Immanuel Kant On Human Nature
Immanuel Kant’s philosophical views of human nature and the ethical systems that govern human actions are primarily summed up in his composition of the "Categorical Imperative.” By his own logic, Kant attempted to describe the mechanics of nature and the morality of mankind. As Mitchell states:
Indeed, as Kant showed us, the world appears to operate according to the principle of cause and effect, and our shared agreement of this interpretation allows us to reason about the world. (Mitchell, 259)
Through his exploration and definition of nature, Kant asserted that autonomy was a necessity which a creature must maintain in order to conceive a moral assessment of actions. This state of existence, he believed, was a capacity that is unique to mankind. Essentially, autonomy is what separates us from the animal kingdom. Kant validates this hypothesis by explaining that human wills are affected but not determined by bodily desires. Therefore, human wills are then placed between non-rational animals (whose wills are determined by bodily desires) and divine beings (whose wills are determined by reason). Simply stated, human beings possessed a rational intuition that animals lacked and divine beings mastered. Kant believed that the “highest good” human beings could achieve is simultaneous …show more content…
He argued that only humans have minds, and that the mind interacts with the body at the pineal gland. This form of dualism or duality proposes that the mind controls the body, but that the body can also influence the otherwise rational mind, such as when people act out of passion. Mitchell
Indeed, as Kant showed us, the world appears to operate according to the principle of cause and effect, and our shared agreement of this interpretation allows us to reason about the world. (Mitchell, 259)
Through his exploration and definition of nature, Kant asserted that autonomy was a necessity which a creature must maintain in order to conceive a moral assessment of actions. This state of existence, he believed, was a capacity that is unique to mankind. Essentially, autonomy is what separates us from the animal kingdom. Kant validates this hypothesis by explaining that human wills are affected but not determined by bodily desires. Therefore, human wills are then placed between non-rational animals (whose wills are determined by bodily desires) and divine beings (whose wills are determined by reason). Simply stated, human beings possessed a rational intuition that animals lacked and divine beings mastered. Kant believed that the “highest good” human beings could achieve is simultaneous …show more content…
He argued that only humans have minds, and that the mind interacts with the body at the pineal gland. This form of dualism or duality proposes that the mind controls the body, but that the body can also influence the otherwise rational mind, such as when people act out of passion. Mitchell