The Teleological Argument in Kant’s Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals

Kant-Studien ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 112 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-77
Author(s):  
Khafiz Kerimov

Abstract The first section of Kant’s Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals contains a teleological argument, the aim of which is to show that the natural purpose of human reason lies not in securing happiness but in morality. While the teleological argument is widely considered to be digressive and unconvincing in the secondary literature, in this article I attempt to show that the argument is neither digressive nor unconvincing. I argue that it fulfills an important synthetic task in the Groundwork (even if in a preliminary manner), that it is consistent with Kant’s views on natural teleology at the time, and that the criticism of happiness contained therein is as convincing as Kant’s criticism of happiness in the rest of the treatise.

2012 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 109-134 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sebastian Rand

AbstractThis paper addresses problems associated with the role of the empirical concept of matter in Kant's Metaphysical Foundations of Natural Science, offering an interpretation emphasizing two points consistently neglected in the secondary literature: the distinction between logical and real essence, and Kant's claim that motion must be represented in pure intuition by static geometrical figures. I conclude that special metaphysics cannot achieve its stated and systematically justified goal of discovering the real essence of matter, but that Kant requires this failure for his larger philosophical presentation of the dialectic that ‘irremediably attaches to human reason’ (A298/B354).


2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 175-187
Author(s):  
Herman Westerink ◽  
Philippe Van Haute

Although Freud's ‘Family Romances’ from 1909 is hardly ever discussed at length in secondary literature, this article highlights this short essay as an important and informative text about Freud's changing perspectives on sexuality in the period in which the text was written. Given the fact that Freud, in his 1905 Three Essays, develops a radical theory of infantile sexuality as polymorphously perverse and as autoerotic pleasure, we argue that ‘Family Romances’, together with the closely related essay on infantile sexual theories (1908), paves the way for new theories of sexuality defined in terms of object relations informed by knowledge of sexual difference. ‘Family Romances’, in other words, preludes the introduction of the Oedipus complex, but also – interestingly – gives room for a Jungian view of sexuality and sexual phantasy. ‘Family Romances’ is thus a good illustration of the complex way in which Freud's theories of sexuality developed through time.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 37
Author(s):  
Menachem Fisch

Robert Brandom's "The Pragmatist Enlightenment" describes the advent of American pragmatism as signaling a sea-change in our understanding of human reason away from the top-down Euclidian models of reasoning, warrant and knowledge inspired by the physical sciences, toward the far more bottom-up, narrative, inherently fallible and dialogical forms of reasoning of the life and human sciences. It is against this backdrop that Talmudic Judaism emerges not only as an early anticipation of the pragmatist enlightenment, but as going a substantial and radical step beyond it, that in the context of religious commitment and reasoning, is unprecedented. 


2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
M Samson Fajar ◽  
Sabdo Sabdo

Abstract: Culture as a result of the free and dual human creative power of the natural world, it encompasses the material matters (Immaterial) and Maddi (material), real and unreal objects, Malmusah and Ghairu malmusah (palpable and untouched). Essentially, culture (Tsaqafah) is expressed as the product of human reason consisting of patterns, steady attitudes, thoughts, feelings, and reactions obtained and is primarily derived by symbols that make up its achievement independently of human groups. The nature of this Islamic responsiveness has been built by the Prophet (s) when prohibiting Khamr, forbidding the worship of idols and other shari'ah. How Rasulullah saw is very careful and gradual in doing da'wah, so achieved the success of da'wah in upholding Islamic creed and shari'ah at that time. Today many problems in the establishment of law and legislation, legislators are more concerned with intellectual subjectivity and importance than the objectivity of humanity to the benefit, resulting in policies that are not responsive to the needs of society. The author in this context tries to inventory the various local wisdom of the Muslim community in the archipelago that is relevant as an approach in establishing legislation based on local culture.Keywords: Local Culture, Legislation, Islamic Law Abstrak. Budaya merupakan hasil dari kreativitas manusiawi yang bebas dan alamiah, meliputi sisi immaterial dan materi, objek nyata dan tidak nyata, malmusah dan ghairu malmusah (gamblang dan tak tersentuh). Pada dasarnya, budaya (tsaqafah) merupakan produk akal manusia yang terdiri dari pola, kesantunan, pikiran, perasaan, dan reaksi yang diperoleh dan terutama berasal oleh simbol yang membentuk pencapaiannya secara mandiri dari kelompok manusia. Sifat dari respon Islam ini telah dibangun oleh Nabi (s) ketika melarang khamr, melarang penyembahan berhala dan syariah lainnya. Bagaimana Rasulullah melihat sangat hati-hati dan bertahap dalam melakukan dakwah, sehingga mencapai keberhasilan dakwah dalam menegakkan akidah Islam dan syari'ah pada waktu itu. Saat ini banyak masalah dalam pembentukan hukum dan undang-undang, di mana legislator lebih peduli dengan kepentingan subjektivitas intelektual daripada kepentingan objektivitas kemanusiaan, sehingga kebijakan yang lahir tidak responsif terhadap kebutuhan masyarakat. Penulis dalam konteks ini mencoba untuk menginventarisasi berbagai kearifan lokal komunitas Muslim di nusantara yang relevan sebagai pendekatan dalam menetapkan perundang-undangan berdasarkan budaya lokal.Kata Kunci: Budaya Lokal, Legislasi, Hukum Islam


Author(s):  
Nicholas Greenwood Onuf

Foucault’s sense of the modern epoch finds Kant everywhere in the background. If, for Kant, nature appears to accommodate our needs, human reason nevertheless has a purpose beyond ourselves; nature’s purpose dictates our use of reason. Kant had us use reason to progress from savagery to animal husbandry and the cultivation of the land, mutual exchange, culture, and civil society. Better known are Smith’s four stages of human history: the Ages of Hunters, Shepherds, Agriculture, and Commerce. Set back by nomadic barbarians, Europe belatedly developed a novel society of independent nations, ever vigilant (and often enough at war), committed to improving their productive capabilities and reaping the benefits of commerce. Rationalization and positivism marked the final stage, which in turn required a positive legal order grounded in unimpeachable sources of law. These James Madison definitively articulated when he was U.S. secretary of state.


Author(s):  
Rainer Forst

This chapter addresses the classical question of the relationship between enlightenment and religion. In doing so, the chapter compares Jürgen Habermas's thought to that of Pierre Bayle and Immanuel Kant. For, although Habermas undoubtedly stands in a tradition founded by Bayle and Kant, he develops a number of important orientations within this tradition and has changed his position in his recent work. The chapter studies this change to understand Habermas's position better. It also draws attention to a fundamental question raised by the modern world: what common ground can human reason establish in the practical and theoretical domain between human beings who are divided by profoundly different religious (including antireligious) views?


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