Just figured I would drop this here...

#1

therealUT

Rational Thought Allowed?
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#1
IMMANUEL KANT

An Answer to the Question:
What is Enlightenment? (1784)

Enlightenment is man's emergence from his self-imposed immaturity. Immaturity is the inability to use one's understanding without guidance from another. This immaturity is self-imposed when its cause lies not in lack of understanding, but in lack of resolve and courage to use it without guidance from another. Sapere Aude! [dare to know] "Have courage to use your own understanding!"--that is the motto of enlightenment.

Laziness and cowardice are the reasons why so great a proportion of men, long after nature has released them from alien guidance (natura-liter maiorennes), nonetheless gladly remain in lifelong immaturity, and why it is so easy for others to establish themselves as their guardians. It is so easy to be immature. If I have a book to serve as my understanding, a pastor to serve as my conscience, a physician to determine my diet for me, and so on, I need not exert myself at all. I need not think, if only I can pay: others will readily undertake the irksome work for me. The guardians who have so benevolently taken over the supervision of men have carefully seen to it that the far greatest part of them (including the entire fair sex) regard taking the step to maturity as very dangerous, not to mention difficult. Having first made their domestic livestock dumb, and having carefully made sure that these docile creatures will not take a single step without the go-cart to which they are harnessed, these guardians then show them the danger that threatens them, should they attempt to walk alone. Now this danger is not actually so great, for after falling a few times they would in the end certainly learn to walk; but an example of this kind makes men timid and usually frightens them out of all further attempts.

Thus, it is difficult for any individual man to work himself out of the immaturity that has all but become his nature. He has even become fond of this state and for the time being is actually incapable of using his own understanding, for no one has ever allowed him to attempt it. Rules and formulas, those mechanical aids to the rational use, or rather misuse, of his natural gifts, are the shackles of a permanent immaturity. Whoever threw them off would still make only an uncertain leap over the smallest ditch, since he is unaccustomed to this kind of free movement. Consequently, only a few have succeeded, by cultivating their own minds, in freeing themselves from immaturity and pursuing a secure course.

But that the public should enlighten itself is more likely; indeed, if it is only allowed freedom, enlightenment is almost inevitable. For even among the entrenched guardians of the great masses a few will always think for themselves, a few who, after having themselves thrown off the yoke of immaturity, will spread the spirit of a rational appreciation for both their own worth and for each person's calling to think for himself. But it should be particularly noted that if a public that was first placed in this yoke by the guardians is suitably aroused by some of those who are altogether incapable of enlightenment, it may force the guardians themselves to remain under the yoke--so pernicious is it to instill prejudices, for they finally take revenge upon their originators, or on their descendants. Thus a public can only attain enlightenment slowly. Perhaps a revolution can overthrow autocratic despotism and profiteering or power-grabbing oppression, but it can never truly reform a manner of thinking; instead, new prejudices, just like the old ones they replace, will serve as a leash for the great unthinking mass.

