DJ Hadoken’s Perspective:
Immanuel Kant
Immanuel Kant
Theories of Human Nature
Written by DJ Hadoken
I agree with many of Immanuel Kant’s views regarding human nature. He proposes a well-balanced harmony of science and religion. It is not possible to prove human free will or the existence of God, it must only be believed based on faith.
I agree with his view that we are free, rational beings, and that we are capable of acting for moral reasons and not just for selfish desires. There are people who voluntarily commit selfless acts and even those who unknowingly or unintentionally do well for others, so were not expecting any sort of a reward to begin with.
Kant emphasizes the idea of morals and how people should act in accordance to them. However, from what I’ve read, it appears that Kant does not acknowledge the existence of a conscience.
I believe that morals are established by society, while the conscience is created within the individual. The conscience acts independently within a person and it is up to the conscience to accept or reject society’s morals.
My opinion is that a person’s decisions are significantly influenced by whether they have a tendency to prioritize the preferences of their conscience or a tendency to prioritize the established morals of their society.
For example, a person may be aware of certain morals, but if their conscience does not acknowledge the validity of these morals, then the person may easily make a decision that is technically immoral (as viewed from a social standpoint). Conversely, a person may be so concerned with society’s perception of them that they may choose to conform to what is accepted to be the norm of society despite what their conscience prefers.
Kant also emphasizes the idea of hope. His three questions, “What can I know? What ought I to do? What may I hope?” serve as an effective compass to guide our morality, conscience and decisions throughout our everyday lives.
He explains how people should lean towards good because doing the right thing may not be without merit. This also fits well with the idea of faith. To simply accept that there they may be a reward for what we do now is reason enough to do well.
It is better to live a life of righteousness now, with hope of a reward after death, than to live a life of evil, believing there is no reward. Because if there is, in fact, a reward, then it can be reaped after death. But if there is no reward, then we have lost nothing.
Slightly aside from Kant’s other views is his view that animals are incapable of acting, only behaving. I disagree, as I believe that animals, to some degree, are capable of acting.
This is proven through many accounts of relationships between owners and their pets during highly distressful times. Animals have been known to behave differently if their owners are distressed, they may even stay near their owner to “console” them.
This, I believe, is not simply behavior. The animal, to an extent, is aware that their owner is distressed and knowingly tries to resolve the problem to the best of their abilities.
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