Chapter II

Short background of the life of the philosopher

“Immanuel Kant was born in Konigsberg in East Prussia on April 22, 1724”.1Kant’s family was a Protestant
in the Lutheran Church where both of his parents were devoted to practicing Pietism. His mother was a
strong religious faith whom he was deeply attached, who reared him in the strict Lutheran creed, but in
its pietistic, that is to say puritanical form—as a revivalist movement within the Lutheran church.2 Kant’s
moral perspective of pietism was changed to religious moral rationalism. It has deep influence of all
Kant’s philosophizing most especially to his moral philosophy.

The story behind the change of mind in the life of Kant has the root of Kant’s childhood experience
that later he go against pietism and developed a rational religion “but also saw this religion as historically
evolving through this creeds rather than unrelated to them”3 . He looks at morality in the rational point
of view because he observed in pietism that was “nevertheless radical in its insistence upon individual
piety”.4 “One may say of pietism what he will. Just the same, the people who took it seriously excelled in
a venerable way.”5 It may also be the same with other religion who lacks radical insistence in its practical
moral observance. Kant’s critical analysis of this religious practice gives him the way “to mediate
between pietism and rationalism, between mysticism and science, by restricting both to their respective
spheres in the mind of man”.6 “His later insistence upon religion as the basis for doing good for its own
sake, as contrasted with all systems of morality which relate the doing of good to the securing of some
reward, has its root in this deeply felt difference between the piety of his parents and the severe
discipline in his school years”7

“Kant was very preoccupied with the problem of the government, of the power and law … Kant
opted for law … Kant opted for freedom.”8 Kant’s moral philosophy mostly rooted of his “witness to the
French and American Revolutions.” With the “pietism’s adherents to a support of the democratic
government,”9 he showed no interest in participating in the church services and his theological views
were broadly those of the enlightenment to a rational religion. 10

Kant’s childhood was a bit stressed to him because of the strict discipline in his childhood school
years where “terror and fear seized him”.11 Thus, he proposed a rational moral discipline to every
individual in any particular work or duty as human being. “Indeed, the problem of freedom, the freedom

1
Immanuel Kant, “Biographical Note”, in the Great Book of the Western World, ed., by: Robert Maynard
Hutchins, vol. 42 (Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica Inc., 1978), v.
2
Kant, Immanuel, “The Philosophy of Kant, Immanuel Kant’s Moral and Political Writings” ed., by: Carl J.
Friedrich.(USA, New York :Random House, Inc.,197).xiv.
3
Kant, Immanuel, “The Philosophy of Kant, Immanuel Kant’s Moral and Political Writings” 1978 )xiv
4
Kant, Immanuel, 1978), xiv.
5
Kant, Immanuel,xv.
6
Ibid.,xv.
7
Ibid.,xvi
8
Ibid.,xiii.
9
Ibid., xi.
10
Ibid.,xiii
11
ibid.,xvi.
of the human personality to unfold and fulfill its higher destiny, is the central issue of all Kant’s
philosophizing.”12

It is obvious in Kant’s character his philosophy. Kant has “the qualities of timidity with delight in
conversation, a lack of erotic interest combined with a touch of misanthropy, and great moderation and
self-discipline offset by tremendous intellectual enthusiasm”13

Kant’s great moral work, mainly the famous Categorical Imperative, is a way to evaluate motivations
of the acting person. He has labored for what is rational moral good by acting for the purpose of
attaining an end that is dutiful to every rational being as subject to this true moral worth. It shows that
man must take this particular good to attain the highest end of action grounded to rational volition (will
to act). With man’s rationality, Kant proved that knowledge of the a priori is possible to evaluate an act in
order to know morality or immorality of the act by critically, rationally judging the means.

Immanuel Kant believed that Moral Law is within himself, so also within human beings themselves.
“Kant’s most famous saying wherein at the height of his philosophy he proclaimed the famous cosmic
awe: “Two matters fill me with ever wonder: the starred heaven above me and the moral law within me”

“No one was more aware than Kant of the tentative, hypothetical nature of all experiments and of the
necessity for testing such hypothetical judgments by experience. Likewise in matters of human nature he
insisted upon testing one’s hypotheses by reference to one’s actions.”14

Actually Kant’s philosophy is among the most rigidly “objective” systems; it is inspired by a profound
sense of the reality of existence as distinct from the mind of man… Kant sees the mind as essentially an
instrument having definite limits”.15

“He laid stress upon the ethical aspect of a “rational religion” as contrasted to revelation of specific
creeds,… in maintaining this rational religion,” Kant was , of course diametrically opposed to a central
tenet of pietism”16

