Kant and Practical Reason
This is an excerpt from the paper...
Immanuel Kant begins his work, Groundwork of the Metaphysic of Morals, by dividing human knowledge into three branches: logic; physics; and ethics (Kant, 1956). He further divides ethics (which relates indirectly to reason), into empirical knowledge, and a priori knowledge (Kant, 1956). With reference to ethical behavior, the first term applies to sensuous experience, and the second to some inborn intrinsic knowledge. By making these distinctions Kant immediately alerts the reader that he finds morality and ethics to be metaphysical in nature. In other words, he finds some human concepts are simply consistent within themselves and must be excepted as such. For Kant, then, ethics, and therefore reason, are part of the human condition and have certain qualities that are consistent within themselves. These qualities deal with practicality, purity, and the role of reason (Kant, 1956). Having already established that ethics and reason are metaphysical in nature, Kant sets about looking for intrinsic consistent features. He begins by separating the concept of a pure moral philosophy from anthropological concerns. By this he is stating that shared habit patterns, modes of communication, and ways of viewing each other do not contain the pure elements that a priori knowledge, or a shared empirical knowledge must have. In Kant's words, referring to man: "but he has not so easily the power to realize t
. . .
ted by anthropologic comparisons (Kant, 1956).
Aristotle insisted that moral virtue, by which we must infer the ability to reason or make moral decisions, was not an intrinsic or a priori quality. According to Aristotle, in the Nicomachean Ethics, virtue "consists of two kinds, intellectual virtue and moral virtue" (p. 33). In the case of intellectual virtue, Aristotle explains that teaching will create the desired result. As far as moral virtue goes, only intended habit, as copying a great craftsperson's every move, without thought, can bring it about. Aristotle's theory on virtue, and thus reason, was based on the idea of induction. As he puts it: "The virtues, on the other hand, we acquire by first putting them into action." (p. 34). Comparisons with Kant tell us that while both philosophers heeded the idea of intrinsic qualities within the human experience, Kant saw reason as a priori in part. Aristotle may have implied the same idea by insisting that mindless repetition brought out the qualities of moral virtue. He did not champion reasoning as a pure or consistent human quality. Of course by suggesting that habit patterns can teach both intellectual and moral virtue, there is the suggestion that Aristotle recogniz
. . .
Some common words found in the essay are:
Kant's Metaphysic, Principles Morals, Conclusion Kant's, Hume Aristotle, Practical Reason, Metaphysic Morals, Aristotle Hume, Comparisons Kant, Hume Kant, Nicomachean Ethics, kant 1956, practical reason, priori knowledge, moral virtue, empirical knowledge, moral law, role reason, habit patterns, human experience, groundwork metaphysic morals, intrinsic priori, concerning principles morals, reason kant 1956, intrinsic priori quality, aristotle nicomachean ethics,
Approximate Word count = 1698
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page)
More Essays on Kant and Practical Reason
|
Customer Service
to Over
32,000 Professionally Written Papers!!!
