the relationship between two themes in the target article: the ways in which a Markov blanket may be defined and the role of precision and salience in mediating the interactions between what is internal and external to a system. These each rest upon the different perspectives we might take while “choosing” a Markov blanket.

Staring Down Death

Crisis ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 212-217 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas E. Joiner ◽  
Melanie A. Hom ◽  
Megan L. Rogers ◽  
Carol Chu ◽  
Ian H. Stanley ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Suicide Risk ◽  
Clinical Utility ◽  
Blink Rate ◽  
Specific Task ◽  
Careful Planning ◽  
Eye Blink ◽  
Eye Blinks ◽  
Potential Clinical Utility ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract. Background: Lowered eye blink rate may be a clinically useful indicator of acute, imminent, and severe suicide risk. Diminished eye blink rates are often seen among individuals engaged in heightened concentration on a specific task that requires careful planning and attention. Indeed, overcoming one’s biological instinct for survival through suicide necessitates premeditation and concentration; thus, a diminished eye blink rate may signal imminent suicidality. Aims: This article aims to spur research and clinical inquiry into the role of eye blinks as an indicator of acute suicide risk. Method: Literature relevant to the potential connection between eye blink rate and suicidality was reviewed and synthesized. Results: Anecdotal, cognitive, neurological, and conceptual support for the relationship between decreased blink rate and suicide risk is outlined. Conclusion: Given that eye blinks are a highly observable behavior, the potential clinical utility of using eye blink rate as a marker of suicide risk is immense. Research is warranted to explore the association between eye blink rate and acute suicide risk.

Parenting Behaviors and Anxiety in Young Adults

2015 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 170-176 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erin N. Stevens ◽  
Joseph R. Bardeen ◽  
Kyle W. Murdock
Keyword(s):  
Effortful Control ◽  
Parenting Behaviors ◽  
Protective Role ◽  
Anxiety Symptoms ◽  
Interactive Effects ◽  
Parental Overprotection ◽  
High Control ◽  
Development Of Anxiety ◽  
The Relationship

Parenting behaviors – specifically behaviors characterized by high control, intrusiveness, rejection, and overprotection – and effortful control have each been implicated in the development of anxiety pathology. However, little research has examined the protective role of effortful control in the relation between parenting and anxiety symptoms, specifically among adults. Thus, we sought to explore the unique and interactive effects of parenting and effortful control on anxiety among adults (N = 162). Results suggest that effortful control uniquely contributes to anxiety symptoms above and beyond that of any parenting behavior. Furthermore, effortful control acted as a moderator of the relationship between parental overprotection and anxiety, such that overprotection is associated with anxiety only in individuals with lower levels of effortful control. Implications for potential prevention and intervention efforts which specifically target effortful control are discussed. These findings underscore the importance of considering individual differences in self-regulatory abilities when examining associations between putative early-life risk factors, such as parenting, and anxiety symptoms.

Social Support, Emotional Intelligence, and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms

2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole L. Hofman ◽  
Austin M. Hahn ◽  
Christine K. Tirabassi ◽  
Raluca M. Gaher
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder ◽  
Emotional Intelligence ◽  
Protective Factors ◽  
Posttraumatic Stress ◽  
Stress Disorder ◽  
Traumatic Events ◽  
Ptsd Symptoms ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract. Exposure to traumatic events and the associated risk of developing Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms is a significant and overlooked concern in the college population. It is important for current research to identify potential protective factors associated with the development and maintenance of PTSD symptoms unique to this population. Emotional intelligence and perceived social support are two identified protective factors that influence the association between exposure to traumatic events and PTSD symptomology. The current study examined the mediating role of social support in the relationship between emotional intelligence and PTSD symptoms. Participants included 443 trauma-exposed university students who completed online questionnaires. The results of this study indicated that social support mediates the relationship between emotional intelligence and reported PTSD symptoms. Thus, emotional intelligence is significantly associated with PTSD symptoms and social support may play an integral role in the relationship between emotional intelligence and PTSD. The current study is the first to investigate the role of social support in the relationship between emotional intelligence and PTSD symptoms. These findings have important treatment and prevention implications with regard to PTSD.

Coping Humor as a Mediator Between Emotional Intelligence and Job Satisfaction

2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 155-159 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peizhen Sun ◽  
Jennifer J. Chen ◽  
Hongyan Jiang
Keyword(s):  
Job Satisfaction ◽  
Emotional Intelligence ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Satisfaction Scale ◽  
Primary School Teachers ◽  
Mediating Role ◽  
Regulation Of Emotion ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Overall Job Satisfaction

Abstract. This study investigated the mediating role of coping humor in the relationship between emotional intelligence (EI) and job satisfaction. Participants were 398 primary school teachers in China, who completed the Wong Law Emotional Intelligence Scale, Coping Humor Scale, and Overall Job Satisfaction Scale. Results showed that coping humor was a significant mediator between EI and job satisfaction. A further examination revealed, however, that coping humor only mediated two sub-dimensions of EI (use of emotion and regulation of emotion) and job satisfaction. Implications for future research and limitations of the study are discussed.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document