Philosophy Of The Modern Age

German Classical Philosophy

German classical philosophy encompasses a relatively brief period—from the second half of the 18th century to the first half of the 19th century. Although it does not constitute a cohesive school of thought, it is characterized by a thematic unity, common ideological and theoretical roots, and continuity in the formulation and resolution of philosophical issues. The central theme of German classical philosophy is humanity. Its prominent representatives—Immanuel Kant, Johann Gottlieb Fichte, Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, and Ludwig Feuerbach—made significant contributions to the discussion of the active subject of cognition, the nature of human activity, and the development of the dialectical method of understanding.

The progenitor of German classical philosophy is Immanuel Kant (1724—1804), who instigated a fundamental transformation in the approach to philosophical problems. In medieval philosophy and that of the Renaissance, the doctrine of being—ontology—took precedence; philosophers of the early modern period—such as Bacon, Descartes, Berkeley, and Hume, alongside French materialists—shifted the focus to general epistemological issues. However, in their analysis of the interaction between subject and object, pre-Kantian philosophy emphasized the analysis of the object of knowledge. In contrast, Kant centers his philosophy on the specificity of the cognizing subject, asserting that the subject determines the mode of knowledge.

Kant distinguishes between theoretical and practical philosophy. The focus of theoretical philosophy lies in investigating cognitive activity, the laws of human reason, and its limits. Theoretical philosophy seeks to answer the question: “What can I know?” In his "Critique of Pure Reason," Kant endeavored, through reason, to substantiate the conditions and possibilities of human knowledge. While he held science and the power of philosophical reasoning in high regard, he ultimately concluded that there are limits to knowledge.

Theoretical philosophy divides the world into two realms: the "world of appearances," or the sensory world, and the "world of essences," that is, the realm of "things-in-themselves." We do not know the world as it truly is but rather as it appears to us. According to Kant, the peculiarities of human cognitive faculties (sensation and understanding) so influence our experience that the representation of the world will never correspond to reality itself. The external world affects our senses, filling them with a chaos of impressions; however, once this chaos is organized by the forms of sensibility and the categories of understanding, we then engage with our own experience, which not only testifies to the existence of the external world but also reveals the characteristics of our cognitive abilities. Thus, Kant contrasts our knowledge of reality, identifying the former as phenomenon and the latter as noumenon. Our knowledge (phenomenon) will never adequately reflect the world of things (noumenon). In other words, our cognition can only access manifestations of essence, while the essence itself remains unknowable, representing a "thing-in-itself." In that realm of "things-in-themselves" reside God, the Soul, and Freedom. Consequently, humanity cannot unveil the mysteries of existence—proving the existence of God, the immortality of the soul, and so forth. Nevertheless, Kant believes we have ample grounds to assert that God, the Soul, and the world at large function as regulative ideas.

Thus, human reason can only comprehend the "world of appearances." Kant's limitations on reason later came to be known as "agnosticism." The term itself emerged only in the mid-19th century, after Kant's time, yet it is employed in contemporary literature to characterize Kantian philosophy. Kant posited that in the pursuit of objective truth, science ought not to exceed the bounds of available experience; any scientific knowledge is only possible within those confines. Beyond these limits lies inevitable empty speculation and contradictions, which Kant refers to as the antinomies of pure reason. Antinomies are equally justified propositions that mutually exclude one another. They arise from the inescapable desire of human reason to transcend the limits of experience, behind which lies the ultimate foundation of being. However, reason is incapable of surpassing that boundary. Thus, the antinomy manifests both the strength and impotence of reason. It is powerful enough to reach that limit, yet not sufficiently strong to cross it. Nevertheless, Kant perceives a positive significance in the very endeavor of reason to grasp the supersensible foundation of the world. Metaphysics, in contrast to science, aims to venture beyond our experience and comprehend the supersensible foundations of existence.

Kant identifies four antinomies, as reflected in the following table:

Thesis	Antithesis
The world has limits in time and space.	The world in time and space is infinite.
Everything in the world consists of the simple.	There is nothing simple; everything is complex.
Freedom exists in the world.	There is no freedom; everything occurs according to the laws of nature.
Necessity exists in the world.	Everything in the world is contingent.

Kant notes that since actual experience can never provide definitive answers to these metaphysical questions, we adopt certain ideological positions based solely on faith. Hence, Kant’s famous assertion: "I had to limit (define the boundaries of) reason in order to make room for faith." Kant's doctrine of the limits of knowledge was not directed against science but rather against blind conviction in its limitless potential, in the belief that any problem can be solved through scientific methods. These views of Kant remain pertinent today, as the development of science and technology has intensified the contradictions of contemporary civilization, posing a threat to the very existence of humanity.

According to Kant, there are three varieties of faith. Pragmatic faith is the belief of an individual in their correctness in a specific instance. Kant refers to the belief in general principles as doctrinal faith. The most significant is moral faith, which manifests in the appropriate behavior of the individual.

