Immanuel Kant: Philosophy, Influence, and Legacy
Immanuel Kant’s Philosophy and its Influence
Kant, a philosopher rooted in rationalist principles, and influenced by Wolff and Leibniz (who, in turn, was influenced by Descartes), acknowledged that certain concepts are produced without understanding derived from experience. This is true of space and time, categories, or transcendental ideas. However, after reading Hume, Kant accepted the value of experience in knowledge, claiming that these concepts only expand knowledge when applied within the field of experience. Thus, Kant provides a synthesis of both philosophical currents: rationalism and empiricism.
The impact of Kant’s work is vast. His ideas led to the idealism of Fichte, Schelling, and Hegel. Following Kant, God and the soul became subjects analyzed and studied by theology and psychology, rather than philosophy. His work also represents a definitive achievement for science: space and time are the conditions of possibility for our knowledge. This influenced the positivism of Comte, the neo-positivism of the Vienna Circle, and Popper. The theory that the subject constructs reality affected Heisenberg’s thesis, and the development of these ideas has led to the theory of virtual reality. Finally, Kant’s ethics, based on freedom, autonomy, and universality, forms the basis of much contemporary moral reflection.
Kant’s Synthesis and Solutions
While Kant was initially a rationalist philosopher, it is said that Hume woke him from his “dogmatic slumber.” Despite his rationalist roots, Kant disagreed with the methods proposed by Hume and Descartes. Kant’s metaphysics is based on a different relationship. If we consider forms of government, Hobbes favored absolute monarchy, while Rousseau and Kant, with his concept of a republic, leaned towards democracy.
Kant addresses Hume’s doubts about the laws of nature by suggesting that there are solutions coinciding with the rules governing the use of categories. Therefore, laws are imposed on nature by understanding, *a priori*. He resolves the problem of metaphysics (rejected by Hume) by removing it from science and placing it in the regulatory field, structuring phenomena. The soul, the world, and God are ideas that unify phenomena and enable the construction of basic postulates of practical reason: the existence of God and the immortality of the soul, which guarantee happiness and the progress of knowledge.
Kant’s Connections to Other Philosophers
- Kant shares with the Stoics the view that ethics should be based on reason and duty.
- He agrees with Aristotle that happiness is achieved through virtue: we must be virtuous to achieve happiness.
- Like Aristotle, he believed that metaphysics is impossible as a science. Philosophers of this time sought an orderly society based on science, freedom, and equality.
Kant on Peace
Aristotle and Plato believed that peace exists in the marital state, where laws are subject to public opinion. Kant emphasizes the concept of *perpetual peace*, meaning the fulfillment of requirements to reach a state of peace.
The Problem of Man
Descartes separates us from the body (which he views as a machine), believing the soul to be immortal. Kant presents man as a creature of *unsocial sociability*, meaning that humans are naturally both sociable and unsociable.