The Philosophy of Kant, the moral law or what is called the categorical imperative is Kant’s
wonderful work in the age of his philosophizing to stand as the governing principle for the moral action
of every people. Kant has arrived to this way of moral philosophy because of his experience of no strict
moral observance of pietism in his religion; therefore he wanted it to make rational way of approaching
to this practice in a religion. This is a Kant’s rational way of changing what is lousy in the pietism of his
religion. He wants to make a radical observance of it to be applied by every religious morality. “The
Pietistic taught that religion belongs to the inner life expressed in the simplicity and obedience to the
moral law.17”

The researcher sees the moral philosophy of Kant is based on the rational moral law which is
well-known as categorical imperative. This is made for the people as the ruling principle in his existence
in order to promote social moral order of the acts of man according to the proper law of nature with
harmony to himself, to others and even in the whole humanity. This moral principle of life is for the good

12
Ibid.,xiii
13
Ibid.,xiii
14
Ibid., xii
15
Ibid., xii
16
Ibid., xiv
17
Syed Omar Syed Agil, “Kantian Ethics: A Critique”,(Universiti Tun Abdul Razak E- Journal Vol.7, No.2, Junew
2011).p.33
of all, because this is not only with respect to the moral dignity of a person but also of the right acts of
man by virtue of following his noble end or purpose in life according to man’s dignity as the highest
created being with rationality in order to correct his way of lifestyle. A man of dignity should live a
highest moral standard as the highest achievement of his being human among other created beings,
because of his intellectual capacity reason out and think of what is good for him, for others and for the
whole humanity. Human being needs to be of valued and respected in this world through moral
observance, that is why the existence of Moral law made possible for people to direct all his action
towards his right destination a noble end by using properly his will to judge what is moral acts to do and
immoral acts to avoid before it appears. It is therefore possible for every human being who by his
rationality understands the mission of the categorical imperative to be observed in all human acts. It is
said earlier that the moral law from Kant is made to govern rationality of man to act in way rational
moral behavior as his moral character whether he is seen or nobody sees him. He is to act according to
the moral duty with harmony to himself, to others and even to the whole humanity as a respect to his
moral dignity.

It is clear that the moral philosophy of Kant is based on his criticism to the observance of religious
practices in Christian religion. In Kant’s Religion within the Boundaries of Reason, Kant used a
rationalistic approach to religion criticizes traditions using metaphysical demonstration of the existence
of God and that “ the nature and the intrinsic limits of human thought and knowledge preclude any such
demonstration, yet “ he declared that he had to deny knowledge in order to make room for faith.18

The philosophy of Kant always includes the reason of the existence God and purpose of man in
order to give rational principle of man’s duty to their God. Immanuel Kant dwells on man’s need to find
his direction to the right ending of his existence using responsibly his will in conformity to the highest
good of human life. This is the main reason of Kant’s philosophizing is to instruct on man the rationality
that every human has to cultivate to the attainment of his goal. This goal is to be expressed in following
the moral law “act as if through your will, will become the universal law and act as to treat humanity in
yourself and in other self as an end and never merely as a means”. This is Kant’s valuing man’s dignity
and rationality as human beings.

This philosophy of Kant is different to the philosophy of Mill by the pursuit of happiness of every
human being. Kant has conviction to find rational explanation of what is really a moral action with regard
to feeling in which human is so much affected it. In this case, the reason of Kant is simply a rational
human act not attached to passions. The human has to act in his dutiful manner away from the
inclination of feelings which is common to animal instincts so much so that he acts according to his
human nature emphasizing of his rationality. The best contribution in the mind of Kant is that the deep
reason of human existence towards his main goal of rationalizing. There is a need in the part of Kant to
teach all rational human being on how to adapt to this world of reality where man must use properly and
responsibly the rational nature of man to make use of his intellect for the preservation of life and the
good of all men by virtue of his moral law that is grounded on the reality in the mind of man in order to
keep his moral obligation in the heart man through the existence of the right reason to follow by
himself, to others and even to the whole humanity. This philosophy of Kant is made possible by the good
will inside the rationality of man in connection to his free will to choose for himself what is good and
right according to his freedom. Immanuel Kant gives the formulas on how to attain or make use of the
freedom in man. It is by knowing his right end to pursue in his life. Everything goes to the pursuit of a

18
Immanuel Kant,“Religion within the Boundaries of Mere Reason,” ed. Adams, Robert, George di Giovanni, Allen
Wood(Great Britain, Cambridge University Press, 1998), vii.
moral and noble end in man. It is the mission of Kant’s moral philosophy, the facts of the categorical
imperative.