Immanuel Kant's Mortality Analysis
Sehrish Kodare
54714
Philosophy 208
Section 1
Nietzsche Critique on Kant’s Mortality
Enlightenment is a period which can be conveyed as emitting “light into the dark corners of mind”, according to Immanuel Kant (Perry, p.428). Prior to the period of enlightenment, the society was dictated by Christian authorities and their religious doctrines. However, during the period of enlightenment various areas of philosophy were questioned and critiqued by various philosophers among them was a German Philosopher named Immanuel Kant who questioned and analyzed philosophical fundaments through the power of reason. He termed “Sapere Aude!” which means “dare to know” as the motto of enlightenment (Kant, 1996, p.1). The main fields established by Kant through
…show more content…
Friedrich Nietzsche a German philosopher was one of them. His style of writing looked like it did not question Kant directly at first look, but when one reads it further Nietzsche has critiqued the foundation of Kant’s theory of morality and faith in clear and concise paragraphs (Perry, p. 685). This paper highlights Immanuel Kant’s theory of reason to support the period of Enlightenment, which will be critiqued by Friedrich Nietzsche’s who would counter- enlightenment by challenging the foundations of Kant’s theory of reason through self- realization. As Nietzsche believes that intelligence is internalized resentment towards oneself, and reflects positivity, in reality, values of strength and laughter. According to me, Nietzsche’s arguments against Kantian universal reason stand strong with his ideology of will to …show more content…
He challenges the Kantian ideology of deontology and its connection with it actually being moral. He wanted to understand the origins of these morals and wanted to weaken the current human values and restyle the way morality is viewed. This led Nietzsche to his Genealogy of Morals which is divided into the noble morality that differentiates between good and bad and slave morality that differentiate between good and evil. He sides with noble morality since; it is an unconstrained affirmation of oneself as “good” and once this happens the rest is considered as bad. On the other hand, the slave morality was a reaction to the dominant noble morality, where it denounces its oppressors as “evil” and then declares oneself as well based on the choice of punishment taken (Nietzsche, 1994, p. 12-15). The slave morality led to qualities like altruism, selflessness, and duty. The reaction is attributed towards negative feelings like resentment, hatred, and introspection which creates a moral framework that is not in touch with itself (Nietzsche, 1994, p. 12-25). Moreover, through violence slave morality defeated noble morality and replaced them, for instance, the French revolution. Therefore, Nietzsche disagrees with Kant on categorical imperative and considers it cruel because it is a projection of
Frederick Douglass Developmental Stages Of Human Moral Reason
846 Words | 4 PagesMahatma Gandhi once said, “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.” People will appreciate the nation if there's equality given to everybody no matter their history of good or bad. What Gandhi says about equality, is not shown in The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. This narrative about Frederick Douglass informs the audience about the struggles he had with slavery while growing up in the South. The “Developmental Stages of Human Moral Reason” is a theory developed by Lawrence Kohlberg about the moral thought process.
Frederick Douglass Physical Abuse
553 Words | 3 PagesDouglass gives us a critique of slavery by describing the mistreatments of slavery he was forced to endure. Throughout the book Douglass describes the physical abuse he endured while a slave but to more accurately capture the atmosphere of slavery he explained the mental abuse he sustained as well. At a certain point in the narrative he talks about how he was eventually allowed to work at a ship yard as a caulker. While he worked there he received a weekly wage but at the end of the week he was obligated to give all of his earnings to his master. This ritual was accompanied with the idea that if a slave is deprived of his earnings he will not desire them at all but sometimes Douglass’ owner would give him some money to encourage him to keep working but instead, “[I]t had the opposite effect.