Nothing is required for this enlightenment, however, except freedom; and the freedom in question is the least harmful of all, namely, the freedom to use reason publicly in all matters. But on all sides I hear: "Do not argue!" The officer says, "Do not argue, drill!" The tax man says, "Do not argue, pay!" The pastor says, "Do not argue, believe!" (Only one ruler in the World says, "Argue as much as you want and about what you want, but obey!") In this we have examples of pervasive restrictions on freedom. But which restriction hinders enlightenment and which does not, but instead actually advances it? I reply: The public use of one's reason must always be free, and it alone can bring about enlightenment among mankind; the private use of reason may, however, often be very narrowly restricted, without otherwise hindering the progress of enlightenment. By the public use of one's own reason I understand the use that anyone as a scholar makes of reason before the entire literate world. I call the private use of reason that which a person may make in a civic post or office that has been entrusted to him. Now in many affairs conducted in the interests of a community, a certain mechanism is required by means of which some of its members must conduct themselves in an entirely passive manner so that through an artificial unanimity the government may guide them toward public ends, or at least prevent them from destroying such ends. Here one certainly must not argue, instead one must obey. However, insofar as this part of the machine also regards himself as a member of the community as a whole, or even of the world community, and as a consequence addresses the public in the role of a scholar, in the proper sense of that term, he can most certainly argue, without thereby harming the affairs for which as a passive member he is partly responsible. Thus it would be disastrous if an officer on duty who was given a command by his superior were to question the appropriateness or utility of the order. He must obey. But as a scholar he cannot be justly constrained from making comments about errors in military service, or from placing them before the public for its judgment. The citizen cannot refuse to pay the taxes imposed on him; indeed, impertinent criticism of such levies, when they should be paid by him, can be punished as a scandal (since it can lead to widespread insubordination). But the same person does not act contrary to civic duty when, as a scholar, he publicly expresses his thoughts regarding the impropriety or even injustice of such taxes. Likewise a pastor is bound to instruct his catecumens and congregation in accordance with the symbol of the church he serves, for he was appointed on that condition. But as a scholar he has complete freedom, indeed even the calling, to impart to the public all of his carefully considered and well-intentioned thoughts concerning mistaken aspects of that symbol, as well as his suggestions for the better arrangement of religious and church matters. Nothing in this can weigh on his conscience. What he teaches in consequence of his office as a servant of the church he sets out as something with regard to which he has no discretion to teach in accord with his own lights; rather, he offers it under the direction and in the name of another. He will say, "Our church teaches this or that and these are the demonstrations it uses." He thereby extracts for his congregation all practical uses from precepts to which he would not himself subscribe with complete conviction, but whose presentation he can nonetheless undertake, since it is not entirely impossible that truth lies hidden in them, and, in any case, nothing contrary to the very nature of religion is to be found in them. If he believed he could find anything of the latter sort in them, he could not in good conscience serve in his position; he would have to resign. Thus an appointed teacher's use of his reason for the sake of his congregation is merely private, because, however large the congregation is, this use is always only domestic; in this regard, as a priest, he is not free and cannot be such because he is acting under instructions from someone else. By contrast, the cleric--as a scholar who speaks through his writings to the public as such, i.e., the world--enjoys in this public use of reason an unrestricted freedom to use his own rational capacities and to speak his own mind. For that the (spiritual) guardians of a people should themselves be immature is an absurdity that would insure the perpetuation of absurdities.

But would a society of pastors, perhaps a church assembly or venerable presbytery (as those among the Dutch call themselves), not be justified in binding itself by oath to a certain unalterable symbol in order to secure a constant guardianship over each of its members and through them over the people, and this for all time: I say that this is wholly impossible. Such a contract, whose intention is to preclude forever all further enlightenment of the human race, is absolutely null and void, even if it should be ratified by the supreme power, by parliaments, and by the most solemn peace treaties. One age cannot bind itself, and thus conspire, to place a succeeding one in a condition whereby it would be impossible for the later age to expand its knowledge (particularly where it is so very important), to rid itself of errors,and generally to increase its enlightenment. That would be a crime against human nature, whose essential destiny lies precisely in such progress; subsequent generations are thus completely justified in dismissing such agreements as unauthorized and criminal. The criterion of everything that can be agreed upon as a law by a people lies in this question: Can a people impose such a law on itself? Now it might be possible, in anticipation of a better state of affairs, to introduce a provisional order for a specific, short time, all the while giving all citizens, especially clergy, in their role as scholars, the freedom to comment publicly, i.e., in writing, on the present institution's shortcomings. The provisional order might last until insight into the nature of these matters had become so widespread and obvious that the combined (if not unanimous) voices of the populace could propose to the crown that it take under its protection those congregations that, in accord with their newly gained insight, had organized themselves under altered religious institutions, but without interfering with those wishing to allow matters to remain as before. However, it is absolutely forbidden that they unite into a religious organization that nobody may for the duration of a man's lifetime publicly question, for so do-ing would deny, render fruitless, and make detrimental to succeeding generations an era in man's progress toward improvement. A man may put off enlightenment with regard to what he ought to know, though only for a short time and for his own person; but to renounce it for himself, or, even more, for subsequent generations, is to violate and trample man's divine rights underfoot. And what a people may not decree for itself may still less be imposed on it by a monarch, for his lawgiving authority rests on his unification of the people's collective will in his own. If he only sees to it that all genuine or purported improvement is consonant with civil order, he can allow his subjects to do what they find necessary to their spiritual well-being, which is not his affair. However, he must prevent anyone from forcibly interfering with another's working as best he can to determine and promote his well-being. It detracts from his own majesty when he interferes in these matters, since the writings in which his subjects attempt to clarify their insights lend value to his conception of governance. This holds whether he acts from his own highest insight--whereby he calls upon himself the reproach, "Caesar non eat supra grammaticos."'--as well as, indeed even more, when he despoils his highest authority by supporting the spiritual despotism of some tyrants in his state over his other subjects.

