登陆注册
5198000000017

第17章

PerfectionWill of God (Wolf and the (Crusius and other Stoics) theological Moralists)Those of the upper table are all empirical and evidently incapable of furnishing the universal principle of morality; but those in the lower table are based on reason (for perfection as a quality of things, and the highest perfection conceived as substance, that is, God, can only be thought by means of rational concepts).But the former notion, namely, that of perfection, may either be taken in a theoretic signification, and then it means nothing but the completeness of each thing in its own kind (transcendental), or that of a thing merely as a thing (metaphysical); and with that we are not concerned here.But the notion of perfection in a practical sense is the fitness or sufficiency of a thing for all sorts of purposes.This perfection, as a quality of man and consequently internal, is nothing but talent and, what strengthens or completes this, skill.Supreme perfection conceived as substance, that is God, and consequently external (considered practically), is the sufficiency of this being for all ends.Ends then must first be given, relatively to which only can the notion of perfection (whether internal in ourselves or external in God) be the determining principle of the will.But an end- being an object which must precede the determination of the will by a practical rule and contain the ground of the possibility of this determination, and therefore contain also the matter of the will, taken as its determining principle- such an end is always empirical and, therefore, may serve for the Epicurean principle of the happiness theory, but not for the pure rational principle of morality and duty.Thus, talents and the improvement of them, because they contribute to the advantages of life; or the will of God, if agreement with it be taken as the object of the will, without any antecedent independent practical principle, can be motives only by reason of the happiness expected therefrom.Hence it follows, first, that all the principles here stated are material;secondly, that they include all possible material principles; and, finally, the conclusion, that since material principles are quite incapable of furnishing the supreme moral law (as has been shown), the formal practical principle the pure reason (according to which the mere form of a universal legislation must constitute the supreme and immediate determining principle of the will) is the only one possible which is adequate to furnish categorical imperatives, that is, practical laws (which make actions a duty), and in general to serve as the principle of morality, both in criticizing conduct and also in its application to the human will to determine it.

I.Of the Deduction of the Fundamental Principles of Pure Practical Reason.

This Analytic shows that pure reason can be practical, that is, can of itself determine the will independently of anything empirical; and this it proves by a fact in which pure reason in us proves itself actually practical, namely, the autonomy shown in the fundamental principle of morality, by which reason determines the will to action.

It shows at the same time that this fact is inseparably connected with the consciousness of freedom of the will, nay, is identical with it; and by this the will of a rational being, although as belonging to the world of sense it recognizes itself as necessarily subject to the laws of causality like other efficient causes; yet, at the same time, on another side, namely, as a being in itself, is conscious of existing in and being determined by an intelligible order of things; conscious not by virtue of a special intuition of itself, but by virtue of certain dynamical laws which determine its causality in the sensible world; for it has been elsewhere proved that if freedom is predicated of us, it transports us into an intelligible order of things.

Now, if we compare with this the analytical part of the critique of pure speculative reason, we shall see a remarkable contrast.

There it was not fundamental principles, but pure, sensible intuition (space and time), that was the first datum that made a priori knowledge possible, though only of objects of the senses.

Synthetical principles could not be derived from mere concepts without intuition; on the contrary, they could only exist with reference to this intuition, and therefore to objects of possible experience, since it is the concepts of the understanding, united with this intuition, which alone make that knowledge possible which we call experience.

Beyond objects of experience, and therefore with regard to things as noumena, all positive knowledge was rightly disclaimed for speculative reason.This reason, however, went so far as to establish with certainty the concept of noumena; that is, the possibility, nay, the necessity, of thinking them; for example, it showed against all objections that the supposition of freedom, negatively considered, was quite consistent with those principles and limitations of pure theoretic reason.But it could not give us any definite enlargement of our knowledge with respect to such objects, but, on the contrary, cut off all view of them altogether.

On the other hand, the moral law, although it gives no view, yet gives us a fact absolutely inexplicable from any data of the sensible world, and the whole compass of our theoretical use of reason, a fact which points to a pure world of the understanding, nay, even defines it positively and enables us to know something of it, namely, a law.

同类推荐
  • 本语

    本语

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 贞观公私画史

    贞观公私画史

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 脉诀指掌病式图说

    脉诀指掌病式图说

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 醉古堂剑扫卷

    醉古堂剑扫卷

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 灵宝九幽长夜起尸度亡玄章

    灵宝九幽长夜起尸度亡玄章

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
热门推荐
  • 青春不曾失去你

    青春不曾失去你

    /新文《蠢萌妻,不可欺》正在连载,且看蠢萌小记者如何撩到腹黑大男神(?▽`)ノ?我走过青春这条荆棘满途的路,却未曾看到途中的你,如果我回头,你是否还在?我很爱你,所以我不想你在伤害里沉沦。我们就像坐在旋转木马上的两个人,从前追不上,如今更追不上。【男主萧疏,女主林遇安。】一场亲情、爱情、友情的巨大阴谋隐隐浮现……
  • 生存幻影

    生存幻影

    也许,生存本身就是幻影。而我们要做的,是在幻影中求得真实。搜索226113522,或许会有惊喜。新书《名侦探纷乱的世界线》,欢迎诸位。
  • 感恩故事(影响青少年一生的中华典故)

    感恩故事(影响青少年一生的中华典故)