Frederick Douglass Rhetorical Questions
684 Words | 3 PagesIn The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, in 1845, Douglass is reflecting on his experiences as a slave, as well as the known experiences of others, following his escape from bondage. He is making a plea to the Northerners who do not have a complete knowledge or understanding of the conditions of slavery in the South or are otherwise unopinionated in relation to it. In a later passage of the narrative, he focuses on the common beliefs of slave owners through a description of Mr. Hopkins, a former overseer he reported to. He reflects on this ideal that any problematic actions, or “misbehavior,” of slaves is awarded with abuse and punishment. Douglass includes concise and sarcastic rhetorical questions and responses in order to shed
The Terrible Transformation
118 Words | 1 PagesSlavery’s inhumane codes and punishments, raise Africans resistance and escapes, which causes more cruelty from
Human Nature In Voltaire's Candide
1644 Words | 7 PagesEnlightenment was a time of embracing logic and reasoning whilst rejecting untested beliefs and superstition. This time period occurred from the year 1694 until 1795. During this time writers used their medium of the written word to express their beliefs based on logic while denouncing old-world ideologies . During Enlightenment human nature was often put under scrutiny as thinkers strived to find what qualities resulted in the best possible human. In this piece of writing, the reader will be able to see the opinions of human nature held by three great thinkers from this time period: Voltaire, Jonathan Swift and Daniel Defoe.
Frederick Douglass Paradox Analysis
161 Words | 1 PagesDouglass uses paradox to demonstrate that slavery degragrates the slaverholder. When Douglass under Mr. Sever’s care he described that: “He was less cruel, less profane… He whipped, but seemed to take no pleasure in it. ”(Douglass 24). Most slaveholders are characterized to be cruel and inhuman because of the whipping and the way they treated the slaves.
Frederick Douglass Hypocrisy Essay
1049 Words | 5 PagesGroup Essay on Frederick Douglass “That this little book may do something toward throwing light on the American slave system”, and that Frederick Douglass does in his eponymous autobiography. Douglass throws light by dispelling the myths of the slave system, which received support from all parts of society. To dispel these myths Douglass begins to construct an argument composed around a series of rhetorical appeals and devices. Douglass illustrates that slavery is dehumanizing, corrupting, and promotes Christian hypocrisy. Using telling details, Douglass describes the dehumanizing effects of the slave system which condones the treatment of human beings as property.
Frederick Douglass Corruption
1171 Words | 5 PagesDouglass personally feels as if his personality and humanism is being sapped from him every second he partakes in the slave system, even though it is not his choice. Douglass illustrates this through his despairing writing, “My natural elasticity was crushed, my intellect
Discuss The Use Of Ethos In Frederick Douglass's Speech
105 Words | 1 PagesSecondly, Douglass adds on to his speech by describing that the slaves are living a gloomy existence while the young Nation is celebrating its freedom and liberty which they don’t get to experience because they are a lock in chains. He uses ethos to appeal to the moral idealistic views of the fellow Christian man by bringing the question of God by saying “[...] and would make me reproach before God and the world (P. 5).” By expressing his views, Douglass and the audience unite under the set of clear morals that came from God who would disagree with the actions that they comminuted
Theme Of Abuse In Frederick Douglass
1838 Words | 8 PagesPAGE 2 In the Narrative Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass, he uses this text to explain his purpose in “throwing light on the American slave system”, or show it for what it really is, as well as show his position on how he strongly believes slavery is an issue that needs to be addressed and how it differs from those who defended slavery, with experiences from his own life to support his argument. Douglass uses experience from his early days as a young slave to throw light on the aspect of physical abuse. According to his narrative, Douglass states, “Master, however, was not a humane slaveholder.
My Bondage And My Freedom Frederick Douglass Language Analysis
1344 Words | 6 Pages“One who is a slaveholder at heart never recognizes a human being in a slave” (Angelina Grimke). This quote was created to show the effect that slavery had on not only the slave, but the slaveholder. The slaveholder would dehumanize the slave to the point where the human was no longer recognizable; instead, the slave was property. Throughout this autobiography, Frederick Douglass uses language to portray the similarities and differences between the two sides. He allows the reader to spend a day in the life of a slave to see the effects from it.