If it is now asked, "Do we presently live in an enlightened age?" the answer is, "No, but we do live in an age of enlightenment." As matters now stand, a great deal is still lacking in order for men as a whole to be, or even to put themselves into a position to be able without external guidance to apply understanding confidently to religious issues. But we do have clear indications that the way is now being opened for men to proceed freely in this direction and that the obstacles to general enlightenment--to their release from their self-imposed immaturity--are gradually diminishing. In this regard, this age is the age of enlightenment, the century of Frederick.

A prince who does not find it beneath him to say that he takes it to be his duty to prescribe nothing, but rather to allow men complete freedom in religious matters--who thereby renounces the arrogant title of tolerance--is himself enlightened and deserves to be praised by a grateful present and by posterity as the first, at least where the government is concerned, to release the human race from immaturity and to leave everyone free to use his own reason in all matters of conscience. Under his rule, venerable pastors, in their role as scholars and without prejudice to their official duties, may freely and openly set out for the world's scrutiny their judgments and views, even where these occasionally differ from the accepted symbol. Still greater freedom is afforded to those who are not restricted by an official post. This spirit of freedom is expanding even where it must struggle against the external obstacles of governments that misunderstand their own function. Such governments are illuminated by the example that the existence of freedom need not give cause for the least concern regarding public order and harmony in the commonwealth. If only they refrain from inventing artifices to keep themselves in it, men will gradually raise themselves from barbarism.

I have focused on religious matters in setting out my main point concerning enlightenment, i.e., man's emergence from self-imposed immaturity, first because our rulers have no interest in assuming the role of their subjects' guardians with respect to the arts and sciences, and secondly because that form of immaturity is both the most pernicious and disgraceful of all. But the manner of thinking of a head of state who favors religious enlightenment goes even further, for he realizes that there is no danger to his legislation in allowing his subjects to use reason publicly and to set before the world their thoughts concerning better formulations of his laws, even if this involves frank criticism of legislation currently in effect. We have before us a shining example, with respect to which no monarch surpasses the one whom we honor.

But only a ruler who is himself enlightened and has no dread of shadows, yet who likewise has a well-disciplined, numerous army to guarantee public peace, can say what no republic may dare, namely: "Argue as much as you want and about what you want, but obey!" Here as elsewhere, when things are considered in broad perspective, a strange, unexpected pattern in human affairs reveals itself, one in which almost everything is paradoxical. A greater degree of civil freedom seems advantageous to a people's spiritual freedom; yet the former established impassable boundaries for the latter; conversely, a lesser degree of civil freedom provides enough room for all fully to expand their abilities. Thus, once nature has removed the hard shell from this kernel for which she has most fondly cared, namely, the inclination to and vocation for free thinking, the kernel gradually reacts on a people's mentality (whereby they become increasingly able to act freely), and it finally even influences the principles of government, which finds that it can profit by treating men, who are now more than machines, in accord with their dignity.

I. Kant
Konigsberg in Prussia, 30 September 1784

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#2
#2
You have an unhealthy obsession with Kant. He is good, but overrated in my opinion.
 
#5
#5
You have an unhealthy obsession with Kant. He is good, but overrated in my opinion.

I am surprised that you do not appreciate Kant more. Kant is very much pro-science and anti-metaphysical knowledge as pertains to questions such as: what are the properties of god? is the soul immortal?

He would not even come down and say that he knows there is a soul or that he knows we have free-will; he simply said that he thinks we have a soul and he thinks we have a free-will and that those thoughts, not knowledge, are okay because as of right now they do not contradict with any of our knowledge.
 
#6
#6
I am surprised that you do not appreciate Kant more. Kant is very much pro-science and anti-metaphysical knowledge as pertains to questions such as: what are the properties of god? is the soul immortal?

He would not even come down and say that he knows there is a soul or that he knows we have free-will; he simply said that he thinks we have a soul and he thinks we have a free-will and that those thoughts, not knowledge, are okay because as of right now they do not contradict with any of our knowledge.

Like I said, he is good. I like those points. However, he didn't have anything in his philosophy that I would consider worthy of all the praise he receives. He is just over-hyped in my opinion.

