Influential Classic Speeches That Have Shaped the World

Author: Chen Liyu
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-06-01
Features: A General Introduction to the History of Philosophy [Germany] Kant's 1765 Lecture on the Explanation of Kant (1724—1804), the founder of German classical idealism, became a giant of German classical philosophy with his "Three Critiques." In addition, he was also a great natural scientist, whose hypotheses such as "the hypothesis that tidal friction slows down the Earth's rotation" and "the nebular hypothesis" caused a sensation at the time. Especially the nebular hypothesis, it severely shook the then dominant metaphysical view of nature, and Engels praised him in Dialectics of Nature for "opening a gap in this rigid natural view." Kant despised ancient Roman and medieval philosophy but praised modern and contemporary philosophy highly. He affirmed Bacon and Descartes, Leibniz and Locke, but in fact, their philosophical views were opposite. Bacon and Locke advocated empiricism, believing that knowledge comes from human sensory experience, while Descartes and Leibniz advocated rationalism, believing that knowledge comes from human innate reason. In reality, Kant's affirmation was not agreement, but affirmation of what they were and negation of what they were not. He believed that whether empiricism or rationalism, their methods in philosophical thinking were dogmatic, especially by the time of Leibniz and his disciple Wolff, the dogmatic method had already led to deception. He also affirmed the prosperity of 18th-century natural philosophy but expressed deep dissatisfaction with the stagnation in the study of moral philosophy, i.e., metaphysics. He considered metaphysics to be "the original, true philosophy." This lecture is excerpted from the preface to Lectures on Logic, which is Kant's lecture notes on logic at the university. The lecture on philosophy, after being passed down from the Greeks to the Romans, no longer expanded because the Romans always remained in the student stage. Cicero was a student of Plato in speculative philosophy and a Stoic in ethics. Epictetus and the philosopher Antonius belonged to the Stoic school, and Seneca was a famous representative of this school. Among the Romans, in addition to the young Pliny who left behind Natural History, there were no natural scientists. Culture finally disappeared among the Romans, and barbarism rose until the 6th and 7th centuries, when the Arabs began to dedicate themselves to science, reviving Aristotle's (research). Now, science is again rising in the West, especially with the prestige of Aristotle, people follow him in a slave-like manner. In the 11th and 12th centuries, scholastic philosophers appeared, who commented on Aristotle and endlessly played with sophistry. What they engaged in was nothing but pure abstraction. The deceptive and sophistical way of inquiry in scholastic philosophy was pushed aside in the era of reform. Compromisers appeared in the field of philosophy, a group of thinkers who were not committed to any school but sought truth and accepted it once found. The renewal of modern philosophy is partly due to the extensive study of nature and partly due to the combination of mathematics and natural sciences. Through the study of these sciences, the order formed in the mind has expanded beyond the special branches and parts of the world's wisdom. The first and greatest natural researcher of modern times is Bacon of Verulam. Bacon took the path of empiricism in his research, noting the importance and necessity of observation and experiment in revealing truth. However, it is difficult to say where the renewal of speculative philosophy actually began. In this regard, the contribution of Descartes cannot be overlooked, as he made significant contributions to giving the mind clarity by proposing a standard of truth (he established this standard with the clarity and self-evidence of knowledge). However, the greatest and most meritorious philosophical reformer of our time is undoubtedly Leibniz and Locke. Locke tried to analyze human understanding, pointing out which mental powers and their functions come after this or that knowledge. Although Locke provided convenience for a deeper and more thorough study of the nature of the mind, he did not complete his research work, and his method was also dogmatic. This very erroneous and dogmatic method of philosophical thinking was unique to Leibniz and Wolff. It was so full of deception that it was necessary to abandon it and replace it with another critical method of thinking. The latter method lies in studying the activity of reason itself, analyzing all human cognitive abilities, and examining the limits that these abilities can reach. Natural philosophy is extremely flourishing in our time. Among those who study nature, Newton enjoys very high prestige. Modern philosophers cannot boast of enjoying an outstanding and permanent reputation, because everything here seems to be in flux. What one establishes, another tears down. In the field of moral philosophy, we have not gone further than the ancients. In metaphysics, our research into metaphysical truth seems to have fallen into a state of confusion. Now, there is a certain indifference to this science, as people seem to take pride in calling the study of metaphysics a mere, trivial consideration. Yet metaphysics is the original, true philosophy! Our time is the age of critique, and philosophy, especially metaphysics, will become what it will be must be seen from the critical attempts of our time. P18-20