Philosophical Theories: Kant, Mill, Marx, and Nietzsche
Kant: A Priori Judgments as the Basis of Science
Kant sought to clarify the possibility of progress in the objectivity of scientific discourse. This discourse contains universal propositions or judgments in which the predicate brings extensive knowledge to the subject. Judgments may be qualified in two ways:
- Depending on whether or not experience is relevant to determine the truth of the judgment:
- An a priori truth is one that can be determined without recourse to experience, whereas an a posteriori judgment is one that depends on experience to be verified.
- Depending on whether or not the predicate extends knowledge:
- An analytical judgment is one where the predicate is inferred from the subject, whereas a synthetic judgment adds a quality not contained in the concept of the subject, thereby providing new knowledge about the subject.
Transcendental Idealism
There is no principle of causality. There are three possibilities:
- It is an innate idea in my mind.
- Rational solution.
- It does not come from empirical experience.
The Parts of the Critique of Pure Reason
It is divided into three parts:
- The Transcendental Aesthetic: Examines the bases of knowledge and posits that sensitive knowledge makes synthetic a priori judgments possible in mathematics. It studies those a priori forms or molds that are indispensable for structuring impressions from the world of experience, such as the impression of any part of space and time. Space and time are pure a priori intuitions of sensibility.
- The Transcendental Analytic: Deals with understanding as the faculty of objective knowledge and the possibility of synthetic a priori judgments in physics.
- The Transcendental Dialectic: Analyzes reason in the strict sense, as the faculty that regulates and unifies knowledge. Kant argues that metaphysics is not possible as a science.
Ethics
There are two ethical approaches:
- Heteronomy: The moral law comes from outside the subject, i.e., it is not the individual themselves, but an external authority that determines it.
- Autonomy: Humans are the source of their own law. In Kant, autonomy is correct.
The Categorical Imperative
Act in such a way that your manner of acting may be considered a universal law. The categorical imperative will be autonomous and leads to duty.
Stuart Mill: Utilitarianism and Social Reform
Mill seeks the maximum happiness for the greatest number of people. He emphasizes the notion of the common good and identifies it with the effective means to obtain the highest possible satisfaction and happiness for the greatest number of people.
Economic and Social Reformism
Mill considered industrialization and the economic inequality of capitalism unacceptable. He wants to limit state intervention through measures such as limiting the working day by law and prohibiting child labor. The common good imposes a humanizing social and labor legislation. Mill is the author of a new formulation of liberal economic policy that advocates a fairer distribution of wealth derived from social cooperation, including limiting the right to inheritance. He believes that education and culture are solid guarantees of freedom that provide happiness.
Politics and Morality
Mill opts for politics and morality based on the fundamental value of individual freedom. He is a defender of democracy and wants to defend the right of every citizen to basic freedoms. Mill is a hedonistic thinker.
Marx: Historical Materialism and Class Struggle
Historical Materialism
The class struggle is the motor of history. There are two types of social classes:
- Proletariat (non-owners)
- Proprietors
Property is determined by the division of classes.
Marx’s Historical Theory
- No private classes.
- Property (Neolithic Revolution)
- Appearance of social classes (three phases):
- Slave society
- Feudal society
- Capitalist society
Influences on Marx
- Classical German Philosophy (Hegel)
- French Political Thought
- English Economic Theory