The High Enlightenment II: Kant

Inleiding

The High Enlightenment II provides a basic understanding of Kant’s metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, philosophy of war & peace & his philosophy of history.

Startdatums

Start in week of 13 March 2023

Content

David Hume’s criticism of the notion of causality prompted Immanuel Kant to develop a new philosophy in which causality is no longer a property of the world outside us, but rather a concept in our minds that assists us in making sense of the world. This is his famous ‘Copernican Revolution’; rather than objects in the world shaping the cognitive operations of subjects (epistemological realism), these subjective operations determine our perceptions of objects and our judgements about objects (epistemological idealism). This is only part of Kant’s enormous contribution to philosophy. In his ethics he defended morality in the form of a law that demands to be obeyed for its own sake, the commands of which are not issued by some alien authority but the voice of reason that the moral subject can recognize as his own.

Finally, although Kant was a great Enlightened demolisher of the truth of metaphysics, he nevertheless maintained that certain notions can still have a useful regulative function; one example is the notion of teleology. This notion plays a major role in his philosophy of history, his political philosophy and his radical plea for world peace, Perpetual Peace (1795); paradoxically enough, this teleological perspective also implies a surprisingly positive evaluation of the function of war.

Prior knowledge

No prior knowledge is required.

Language

English; lectures will be recorded

Period

Bachelor 1, block 3B; 13 March until 15 April 2023

Course guide & literature

Please consult the course guide for the exact timetable and literature. The timetable will be published by the end of July.