登陆注册
5198000000020

第20章

But instead of this vainly sought deduction of the moral principle, something else is found which was quite unexpected, namely, that this moral principle serves conversely as the principle of the deduction of an inscrutable faculty which no experience could prove, but of which speculative reason was compelled at least to assume the possibility (in order to find amongst its cosmological ideas the unconditioned in the chain of causality, so as not to contradict itself)- I mean the faculty of freedom.The moral law, which itself does not require a justification, proves not merely the possibility of freedom, but that it really belongs to beings who recognize this law as binding on themselves.The moral law is in fact a law of the causality of free agents and, therefore, of the possibility of a supersensible system of nature, just as the metaphysical law of events in the world of sense was a law of causality of the sensible system of nature; and it therefore determines what speculative philosophy was compelled to leave undetermined, namely, the law for a causality, the concept of which in the latter was only negative; and therefore for the first time gives this concept objective reality.

This sort of credential of the moral law, viz., that it is set forth as a principle of the deduction of freedom, which is a causality of pure reason, is a sufficient substitute for all a priori justification, since theoretic reason was compelled to assume at least the possibility of freedom, in order to satisfy a want of its own.For the moral law proves its reality, so as even to satisfy the critique of the speculative reason, by the fact that it adds a positive definition to a causality previously conceived only negatively, the possibility of which was incomprehensible to speculative reason, which yet was compelled to suppose it.For it adds the notion of a reason that directly determines the will (by imposing on its maxims the condition of a universal legislative form); and thus it is able for the first time to give objective, though only practical, reality to reason, which always became transcendent when it sought to proceed speculatively with its ideas.It thus changes the transcendent use of reason into an immanent use (so that reason is itself, by means of ideas, an efficient cause in the field of experience).

The determination of the causality of beings in the world of sense, as such, can never be unconditioned; and yet for every series of conditions there must be something unconditioned, and therefore there must be a causality which is determined wholly by itself.Hence, the idea of freedom as a faculty of absolute spontaneity was not found to be a want but, as far as its possibility is concerned, an analytic principle of pure speculative reason.But as it is absolutely impossible to find in experience any example in accordance with this idea, because amongst the causes of things as phenomena it would be impossible to meet with any absolutely unconditioned determination of causality, we were only able to defend our supposition that a freely acting cause might be a being in the world of sense, in so far as it is considered in the other point of view as a noumenon, showing that there is no contradiction in regarding all its actions as subject to physical conditions so far as they are phenomena, and yet regarding its causality as physically unconditioned, in so far as the acting being belongs to the world of understanding, and in thus making the concept of freedom the regulative principle of reason.By this principle I do not indeed learn what the object is to which that sort of causality is attributed; but I remove the difficulty, for, on the one side, in the explanation of events in the world, and consequently also of the actions of rational beings, I leave to the mechanism of physical necessity the right of ascending from conditioned to condition ad infinitum, while on the other side Ikeep open for speculative reason the place which for it is vacant, namely, the intelligible, in order to transfer the unconditioned thither.But I was not able to verify this supposition; that is, to change it into the knowledge of a being so acting, not even into the knowledge of the possibility of such a being.This vacant place is now filled by pure practical reason with a definite law of causality in an intelligible world (causality with freedom), namely, the moral law.

Speculative reason does not hereby gain anything as regards its insight, but only as regards the certainty of its problematical notion of freedom, which here obtains objective reality, which, though only practical, is nevertheless undoubted.Even the notion of causality-the application, and consequently the signification, of which holds properly only in relation to phenomena, so as to connect them into experiences (as is shown by the Critique of Pure Reason)- is not so enlarged as to extend its use beyond these limits.For if reason sought to do this, it would have to show how the logical relation of principle and consequence can be used synthetically in a different sort of intuition from the sensible; that is how a causa noumenon is possible.This it can never do; and, as practical reason, it does not even concern itself with it, since it only places the determining principle of causality of man as a sensible creature (which is given) in pure reason (which is therefore called practical);and therefore it employs the notion of cause, not in order to know objects, but to determine causality in relation to objects in general.