Dehumanization Of Slavery
1638 Words | 7 PagesSlavery can easily be determined as one of the most blatant acts of dehumanization. In the narrative titled “Narrative Of The Life of Frederick Douglass”, Douglass is easily able to portray this by quoting, “I have found that, to make a contented slave, it is necessary to make a thoughtless one. It is necessary to darken his moral and mental vision, and, as far as possible, to annihilate the power of reason. He must be able to detect no inconsistencies in slavery; he must be made to feel that slavery is right; and he can be brought to that only when he ceases to be a man”, Chapter 10 page 45. The quote overall does illustrate to the reader the narrator’s reflection to slavery as a whole as he states they were deprived of not only their basic
Comparing Plato's Apology And Allegory Of The Cave
1373 Words | 6 PagesIn analyzing great Philosophical literature, few works are as famous as Plato's Apology and Allegory of the Cave. Although lesser known to the uninitiated to the world of Philosophy, but certainly no less famous or important, is Voltaire's Good Brahman. At first glance, each of these works appears quite different and only have the commonality of being older Philosophy texts. However, upon closer examination we find that they have more in common, despite their less obvious differences. In the following paragraphs, we will seek to explain each work individually and then compare and contrast both Philosopher's works.
Enlightenment And Kant's Essays: The Age Of Enlightenment
956 Words | 4 PagesCANDIDE AND ENLIGHTENMENT In this essay, I will read Candide in the light of Enlightenment philosophy and also with reference to Kant's answer to the question “What is Enlightenment?” Although Candide (1759) and the short essay by Kant “What is Enlightenment?” were written during different decades of eighteenth century but both of them reflect the age of Enlightenment in their works. This essay is divided into two parts: Part I discusses about the age of the Enlightenment and Kant's essay on Enlightenment, Part II discusses Candide in the context of Part I where Voltaire’s views against optimism and his character Candide's journey towards the Enlightenment are discussed.
Individualism In Wordsworth's Tintern Abbey
779 Words | 4 PagesThe undue weightage provided by the Enlightenment ethics to the unmitigated use of one’s intellect, was claimed to have lead to the newfound zeal of individualism in men. Evils of despotism and hunger for power corrupted the functionings of the society. Napoleon, the ‘enlightened despot, is the embodiment of the Enlightenment ethics going ashtray. Needless to say, from thereon emerged a sense of dissatisfaction with the current scheme of things. With the realization that dry use of reason was no good for the overall development of mankind but only lead to an upsurge in hunger for power and likes of it, crept in the demands to a fuller and healthier perception of education and lifestyle.
More about Immanuel Kant's Mortality Analysis
Frederick Douglass Developmental Stages Of Human Moral Reason
846 Words | 4 PagesFrederick Douglass Physical Abuse
553 Words | 3 PagesFrederick Douglass Rhetorical Questions
684 Words | 3 PagesThe Terrible Transformation
118 Words | 1 PagesHuman Nature In Voltaire's Candide
1644 Words | 7 PagesFrederick Douglass Paradox Analysis
161 Words | 1 PagesFrederick Douglass Hypocrisy Essay
1049 Words | 5 PagesFrederick Douglass Corruption
1171 Words | 5 PagesDiscuss The Use Of Ethos In Frederick Douglass's Speech
105 Words | 1 PagesTheme Of Abuse In Frederick Douglass
1838 Words | 8 PagesMy Bondage And My Freedom Frederick Douglass Language Analysis
1344 Words | 6 PagesDehumanization Of Slavery
1638 Words | 7 PagesComparing Plato's Apology And Allegory Of The Cave
1373 Words | 6 PagesEnlightenment And Kant's Essays: The Age Of Enlightenment
956 Words | 4 PagesIndividualism In Wordsworth's Tintern Abbey
779 Words | 4 Pages