Duty and Philosophy, a study of Kant

A detailed Summary of Duty and Philosophy, a study of Kant

If philosophy itself is a method of understanding, then there must first be something present for it to understand, and Kant identifies this something as the moral law. It is this purity that Kant acknowledges to exist without first needing to be perceived (which would therefore rely on that perception to validate it), and rightly claims as the absolute. He further argues that since this true and pure is omnipresent, then it is humanity's duty to hold itself to it, no matter how the inclination or desire to reason away from, or to ignore it, may tempt us. Kant then concludes that since it is this moral law that all beings are based, it is thusly imperative for the collective method, which we so direly depend upon to interpret and utilize the universe, should at its roots solely rely upon that knowledge given to us innately, and not upon empirical and anthropological grounds.

Kant identifies this moral law by recognizing the innate sense of duty bestowed upon every being. "That there must be such a [pure] philosophy is evident from the common idea of duty and of moral laws. Everyone must admit that if a law is to be morally valid, i.e., is to be valid as a ground of obligation, then it must carry wi

For example, how true and noble it is to say that one should be good, not to better himself in his place in the world or even to bring happiness to another, but because it is merely good to be good, because it is our purpose, our duty to be good. If one were then to assume that since our duty requires necessary obedience we would therefore automatically display the qualities of the, or only be, dutiful, than would surely expect to witness a dubious frown from Kant, who would likely respond with the following, "For man is affected by so many inclinations that, even though he is indeed capable of the idea of a pure practical reason, he is not so easily able to make that idea effective in concreto in the conduct of his life." For as much as he recognizes the innate sense of duty, does he equally recognize the innate inclinations to deviate from it, and it is because humanity is faced with this moment to moment choice, that Kant stresses the importance of having an accurate method, one against which we can measure and identify those choices- aptly named philosophy.

It is with this duty, and the empiricalism absent from its definition and derivative, that Kant distinguishes between his pure philosophy and "...that philosophy which mixes pure principles with empirical ones [which] does not deserve the name of philosophy." It is

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Approximate Word count = 902
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Miscellaneous

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Duty and Philosophy, a study of Kant

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