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Document Details : Title: 'Wie treft meer geluk in het leven, de deugdzame of de boosaardige?' Author(s): PRAET, Peter Journal: Tijdschrift voor Filosofie Volume: 85 Issue: 3 Date: 2023 Pages: 337-359 DOI: 10.2143/TVF.85.3.3292843 Abstract : In a remark in his personal copy of the Observations, Kant states that 'providence is justified' and 'henceforth Pope’s theorem is true'. In this paper, we try to elucidate this remark by reference to Dreams of a Spirit-Seer. Kant’s preoccupation with the immortality of the soul and his novel definition of ‘moral feeling’ in this work contain important clues to his remark. Confronting Kant’s position to Hume adds nuance to the influence of scepticism, empiricism, and especially indifferentism on Kant. Notwithstanding the obvious satire against metaphysics, his work also testifies to his doubts vis-à-vis the rising influence of anthropology. Overall, Kant’s reflections touch on important questions: does it make sense to strive for remote goals far beyond the concrete improvement of our immediate situation? And, rejecting all metaphysical apriorities, where does our never-realized desire for justice come from? |
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