Immanuel Kant

and the Thinking Person

Dr. Lionel E. Buenaflor

Head—Batangas Heritage Center
University of Batangas
He disagreed with the However, he disagreed
philosophy of both with Hume on the belief
the rationalists and that we cannot have
empiricists. knowledge of any reality
beyond our experience.
Man possesses a
faculty that is Although our knowledge
Immanuel Kant
capable of giving begins with experience,
(April 22, 1724 –
knowledge without it does not follow that all
an appeal to February 12, 1804) our knowledge arises out
experience. of experience.

We can get knowledge not

He agreed with DAVID
only from sense experience
HUME that all our
but also directly from the
knowledge are derived
faculty of rational judgment
from experience.
and, therefore, A PRIORI.
 Judgment is an Synthetic A
operation of thought POSTERIORI judgment
whereby we connect is that wherein the
a subject and a predicate is not
predicate, where the contained in the
predicate qualifies in understanding of the
some way the subject. subject and vice-versa.
Immanuel Kant
(April 22, 1724 – There is also a kind of
judgment which is
Analytic A PRIORI February 12, 1804)
Synthetic A PRIORI.
judgment is that
judgemtn wherein
the predicate is With Hume, Kant agreed that our
already contained in knowledge begins with experience,
our understanding of but unlike Hume, Kant sees the mind
the subject. as an active agent doing something
with the objects it experiences.
His main contention is
that man is one that
legislates, sets the Human knowledge is
rules and boundaries, limited in its scope. This
for the emergence of limitation takes two
the object. This is forms: first, knowledge is
what is known as limited to the world of
Immanuel Kant experience.
Kant’s
(April 22, 1724 –
TRANSCENDENTAL
METHOD.
February 12, 1804)

Man is that which goes Second, our knowledge

beyond itself and
transcends itself to
constitute the
“conditions of
possibility” of the object.
is limited by the manner
in which our faculties of
perception and thinking
organize the raw data of
experience.
 Kant distinguishes
between Kant believes that we
PHENOMENAL will never be able to
reality, or the world as know the NOUMENAL
we experience it, and reality or the thing-in-
the NOUMENAL itself. What we can
reality, which is purely Immanuel Kant know only is the thing
intelligible, or non- that appears to us.
(April 22, 1724 –
sensual reality.
February 12, 1804)
His transcendental method
He held that there is
views man as a self-governing
reality external to us
rational will, conforming to the
that exist independently
peremptory but internal
of us but that we can
exigencies immanent in him as
know only as it appears
rational will.
to us and is organized by
us.
 The task of moral
philosophy is to Conformity to duty does
discover how we are not simply external
able to arrive at conformity, but true
principles of behavior fidelity to what duty
that are binding upon demands.
Immanuel Kant
all humanity.
(April 22, 1724 –
February 12, 1804)
The human will is
considered to be good Kant’s ethical view is sometimes
when it acts so that it called DEONTOLOGISM, from the
conforms itself to what Greek word deontoV, and logoV
duty demands.
 DUTY is “that which Because the human
ought to be done”. person is a self-
governing rational will,
morality is based on the
How can we determine human person. In other
those actions that ought words, the goodness and
to be done? badness of an action is
Immanuel Kant depending on the
(April 22, 1724 – intuition.
Morality is exclusively February 12, 1804)
within the human
personality, i.e., what is INTUITION means the internal motive
morally right or wrong is or intentions; hence, Kantian morality
solely a matter of can also be considered as a form of
INTENT, MOTIVE or INTUITIONISM or a MOTIVIST
WILL. theory.
 What makes an act Hence, doing one’s duty
moral is its being done is doing what one is
out of duty, as obliged to do. That is
distinguished from act why duty is also known
done for other reasons. as OBLIGATION.
Immanuel Kant
(April 22, 1724 –
February 12, 1804)

Duty can be considered Kant distinguished between

as that which an acts DONE IN ACCORD
individual ought to do WITH DUTY from an ACT
despite the inclination to DONE FROM A SENSE OF
do otherwise. DUTY.
 The essence of
morality is to be
To be able to
found in the
determine whether or
MOTIVE from
Immanuel Kant not a person is acting
which an act is done.
from a sense of duty in
In other words, the (April 22, 1724 –
a particular situation,
rightness or February 12, 1804) he must judge is action
wrongness of an
light of how
action is determined
CATEGORICAL
by the motive from
IMPERATIVE, THE
which it is being
CORE OF Kant’s
carried out,
ethical theory.
regardless of the
consequences.
 CATEGORICAL
IMPERATIVE is a There are three
command or maxim general types of
that enjoins a person imperatives:
to do a certain action imperative of skill,
without qualification imperative of
inasmuch as doing Immanuel Kant prudence, and
such an act is the (April 22, 1724 – imperative of
most universally February 12, 1804) morality.
accepted thing to do.

The Categorical
Imperative is
binding for all
persons.
 2. Act so as to treat
Kant gave two humanity, whether in
formulations of your own person, or in
Categorical Imperative: that of any other, every
Immanuel Kant case as an end, never as
(April 22, 1724 – means only.
February 12, 1804)
1. Act only on that
maxim whereby The second formulation is Kant’s
they can, and at the PRINCIPLE OF JUSTICE,
same time will, that which has an important
it will become a consequence for democracy.
universal law.
In Kant’s concept of
justice, every
individual must be Because the
counted as being of Categorical
equal value. Hence, Imperative is our
no one should be guide to moral action,
discriminated he considers this as a
against, irrespective Immanuel Kant
VOICE OF DUTY, a
of his gender, race, (April 22, 1724 – sense of oughtness.
creed, social or February 12, 1804)
financial status.

Since every being is a rational Because this

creature, each has an inherent
value and dignity, which is not
determined by one’s
profession, upbringing, or
financial capability.
imperative is derived
from reason, then it is
A PRIORI. Hence,
Categorical Imperative
is definite and
changeless.
He considers a human Kant distinguished
person as an duties between:
AUTONOMOUS PERFECT duty and
SELF-REGULATING IMPERFECT duty.
WILL. Since man is
capable of immanent
activities, man’s Immanuel Kant Perfect duty is that
reason and (April 22, 1724 – which a person must
justifications of his February 12, 1804) always observe
decisions are his own. irrespective of time,
place or circumstances.
To respect an autonomous Imperfect duty is that
agent is to recognize one’s which a person must
own considered value observe only on some
judgment, even if the latter occasions.
is believed to be mistaken
or incorrect.
 A human person has The real point is that a
the capability of person has worth and
making moral dignity because they
decision and that duty are ends in themselves
is always A PRIORI. and are capable of
It is always based on Immanuel Kant making their own
reason. (April 22, 1724 – moral decisions.
February 12, 1804)
Hence, every person should
Every person is capable not be treated as merely a
of doing an action based means for other’s end.
on his will and decision. Mutual respect for autonomy
between persons in moral
relation is the basis of justice.