Kant’s Enlightenment: Moral Formalism and Reason
The Kantian Idea of Enlightenment
Germany remained largely outside the main cultural movement in Europe. There are three important moments in the German Enlightenment: Enlightenment was first limited to the field of philosophy of law. The elevation of German Enlightenment rationalism made some German philosophers start to bury this position as too simple to explain the human phenomenon. The reason is not primary, but rather derived from other dimensions of human life.
Kant links dogmatism and skepticism
Read MoreDescartes’ Metaphysics: Ego Cogito, Ideas, and the External World
Descartes’ Metaphysics: A Summary
Metaphysics: Building upon his education, Descartes distinguishes the ego cogito, defining it as a thinking thing that cannot be doubted. This intuition, the ‘I’, consists of thought (a mental content as a function of self). He identifies three types of ideas:
Descartes’ Three Types of Ideas
- Adventitious Ideas: Ideas derived from the external world through direct experience (e.g., a table).
- Dummy Ideas: Mental constructions formed from other ideas (e.g., a unicorn).
St. Augustine’s Philosophy: Free Will, Knowledge, and the Two Cities
The problem of free will arises for St. Augustine in relation to Manichaeism, which removed the responsibility of man, then started from the existence of a good start and a villain who will compete for the human soul. St. Augustine differentiates between free will and freedom: the first gives it to man to make God responsible for his actions, the second, only when it works well enough, that is, rationally. Believing that God has made us free means believing that God exists. But Augustine is not
Read MoreAristotle and Hellenistic Paths to the Good Life
Aristotle on Virtue and Excellence
Human beings perform numerous actions, and each can become a virtue or excellence. For Aristotle, human life itself can be driven toward excellence. He considered only the virtuous and good life to be truly happy. To understand this good life, Aristotle delved into human nature, distinguishing two parts:
- Volitional Part: Where desires and acts of will emerge.
- Rational Part: Where deliberations occur.
Desires shape one’s character, which may be motivated by impulsive
Read MoreBrain, Mind, and Consciousness: Materialist vs. Dualist Views
Understanding the Brain and Mind
Understanding the human brain is essential for explaining the psyche or mind. Research raises new questions challenging traditional beliefs:
- Significant advances in artificial intelligence fuel the dream of creating a very powerful computer equivalent to a human brain.
- Genetic engineering explores ways to change operational information in embryonic cells. Could a person’s characteristics be altered before birth? If the mind is merely an expression of the brain, is it
Kant’s Universal Ethics and the Categorical Imperative
Kant’s Universal Ethics
In his critical review of reason, Immanuel Kant was not content to limit this analysis to the theoretical level; it should also cover reason’s proper function in the field of moral action. The goal, therefore, is to identify the conditions of possibility that allow us to deem an action moral.
Critique of Material Ethics
Kant proposed formal ethics based on universality as the foundation for moral action. According to Kant, all ethical systems defended up until then could be
Read More