Kant does not regard freedom as an item of faith because it is too basic to our agency to be related to any end. Allen W. Wood More Quotes by Allen W. Wood More Quotes From Allen W. Wood When consequentialist theories are developed in terms of an equally shallow psychology of the good - such as a crude form of hedonism - the results can sometimes strike sensible people as revolting and inhuman. People can be reduced to simple repositories of positive or negative sensory states, and their humanity is lost sight of entirely. Allen W. Wood simple sight people When people think that moral problems can be solved by some simple strategy of calculation, that sets them up for ghastly overreaching. They think they can turn everything into a "science" the way mechanics was turned into a science in the seventeeth century. They want to turn everything over to technocrats and social engineers. They become shortsighted or simplistic about their ends, and they disastrously overestimate their ability to acquire the information they need to make the needed calculations. Allen W. Wood simple people thinking I don't think Kant's theory looks bad to people except insofar as they have misunderstood it (for instance, as heartless and ironheaded, or as committed to an absurd metaphysical conception of freedom that violates Kant's own philosophy). Allen W. Wood philosophy people thinking Some of Kant's particular moral opinions, either because he shared the prejudices of his time, or because of his own personal crotchets, can strike sensible people as ridiculous or offensive. But in my view, his own theory provides us with the resources (the best resources available, I believe) to correct his own personal errors or cultural prejudices. Allen W. Wood errors views believe Kant is not saying - about freedom or any other subject - anything of the form: "Not-p but we must assume that p." That's close to self-contradictory, like Moore's paradox: "p, but I don't believe that p". Allen W. Wood assuming self believe We can't coherently deny, or even decline to affirm, that we are free. Allen W. Wood decline deny Not only our moral life, but even our use of theoretical reason - on which we rely in rationally inquiring into nature - presupposes that we are free. Allen W. Wood inquiring moral use Those who employ their modest talents as best they can do make a contribution to a better human future. Allen W. Wood modest contribution talent As Kant says, the contribution of any common laborer would be greater than that of the greatest philosopher unless the philosopher makes some contribution to establishing the rights of humanity. Allen W. Wood humanity rights would-be It is actually a nice question how far Descartes himself endorses the monological and metaphysically dualistic theory of mind associated with his name and his legacy in early modern philosophy. But Fichte does reject this tradition, by suggesting that an immaterial thinking substance is an incoherent notion, and a rational being whose rationality was not developed through communication with others is a transcendental impossibility. Allen W. Wood communication nice philosophy Fichte is concerned with freedom as non-domination. Allen W. Wood domination concerned Fichte thinks that the mutual recognition of one another as free beings belongs among the transcendental conditions of self-consciousness itself. Allen W. Wood recognition self thinking Hegel's theory of recognition is basically derived from Fichte, who is its real author. Allen W. Wood hegel recognition real That Hegel's theory is derivative from Fichte's does not prevent it from being strikingly original and of independent value. Allen W. Wood derivatives independent doe Fichte is a necessary step to both Hegel and Marx. Allen W. Wood hegel steps When Marx, in the Theses on Feuerbach, says that only idealism up to now has understood the active side of material Praxis, what he says is more true of Fichte than of any other philosopher in the classical German tradition. Allen W. Wood philosopher tradition sides I could identify for virtually every important figure in the history of modern continental philosophy an idea (or more than one) absolutely central to that philosopher's thought, whose original author was Fichte. Allen W. Wood important philosophy ideas I think Fichte did take it further than Kant by arguing that we can regard the moral law as objectively valid only by seeing it as addressed to us by another being, even though Fichte thought God could not literally be a person who could address us. Allen W. Wood addresses law thinking Both Kant and Fichte thought of traditions of revealed religion as ways of symbolically (that is, with aesthetic emotional power) thinking about our moral condition. Both thought that religion would become more and not less powerful, emotionally and morally, if the claims of scriptures and religious teachings were taken symbolically rather than literally (whatever 'literally' might mean in the case of claims that are either nonsensical or outdated or historically unsupportable if taken as metaphysical or historical assertions). Allen W. Wood powerful teaching religious It is a culturally interesting (but also deeply depressing) fact that many religious claims seem to retain their emotional power for believers only if taken in ways that are intellectually unsupportable and even morally contemptible. Allen W. Wood depressing taken religious