The "Copernican Revolution", again in my opinion, was common sense. Stark Empiricism and stark Rationalism is moronic. Of course there is a happy median in between. He more or less stated the obvious. And yes, I get he was the first philosopher to frame it in the way that he did but I value substance over being "the first". Even though I believe both Empiricism and Rationalism in its strictest sense is absurd; I believe a staunch Empiricist like Hume and staunch Rationalists like Descartes and Plato contributed more substance to philosophy than Immanuel Kant.

That said, the most valuable work he contributed to philosophy was that of his ethics. I know you are a huge fan of his ethics. I am obviously not. Thus, I disagree with his most important important contribution to philosophy. His ethics only have credence if there is an ultimate judgement day before an omniscient deity; much like in the Bible.
 
#8
#8
I am surprised that you do not appreciate Kant more. Kant is very much pro-science and anti-metaphysical knowledge as pertains to questions such as: what are the properties of god? is the soul immortal?

He would not even come down and say that he knows there is a soul or that he knows we have free-will; he simply said that he thinks we have a soul and he thinks we have a free-will and that those thoughts, not knowledge, are okay because as of right now they do not contradict with any of our knowledge.

I have always felt that Kant put too much emphasis on perception and not enough on reality. He is also prone to the is/ought trap.
 
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I have always felt that Kant put too much emphasis on perception and not enough on reality. He is also prone to the is/ought trap.

It is 'ought implies can'; I have never heard it metioned as 'is implies ought'. And, cognition (erkinnsit) means 'knowledge' for Kant.
 
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It is 'ought implies can'; I have never heard it metioned as 'is implies ought'. And, cognition (erkinnsit) means 'knowledge' for Kant.

I was referring to his criticism of things like Descartes desire for proof of reality. Kant insisted that it was a waste of time, that the world obviously existed because he could perceive it. He was content to accept his perceptions rather than try to confirm reality.

I was also referring to Hume's arguments against conflating the is and the ought. From things I have read, Kant makes that mistake fairly regularly.
 
#11
#11
I was referring to his criticism of things like Descartes desire for proof of reality. Kant insisted that it was a waste of time, that the world obviously existed because he could perceive it. He was content to accept his perceptions rather than try to confirm reality.

I was also referring to Hume's arguments against conflating the is and the ought. From things I have read, Kant makes that mistake fairly regularly.

Kant does think that Cartesian skepticism is a complete waste of time; however, he does not think this, as I understand the first Critique, because he knows that the material world exists. In fact, in the Preface to the Second Edition he clearly states that the scandal of philosophy is that it has never and can never offer any proofs to refute Cartesian skepticism. However, he says that since he can think the world exists and in doing so there lies no contradiction with any knowledge that he holds, that it is safe to go ahead and think the world exists and live accordingly.
 
#13
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Kant does think that Cartesian skepticism is a complete waste of time; however, he does not think this, as I understand the first Critique, because he knows that the material world exists. In fact, in the Preface to the Second Edition he clearly states that the scandal of philosophy is that it has never and can never offer any proofs to refute Cartesian skepticism.

Precisely why I think he never contributed anything of real substance on the topic.

However, he says that since he can think the world exists and in doing so there lies no contradiction with any knowledge that he holds, that it is safe to go ahead and think the world exists and live accordingly.

I think this is a faulty notion given the wording. I am not sure how Kant worded it exactly in his work, but a priori and some a posteriori knowledge contradict the notion that a rational being can think of the outside world without any contradictory knowledge. Thus, leading to skepticism. The crux of his argument should be that any discrepancy between ultimate reality and our perceived reality through our impressionable senses are essentially negligible in our daily lives.
 
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Precisely why I think he never contributed anything of real substance on the topic.

The only philosopher, that I know of, that claims to have 'solved' the Cartesian problem without introducing a benevolent God into the conversation is G.E. Moore: here is one hand, here is another hand, therefore two hands exist, therefore the world exists. Yet, Moore even made the statement that if one required of him to prove that hands exist he could not give such a proof.

I think this is a faulty notion given the wording. I am not sure how Kant worded it exactly in his work, but a priori and some a posteriori knowledge contradict the notion that a rational being can think of the outside world without any contradictory knowledge. Thus, leading to skepticism. The crux of his argument should be that any discrepancy between ultimate reality and our perceived reality through our impressionable senses are essentially negligible in our daily lives.

