On 3/29/06, [EMAIL PROTECTED] <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Modern philosophy, since the Enlightenment, has been based on Kant's > view of reality, with one of the first being that certain valuations > transcend existence and exist in principle apart from all else. 1+1 will > always yield 2, no matter what. For Kant, basic arithmetic/mathematics was > foundational and all else built on this principle. But unfortunately Kant > couldn't bring these principles to reality. It was all theory. (In "Star > Trek" the Vulcan principle of "pure logic" is akin to this.) > Hegel brought these principles to practical implementation. > His view concluded that the higher values were those that brought > about a better (more pleasant/more stable) human existence. > The unfortunate result is that we've not reached any > concensus on the implementation of these principles. The result > has been widely varying views as to what can and should be > sacrificed to obtain this level of human existence. > That's the fundamental weakness of Kant's arguments -- it's > not specific enough to implement. It's a system that's so > open-ended that any derived system, consistent within itself, can > meet his criteria. So from Kant and Hegel we got Hitler, Marx > and Nietzsche. And humanity has suffered greatly. So much for > pure logic. >
Kant is responsible for Hitler and his ilk? That's what you seem to be saying, so correct me if I've misinterpreted you. If that's what you're saying, that's one of the most wrong-headed and irresponsible statements I've seen in a long time! cheers, frank -- "Sharpness is a bourgeois concept." -Henri Cartier-Bresson
