Immanuel Kant

Paper Summary:

This paper explores the views of philosopher Immanuel Kant. This paper details Kant's opinion that an epistemological approach to metaphysics would lead to the development of universally valid moral laws. The writer of this paper describes the philosopher's desire to create a more scientific system of pure moral principles which led him to reject all considerations of empirical concepts or conditions. This paper also discusses Kant's belief that human moral conduct should be guided and measured by pure reason, which alone could be made to account for the intrinsic worth of moral actions. The writer also touches on Kant's skepticism about human sincerity which led him to take into consideration the role that environment plays in molding and influencing human conduct.

From the Paper:

"Interestingly, Kant did take into consideration the conflict between the ideal of a moral world that is guided by pure reason and the natural world. Indeed, this is evident in his observation that the success of the idea of a moral world in influencing the world of sense would depend on "the condition that everyone does what he ought to do, i.e., the condition that all actions of rational beings occur as they would if they sprang from a supreme will." However, for Kant, the ultimate goal of a moral world was still an idea worth pursuing because it possessed the ideal of human conduct being "worthy of happiness." In other words, Kant was of the view that the idea of such a moral world could influence and develop human reason, and thereby lead to the highest ontological perfection as a principle of systematic unity, which would connect all things according to universal and necessary laws."

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