There is no contradiction in saying, "I do not know that the world exists but I think/believe it does". There would be a contradiction if one said, "I do know that the world does not exists but I think/believe it does". Kant makes plenty of belief claims of the former but never of the latter.

Kant's philosophy can basically be summed up in the following:

1. What can I know? Not much of anything outside of Newtonian Physics and the Categorical Imperative.

2. What ought I to do? You ought to do your god-damned duty.

3. What can I hope for? That by doing my duty it will make a difference.
 
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#15
The only philosopher, that I know of, that claims to have 'solved' the Cartesian problem without introducing a benevolent God into the conversation is G.E. Moore: here is one hand, here is another hand, therefore two hands exist, therefore the world exists. Yet, Moore even made the statement that if one required of him to prove that hands exist he could not give such a proof.
I make the argument that language requires the existence of at least two minds. Cogito ergo sum is language. Therefore the existence of the statement proves that me and at least one other mind exists. The rest flows naturally from this.
There is no contradiction in saying, "I do not know that the world exists but I think/believe it does". There would be a contradiction if one said, "I do know that the world does not exists but I think/believe it does". Kant makes plenty of belief claims of the former but never of the latter.
To me, knowledge is the awareness of that which is true.
Kant's philosophy can basically be summed up in the following:

1. What can I know? Not much of anything outside of Newtonian Physics and the Categorical Imperative.
This is one reason I don't care for Kant. His epistemological approach leads me to conclude that he can't give me anything that can't be learned from science. To me, the modern purpose of philosophy is to explore those things that can't be proven by science. If you feel like you can't ever know what you are exploring, then isn't it just mental masturbation?
2. What ought I to do? You ought to do your god-damned duty.
Ought derives from correctness. For something to be correct, it must be based on truth. Does Kant allow for absolute truth?
3. What can I hope for? That by doing my duty it will make a difference.
The best he offers is a wish. To me, hope is to look towards an expected event. If you don't think that something will happen, then you can't hope for it, you can only wish for it. Since his approach makes knowledge too ambiguous for me, that precludes hope to me.
 
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I make the argument that language requires the existence of at least two minds. Cogito ergo sum is language. Therefore the existence of the statement proves that me and at least one other mind exists. The rest flows naturally from this.

I think Kant would allow that argument and even believe in the conclusion; however, can you prove that language requires at least two minds? That is where Kant would say that it is not knowledge.

To me, knowledge is the awareness of that which is true.
This is one reason I don't care for Kant. His epistemological approach leads me to conclude that he can't give me anything that can't be learned from science. To me, the modern purpose of philosophy is to explore those things that can't be proven by science. If you feel like you can't ever know what you are exploring, then isn't it just mental masturbation?

1. I think knowledge is justified, true belief (in fact, the addition of the comma between 'justified' and 'true' defeats the Gettier Problem, in my opinion). One can have true belief without justification; therefore, they do not have knowledge.

2. Kant's ultimate aim was morality. His moral code is based on premises that are knowingly unproven yet were all widely accepted by most all of the Protestants, especially Pietists, in Germany. From these accepted premises, he then goes on to prove that if one accepts those premises one must logically accept the conclusion of his moral system. Ironically, the German Protestants and Pietists rejected his system while many free-thinkers and secular-humanists accepted it.

Ought derives from correctness. For something to be correct, it must be based on truth. Does Kant allow for absolute truth?

Kant allows for absolute truth but says that it is out of our realm. His ought derives from both the accepted premises (as mentioned above; and, interestingly, this is how Aristotle conducted all of his ethical investigations by comparing the different opinions held by the people) and his belief that if there is knowledge then it is universally and 'generalizable' (again, interesting because he speaks so much of determining knowledge which is taking universals and specifying them); therefore, his moral system (his ought) is based largely on thinking of your actions as if you were mandating universal laws and, because you can never know these absolute truths, never treat another human as a means to an end (since, you most likely do not know what that end will actually turn out to be).

The best he offers is a wish. To me, hope is to look towards an expected event. If you don't think that something will happen, then you can't hope for it, you can only wish for it. Since his approach makes knowledge too ambiguous for me, that precludes hope to me.

I think the best that all moralists ever offer is a wish.
 
