Immanuel Kant 1724-1804

title=”The Passion, Paris” – photo by Marji Lang, on Flickr

“It is the greatest incumbency of a philosopher and becomes most seldom found anyway to be consistently …” Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) wrote. If one connects this with his remark: “A religion, which makes humans dark, is wrong…” – then one has to brood, how consistent people have to behave versus a gloomy religion opinion. Since “September Eleven” one asks not only how to react versus the Islamistic fundamentalism, but also how to act against obstinately Christian crusade reflexes. Kant behaved with pleasure quite rationally to the at that time usual religiousness: But it almost was not possible to show more than quiet irony alike: “Metaphysics is a dark ocean without shores or lighthouse, strewn with many a philosophic wreck.”

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Kant trusted in the strength of the law, trusted in the conscience, inherent to every human being. Pertinaciously he stuck to this believe – and expressed thereby a careful protest against the claim to power of the princely potentates and religion representatives. So he became a quiet advocate of the French idea of revolution while he declined any brute force at the same time. While insistently preaching the necessity of using rational intelligence, he became the indirect creator of the UN, the personification of that hope, that the community of nations should be able to come to in agreement to inform each other in such a way, that to harm each other can not be the interest of one’s own mutually. Though Kant did not have the experiences of two World Wars, showing the effect of modern technology, destroying masses, he already wrote: “Anger is a shock that activates all one’s strength to resist evil.” We, at least, should have this anger. Into the today’s meet his aphorism is encouraging: “If a man makes himself a worm, he must not complain when he is trodden on.” [Seems to be an argument vs. too much tolerance and passivity (supported by the religious sermons).]

Despite UNO or international Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands, reason still has not been able to gain acceptance continuously reliably opposite a national horizon limitedness, though. Last Kant-quotation, spoken in direction to the first world, considering the troubles of the “third world”: “Mankind could perhaps become richer by growing poorer and win by losing…” How is it about wasting resources? So, I think, we still need the spirit of Immanuel KANT!
related:
https://flickrcomments.wordpress.com/2011/10/06/black-childhood/

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About Didi van Frits

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