duty and philosophy
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 with
thod, one against which we can measure and identify those choices- aptly named philosophy. it absolute necessity." If a being has this idea of duty, of the need to fulfill, it is obvious that it should and must live in accordance to that obligation at every moment and in every way. The concept of survival in the animal kingdom supports this idea well. If we examine an animal and its daily activities, such as hunting for food, protecting its territory, and mating among others, we observe a duty in that animal to stay alive, to see another day. Survival isn't easy; survival is tough, pain-staking work, every day after day. If the animal didn't feel an innate duty to remain alive, it would surely nestle itself in the shade beneath a tr! And he must concede that the ground of obligation here must therefore be sought a priori solely in the concepts of pure reason; he must grant that every other precept which is founded on principles of mere experience- even a precept that may in certain respects be universal- insofar as it rests in the least on empirical grounds- perhaps only in its motive- can indeed be called a practical rule, but never a moral law. 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
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Approximate Word count = 868
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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