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If language is defined as a means of communication, then isn't it a logical necessity that there are at least two awarenesses to facilitate that communication?
 
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btw, the have never read the language argument anywhere. it is my own reasoning, so there could be many flaws hidden in it that I have never seen or explored.
 
#19
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If language is defined as a means of communication, then isn't it a logical necessity that there are at least two awarenesses to facilitate that communication?

I do not think it is a logical necessity that language requires two minds; language requires only that one mind is assigning symbols to abstract thoughts. One can have language (to include number systems) without dialogue.
 
#21
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One can invent a language and assign meaning to abstract symbols and never use it for dialogue. However, I think before you can do that you must first have the concept of language and the concept of language is only possible as a means to communicate with others.

Check out http://www.yale.edu/cogdevlab/aarticles/bloom and keil.pdf page 352.

I will check that out in the morning; however, I think the concept of language is intrinsically tied and attributed to the faculty of reason. The faculty of reason is a priori; therefore, I am not certain that the concept of language requires external communication (that said, I will state that external communication requires language).
 
#22
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I will check that out in the morning; however, I think the concept of language is intrinsically tied and attributed to the faculty of reason. The faculty of reason is a priori; therefore, I am not certain that the concept of language requires external communication (that said, I will state that external communication requires language).

I haven't read the entire document, but from what I have skimmed it talks about things I have read elsewhere, namely, that language is necessary for complex abstract thought.
 
#23
#23
OK. I read that paper I posted at work today. The conclusion of the authors does not support my point. However, they do refer to researchers and studies that do support my point about language being necessary for complex abstract thought.
 
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#24
#24
The only philosopher, that I know of, that claims to have 'solved' the Cartesian problem without introducing a benevolent God into the conversation is G.E. Moore: here is one hand, here is another hand, therefore two hands exist, therefore the world exists. Yet, Moore even made the statement that if one required of him to prove that hands exist he could not give such a proof.

His argument really is nothing more than rehashing what Descartes had already argued. The essence of his argument at least. Both of them concede the existence of a soul or thinking faculty which is distinctly separate from the body. Once this distinction has been made or conceded, there is no way to logically bridge back over it.

The real interesting arguments that I have read come from extreme materialists. They refuse the acknowledge the difference or distinction between the mind and the body. For them, there is no difference. You cannot have one without the other. Their argument is rooted in the physiology of the body. They believe the perception of the "mind" can be explained solely by biochemical interactions between the nerve synapses of the brain. Such an argument destroys skepticism.

There is no contradiction in saying, "I do not know that the world exists but I think/believe it does". There would be a contradiction if one said, "I do know that the world does not exists but I think/believe it does". Kant makes plenty of belief claims of the former but never of the latter.

I agree with you on what his position was. My retort was the way in which you framed his argument in your previous post. I will say, I believe the way I framed in my previous post makes for a stronger argument even though they both are in essence saying similar things.

The crux of his argument should be that any discrepancy between ultimate reality and our perceived reality through our impressionable senses are essentially negligible in our daily lives.

Kant's philosophy can basically be summed up in the following:

1. What can I know? Not much of anything outside of Newtonian Physics and the Categorical Imperative.

I would also add mathematics as well. It is a big part of nation of synthetic a priori knowledge.

As for his Categorical Imperative, I believe it is nothing more than a ripoff of his predecessor, Aristotle.

See if these two statements sound remarkable similar.

We should behave to our friends as we would wish our friends to behave to us. (This was later paraphrased in Christian culture as the Golden Rule: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.") ~ Aristotle

and

"Act only according to that maxim whereby you can, at the same time, will that it should become a universal law." ~ Kant

Kant's universal law in reality is nothing more than rehashing Aristotle's moral phrase and slapping the additional "universal law" onto the end of it like a twitter hash tag.

If you think it is more complex than him jacking Aristotle's idea, and that there are many moral absolutes, then that is opening up a big can of worms.

2. What ought I to do? You ought to do your god-damned duty.

I would say duty is subjective. However, he thinks "duty" is synonymous with executing the Categorical Imperative. Thus, the Categorical Imperative is the subjective nation. Subjectivity and universal law are contradictory.

I guess I should say that he does have perfect and imperfect duties. The prefect duty of suicide is an absolute travesty in my opinion.

3. What can I hope for? That by doing my duty it will make a difference.

This illuminates a major weakness of Deontological Ethics.
 

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