:: blame the extended gestation.... ::

:: Tuesday, December 30, 2003 ::

KANT AND HUME JUXTAPOSED

Morality's 'grip' on us is unconditional, and its authority over us is, he is sure, absolute. But, he concludes in the last sentence (from which I have just quoted) of his Foundations, we cannot understand these things about morality. We can understand only that they are beyond understanding. We cannot explain, though we can believe that we have an "interested obligation" (Hume, E257 [278]) to morality.2 He cannot prove it, but he is sure that for our own good we had better believe it, and be moral. We cannot say why we should be moral, though we can, and Kant himself is, be sure that for our own greatest good we should be moral. We can, and Kant himself does, make this a matter of rational faith that solidifies the character it recommends.

I'm coming to see signs of my idea about the 'myth of the individual' and its necessity for humans in the writings of a lot of people. I still can't pinpoint exactly what strikes me about this concept--where it comes from, what it means, what i'm actually looking at and for--but its almost like this gut feeling that i'm onto something. It boils down to the fact that there is a certain delusion that humans must not only hold but feed.

:: Jim Nichols 12/30/2003 09:07:00 AM [+] ::
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