Kant and Hegel are seen as the two inventors of German Idealism. This can be described as the creation of a safeguard of knowledge and virtue, which puts mind over matter. The earliest works of Kant focused upon science, rather than philosophy. However, his most influential work is The Critique of Pure Reason (1781) was the work, which projected his voice to the masses. It's purpose was to prove that our knowledge is not transcended completely from experience and is deduced from A Priori.
A Priori according to Kant embraces logic, but it is not included or deduced from logic. Kant suggested that there were four different types of knowledge:
Analytical knowledge: This is knowledge where the predicate is part of the subject and follows the laws of contradiction E.G. A bachelor is unmarried/. Saying that A bachelor is upset would be self-contradictory.
Synthetic knowledge: This is not analytical and is derived from our experiences of the outside world. E.G. If you say A Bachelor is angry, this is an example of synthetic knowledge as it brings out the concept of anger. Kant denies that all synthetic knowledge comes from experience.
A Priori knowledge: Does not need the notion of experience because it has the assertion of truth. However, Kant admits that experience is needed to grasp a concept E.G. A child using building blocks to add and subtract, but once they have learn this concept, then the blocked are not longer needed. Another example could be learning to ride a bike with the use of stabilisers, but once you have learnt to ride, they are no longer needed. All mathematics is seen as A Priori knowledge.
Emperical or "A Posteriori" knowledge: Knowledge that can only be proved through self perception or experience through observations of an objects existence.
Hume proved causality is not synthetic and these views are accepted by Kant. He still maintains his beliefs that it is A Priori. If you were to create Synthetic A Priori, then you would have a combination of knowledge derived from both assertion and truth and from experience. A prime example of this would be an infinite number of different worlds such as this one:
Kant formulated the problem of "How synthetic judge a priori possible? The answer to this questions constitute the core theme of The Critique of Pure Reason. It explains how it is not possible to have unnatural assumptions when they come from knowledge derived from experience and is self-contradictory as a result.
In the concept of space and time, Kant believes both are subjective perceptions of apparatus. Both have a priori intuitions as they are included in our characteristics and their existence does not need to be proved through experience. Kant shows the fallacies in applying space and time to being empirical through experience. We find ourselves troubled by antinomies (paradoxes).
Kant explains this by giving example of four antinomies with explanation of the thesis (A unproved statement) and the antithesis (the counter proposition which is a complete contrast from the original ideas). This is one of the four antinomies Kant gave as an example:
Thesis: "The world has a beginning and is also limited in space."
Antithesis: "The world has no beginning in time and no limits in space, it is infinite as regards to both time and space."
These statements greatly influenced Hegel and his use of antinomies, but I come to Hegel later on.
Kant also believed there was only three ways to prove god's existence:
Ontological proof: Using A Priori proof as evidence that good exists if we understand this.
Cosmological proof: Argues for anything to exist than an absolute being must exist (God) and this is the only possible answer.
Physio-theological proof: This shows that everything that has been made and exists in this universe must have had a creator (God) because of the uniqueness of the designed. Only a supernatural being could have created this.
Kant holds ideas of object perception are due to our own perception of these objects and the external things around us. Our own perceptions are made of sensations and our own knowledge. Kant also believes that sensations have causes, which are "things in themselves" or "Nourmena" which appears to us in phenomenon. The second part does not need proof as our A Priori knowledge is not dependant upon experience.
Kant proves that space and time are A Priori in two ways:
* The metaphysical aspect is the philosophical study of being and knowing. Kant looks at space as a pure intuition as it is infinite.
* The epistemological (philosophical branch of nature) looks at the mathematics e.g. geometry
Kant with time believes is also an A Priori intuition, but it possesses another quality; the basis of precepts. This means that without the intuition of time we could not think or perceive, therefore the object and the subjective time must be the same.
This brings me onto the second German philosopher of the day, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770-1831).
Hegel continued the idealism of Kant, but believed that nothing is complete except "the whole" as a complex system E.G. organism. Hegel calls this "the absolute", this is described as spiritual and rejects Spinoza's view of extension.
Hegel believes logic is the same as metaphysics, but not the commonly known logic. He believes it is self contradictory E.G. nothing can be spherical without a boundary to exist in reality.
The illustration of an uncle shows how nothing is true unless reality has proven this and shows the basis for logic. The illustration also illustrates the dialectic, which contains a thesis, antithesis and synthesis. E.G. The uncles shows a system outside "the absolute", which everything else works around, but only "the absolute" has no connection to the outside. Everything else is connected as it has to have it's existence proven. The underlying assumption, therefore shows that nothing is true unless it is whole and in theory shows the basis of traditional logic.
The thesis shows "the absolute" as the pure being, this is assumed as true without assigning qualities. The antithesis suggests that "the absolute" is nothing and does not exist. This leads to the synthesis and the union of becoming, therefore "the being is becoming."
Our reality develops by conscious correction of error. This leads to Hegel explaining the stages of dialect, which are essential to our understanding. The process begins with self-perception (our awareness of the object), this leads to the sceptical criticism of the object. Finally we gain a full understanding of the object and gain knowledge to the point where the subject and the object are one in the same. At this point our self-knowledge is established.
According to Hegel nothing is wholly true or false, but in philosophy the truth is a absolute being and nothing partial is true.
In Russell, Hegel explains that in both democracy and aristocracy that only some people and the monarchy are free. Hegel goes on further to says that there is no freedom without law, but for him freedom means the right to obey the law. Hegel praises Rousseau's distinguishing of general will and the will of all. Hegel believes in the general will of all, with the state acting on individual interests, not the interests of the masses.
Hegel believes everything important takes the form of wars. Hegel explains that there was no real state in America in the beginning of the 19th Century, meaning there is no class divide. Hegel emphasises how a nation can carry the world through dialect E.G. Germany. His emphasis on nations combined with his ideas of freedom explains the glorification of the state, which began with the reformation.
The church were above this test, but the Protestant movement put state before the church spirits and guiding to the climax. Kant and Hegel both believed that change was a good thing and helped for progression. The main concept to help further change in society is war. War allows progression of values within society and helps establish change for the greater good.
This moves me onto the "geist" or "zeitgeist", which is described as a spirit or the spirit of the time. The main spirit of the current time is revolution. from the student protests in London, to the ongoing turmoil in the Middle East, it is clear that the spirit is suggesting it is time for change and that progression is needed to further establish a fair democracy in the western world.
I think that is enough philosophy for this time, but tune in for the next instalment of German philosophers weekly with our depiction of the communist philosopher, Karl Marx
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