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Locke Vs Kant

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Two of the most prominent philosophers in history are Immanuel Kant and John Locke. These two men had created the foundation for modern philosophy with their ideology and works. Immanuel Kant, born 22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804, was a German philosopher who is widely considered the central figure of modern philosophy. Kant had argued that it is impossible to know every minuet detail about everything. Kant took himself to have effected a Copernican revolution in philosophy, relating to Copernicus ' reversal of the geocentric theory that the cosmos orbited the Earth. His beliefs continue to have a major influence on contemporary philosophy, especially have an effect on the fields of metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, political theory, and …show more content…

He synthesized early modern rationalism and empiricism, set the terms for much of nineteenth and twentieth century philosophy, and continues to exercise a significant influence today in metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, political philosophy, aesthetics, and other fields. The fundamental idea of Kant 's “critical philosophy” — especially in his three Critiques: the Critique of Pure Reason (1781, 1787), the Critique of Practical Reason (1788), and the Critique of the Power of Judgment (1790) — is human autonomy. He argues that the human understanding is the source of the general laws of nature that structure all our experience; and that human reason gives itself the moral law, which is our basis for belief in God, freedom, and immortality. Therefore, scientific knowledge, morality, and religious belief are mutually consistent and secure because they all rest on the same foundation of human autonomy, which is also the final end of nature according to the teleological worldview of reflecting judgment that Kant introduces to unify the theoretical and practical parts of his philosophical …show more content…

"In more characteristically Kantian terms, it is doctrine of the state based upon the law (Rechtsstaat) and of eternal peace. Indeed, in each of these formulations, both terms express the same idea: that of legal constitution or of 'peace through law '. Taken simply by itself, Kant 's political philosophy, being essentially a legal doctrine, rejects by definition the opposition between moral education and the play of passions as alternate foundations for social life. The state is defined as the union of men under law. The state rightly so called is constituted by laws which are necessary a priori because they flow from the very concept of law. A regime can be judged by no other criteria nor be assigned any other functions, than those proper to the lawful order as such." He opposed "democracy," which at his time meant direct democracy, believing that majority rule posed a threat to individual liberty. He stated, "...democracy is, properly speaking, necessarily a despotism, because it establishes an executive power in which 'all ' decide for or even against one who does not agree; that is, 'all, ' who are not quite all, decide, and this is a contradiction of the general will with itself and with freedom." As with most writers at the time, he distinguished three forms of government i.e. democracy, aristocracy, and monarchy with mixed government as the most

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