    中华文明源远流长,历史文化典籍中的典故也是数不胜数。本书编者在先秦到晚清的文化典籍中穿梭往来,精选出数千则典故,并对每则典故的出处、故事、含义、用法进行了详解。为了方便读者查阅,根据含义的异同对这些典故进行了分类,使读者用起来方便快捷、得心应手。一书在手,尽览中国语言文化的博大精深。
  • 茉莉簪

    茉莉簪

    一夜之间人鬼殊途,一晃神好像你们还是在我的身旁,我孤独飘零无妨,等金儿将血仇一报,我便去寻你们的足迹,离开这冷漠的世间。
  • 针灸与养生

    针灸与养生

    “寄蜉蝣于天地,渺沧海之一粟,哀吾生之须臾,羡长江之无穷”,这是苏轼《赤壁赋》里的名句。养生实际是人们长生梦想破灭后的一种现实补偿。看看时下大街小巷各式各样的美容院,令人眼花缭乱的保健品店铺,听听周围日渐平常的减肥健身话题,你就不难发现,追求健康、健美已成为都市人的生活时尚。
  • 醉卧美人膝

    醉卧美人膝

    情不知起所起,一往而情深。为拥护皇兄登基,铲除奸恶,保家卫国。情不敢至深,恐大梦一场。闲看庭前花开花落,坐观天上云卷云舒。
  • 夫来孕转

    夫来孕转

    被渣男背叛,盗用劳动成果,迟安安为了养活自己,什么都干。遇上沈初寒的那一天,他抛出橄榄枝:“做我的人,干不干?”迟安安微笑点头:“干!”某人欺身压上来,眸色深幽,迟安安退到角落,“你……你干什么?”沈初寒勾起唇角,笑得无辜又狡诈,“……你。”多年后,再次相遇。他将她拥入怀中,越缠越紧,“迟安安,想散伙可以,把我送你的定情信物还给我。”迟安安莫名其妙:“你什么时候送过我定情信物了?”沈初寒在她耳边吐气如丝,“多年前,我把我祖传的一条染色体送你了,你敢说没这回事?”
  • 重生之名门千金

    重生之名门千金

    空间种田,豪门情仇,炼药修真,世家争斗,尽在此书!◇◆◇她,制药集团的大小姐。某日,父亲失踪,股票暴跌,黑客入侵。一向百般殷勤的未婚夫,竟趁机夺下公司。她,怀着一丝希望,约好在当初互诉爱意的地方相见。等来的,却是一伙歹徒,她不堪受辱,纵身跳下悬崖!◇◆◇醒来,她惊觉自己回到了二年前。这是她22岁生日的那一天,也是他向她求婚的那一天!重生后,她发现身上多了一个随身空间。还有,这是什么?她的脑海里怎么会出现一个游戏界面,怎么看都像是QQ农场。有土地、有商店、除了商店里提供的,还能把现实中的植物搬到里面种植。◇◆◇而他,依然风度翩翩地,朝她走来,相拥、共舞、在她的耳边诉说情意…可她,已不再是前世懵懂无知的她!与他,她笑得动人至极,心底,却是寒霜满布!既然上苍要让她重活一回,那么,这次的结局,该由她来决定!重生,蜕变,只为活出精彩!活出不同!◇◆◇此乃正剧,有些慢热。一对一文,一生一世一双人。涉及:种田炼药、豪门情仇、各系传承世家争斗、有总裁、有高干、有军方、还有黑手党。【好友文推荐】《灵杀》(魔法女强V文,完结)天地间,神魔寂灭,死后皆要听从我的召唤。因为,我就是——亡灵法师!《瘾婚》(高干)有一种婚姻,无关于情,无关于爱,有的只是利益和利益。有一种婚姻,就像罂粟,明知有毒,却又在无形中蔓延身心。《重生之绝世无双》冷情杀手周旋在几个男人之中,费劲心思逃离监狱却逃离不开情网,究竟是谁追谁,又是谁逃谁?在这场名为‘爱情’的逃亡里,到底谁才是最后的赢家?《难耐美人恩》(古言好文)《异世宝贝现代妈》《重生之极品间谍》(NP到底)《激战女神》(砍丧尸玩机甲)《重生一不嫁豪门前夫》《惊羽》《邪魅倾天下》(东方玄幻)
  • 杏林劫

    杏林劫

    古城市西郊的一个叫“杏林山庄”的别墅内,古城新天地房地产有限公司老总周永海被人杀死。市公安局刑侦总队重案队队长丁一川带领手下人马火速赶赴现场…… 警方经过缜密、细致的摸排、调查,层层深入。在侦破震惊古城市的“杏林山庄命案”的过程中,引出了权力与金钱,婚姻与背叛,美女与诱惑等一幕幕丑剧。
  • 万劫成道

    万劫成道

    封神量劫期间,青帝竟然被偷袭而入轮回,哪怕一元会都未曾再次觉醒。当他再次轮回到一个叫百兵大陆的小世界时,懵懵懂懂了近百年,在武祖的帮助下恢复了记忆。飞升回洪荒,他竟然发现这个洪荒与他的记忆迥然不同。“这是怎么回事?”“你上网搜下不就知道了。”“叮,伏羲请求添加您为好友!”……又一个量劫开启,他将历万劫而成道!