同类推荐
  • 天仙道程宝则

    天仙道程宝则

    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。
  • 西使记

    西使记

    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。
  • 诸佛境界摄真实经

    诸佛境界摄真实经

    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。
  • 鼎镌国朝名公神断详刑公案

    鼎镌国朝名公神断详刑公案

    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。
  • 密咒圆因往生

    密咒圆因往生

    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
  • 泠鸢舞

    泠鸢舞

    她,在一次意外中救起一位浑身是血,奄奄一息的女子。经过谈话,她得知这位女子竟是熙国丞相府的即将出嫁的二小姐!女子从小被留在外面抚养,此次是奉家父命令回去做她的姐姐的替身,远嫁给岚月国的丑八怪南陵王!女子说完便咽了气。她刚失去至亲,刚想转换个环境去疗伤,当面对眼前这个可遇不可求的机会时,她便决定冒险一搏,顶替了该女子的位置。她的命运的转折点,也由此而改变了。。。。。。
  • 王妃从良王爷请指教

    王妃从良王爷请指教

    燕京阮府嫡小姐伽南,长于乡野,举止粗俗,行为粗鄙,空有美貌......阮伽南知道自己身为女子逃不过嫁人的命运,于是千挑万选,选中了燕京九皇子宁王。她高高兴兴的嫁入宁王府,然后日日盼着九皇子驾鹤西去,自己可以继承偌大家产,做个滋滋润润的寡妇,过自己的逍遥日子。九皇子,年少封王,深受皇宠却是燕京鼎鼎有名的药罐子、病公子,一年有半年以上的时间是躺在床上度过的,药不离口,出门得人抬,要人扶,走一步喘三喘,大师断言活不过二十......宁王到娶妻之年,千挑万选,选中了燕京赫赫有名的阮府大小姐,认定对方一定是个短命的。成亲后夜夜盼着对方驾鹤西游,然后自己可以情深不移的为“爱妻”守身,当个鳏夫,既能自由自在,不用再为娶妻之事烦恼又能博得个痴情的好名声,一举两得。于是大婚后各怀鬼胎的两人时刻想着、琢磨着对方到底什么时候死,是让对方自然死呢,还是自己用个手段让对方早点死呢?剧场一:成亲后阮伽南很苦恼,唉声叹气,悲春伤秋。丫鬟关怀的问:“王妃,您烦恼什么呀?”阮伽南答:“你家王爷怎么还不死啊?”丫鬟内心狂吼:王妃,您这话奴婢没法接!后来……自然是打脸啪啪啪,和王爷相亲相爱了。
  • 重生奉婚逆相爱

    重生奉婚逆相爱

    对于慕斯南来说,他这辈子最喜欢的就是自己的名字里有着她的姓氏,最不喜欢的是他们名字的最后一个字一个在南一个在北。对于南小北来说,她这一生最恨自己,恨自己错信他人,恨自己杀了最爱自己的人。当到了最后老天重新给了自己一次机会,她发誓,这一世换她来守护他。
  • 我真的是个有钱人

    我真的是个有钱人

    一觉醒来,名下多了一笔存款,和一套价值近千万的大房子。上班是不可能上班的,只能养养猫,泡泡茶,过过悠闲的小日子。群号:281634095。
  • 家里有个女明星

    家里有个女明星

    不知何时起,我们开始变的只讲现在不念从前,是岁月改变了我们的本真,还是人性的本质就是薄凉!追忆那段荒诞岁月里的爱恨情仇,侃一侃我曾用生命去维系的那些人,那些奇葩的故事;还有那闪烁在城际边,看不见的灯火……
  • 海贼之无上传奇

    海贼之无上传奇

    一张符箓压天下,千百星辰蕴己身!以剑的锋芒试鹰眼,以拳的力量撼大海!这是一个无敌与当世拯救一切的故事!
  • 开心学国学(典籍卷)

    开心学国学(典籍卷)

    本册将国学典籍分成经部、史部、子部、集部四个部分,内容翔实,通俗易懂,方便查阅,可谓是一册在手,国学典籍尽收眼底,是中外人士研习中国文化的之作。
  • 你要去相信,没有到不了的明天

    你要去相信,没有到不了的明天

    这本书讲述的都是一些琐碎的片段,身边真实的故事。一五一十地诉说,或者天马行空地做梦,使读者可以从中收获微小的、错综复杂的、细枝末节的感动,得到一种共鸣和安慰。作者以治愈的风格和平实的文字打造温暖的主题,让读者从书中得到慰藉。
  • 中国创刊词

    中国创刊词

    本书收录了1872年至2003年间中国报刊的创刊词,并介绍了这些期刊的创刊时间、创办地点、创办背景、作者小传、创刊译文,焦点评析等内容。其中所撷取的作者有的是大政治家、大思想家、大哲学家、大文学家、大诗人,有的已成为一代师宗、一代名宿、一代伟人甚至是一代领袖。这些创刊词的作者代表了新旧中国不同时期的思潮,而且有鲜明的个性特点及时代特征。
  • 腹黑总裁的独家宠妻

    腹黑总裁的独家宠妻

    从被仲厉诚接回家的那一刻开始,慕烟就知道,这个男人是她的命运!她得罪不得、逃脱不得,只能接受。她是他的小白兔,乖巧懂事又听话。但后来,这个男人保护我,守护我,甚至我也不知不觉中爱上了他。