The issues surrounding the definition of principles governing human behavior, according to Kant, fall within the realm of practical philosophy, which seeks to answer the question: what should I do? Kant deserves credit for establishing the foundation of autonomous morality. Humanity, in Kant's view, exists in two worlds: the world of nature, perceived sensibly, and the world of freedom, which is comprehensible to the mind. Freedom represents independence from the sensory world. Within the sphere of freedom, it is not theoretical but practical reason that operates. Practical reason constitutes the rational will of the individual, guiding actions and establishing the principles of moral conduct. Human will is autonomous: it is not determined by external causes—natural necessity or divine will—but by its own law, which it imposes upon itself.

In Kant's view, without freedom, there can be no moral action. Where we act according to the laws of natural necessity, we are not truly acting, for nature itself acts in that domain. Morality emerges only where nature ceases, and culture begins. The fundamental distinction of Kantian ethics, when compared to the Enlightenment ethos, lies in the fact that for Kant, moral feeling is a natural sensation inherent to humanity. He asserts that the foundation of human freedom rests in the ability to determine one’s actions and to make choices independently. However, this moral feeling must be mediated by duty, constrained by it. Duty represents something unconditional and self-sufficient. Moral behavior cannot possess external motives; it cannot be conditioned by calculation, self-interest, the pursuit of happiness, or pleasure. As the sole internal motive for action, Kant acknowledges only duty; a person acts morally only when they act contrary to calculation or inclination.

The principal moral demand, the categorical imperative, commands: "Act in such a way that the maxim of your will could at the same time hold as a principle of universal legislation." Another formulation of the categorical imperative states: "Act in such a way that you always treat humanity, whether in your own person or in the person of any other, as an end in itself, and never merely as a means."

Referring to the categorical imperative, Kant passionately expressed: "Two things fill the mind with ever new and increasing admiration and reverence, the more often and the more seriously we reflect upon them: the starry sky above me and the moral law within me." Kant urges us: define yourself, be imbued with the awareness of moral duty, follow it always and everywhere, and take responsibility for your actions. This encapsulates Kantian ethics, which is strict and uncompromising. It is the duty to humanity and one’s conscience that compels us to act morally. Kant's doctrine sought to reveal the ahistorical and timeless characteristics of morality and was addressed to all humankind, not to any specific class or nation.

Kant’s ideas on the movement of history were profound and instructive. They retain their relevance to this day. Reason propels human actions and also directs history towards a just and rationally organized civil society, where law and equality, justice, and universal peace should prevail. In pursuit of self-preservation and relying on goodwill, states, throughout history, would abandon the resolution of issues by military means. Humanity aspires to happiness, and thus, it is in its interest to seek eternal peace. Such peace can be achieved either through agreements that prohibit wars or by the establishment of a "perpetual peace" on the universal graveyard following yet another war.

The influence of Kant’s ideas on contemporaries and successors is immense. His works sparked debates and discussions, giving rise to entire schools of followers and opponents. But what is particularly symbolic? Kant passed away and was buried in his native town. His compatriots erected a memorial at this site. Many wars swept over the city, yet what is most symbolic is that the only structure to survive this fiery tempest was Kant's grave.

Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770-1831) provides a unique conclusion to the development of German classical philosophy. He established a comprehensive system of objective idealism and idealistic dialectics. His main works include Phenomenology of Spirit, Science of Logic, Elements of the Philosophy of Right, Encyclopedia of the Philosophical Sciences, and Philosophy of History.

According to Hegel's philosophy, the foundation of the world is an ideal rational principle—the objectively existing World Spirit, or "absolute idea," whose main characteristics are an active and dynamic nature, as well as constant movement and development. This activity consists of thought and self-awareness. Hegel terms his philosophical system absolute idealism, as he seeks to encompass the entire world within a single concept—the concept of the "absolute idea," which serves as the primal foundation (substance) of all things. The purpose of the existence of the "absolute idea" is self-knowledge. It can achieve this through human consciousness, thought, philosophy, and through the actions of human generations throughout universal history.

The World Spirit lives and develops in accordance with the objective laws of dialectics: the unity and struggle of opposites, the negation of negation, and the transition from quantitative changes to qualitative ones. By generating within itself oppositions and transforming into its "other," the spirit subsequently overcomes this antithesis, integrating oppositions into a new unity, thereby "sublating" them and advancing to a new stage of development.

In its evolution, the absolute idea undergoes three stages:

• The development of the idea in the realm of "pure thought"—logic, where the idea reveals its content through a system of interconnected categories that transition into one another.
• The development of the idea in the form of its "externality"—nature, which is a necessary means in the development of the absolute idea: by transforming into nature, it objectifies itself, appearing as sensible individual entities; nature exists to give rise to humanity, along with the human spirit.
• The development of the idea in thought and history, which constitutes the highest stage of the embodiment of the "absolute idea"; here, it recognizes its content through various forms of human consciousness; the spirit attains its highest level in philosophy as absolute truth. Philosophy alone reveals the true essence and meaning of being, while art and religion merely bring us closer to true knowledge.

A significant achievement of Hegel’s thought is the elaboration of dialectics. According to Hegel, the essence of all things lies in concepts, and the source of all development—both of society and human thought—arises from the self-development of concepts. Every development follows a particular scheme: the affirmation of something—a thesis, the negation of this affirmation—an antithesis, and ultimately, a synthesis, the negation of negation, which is the harmonious combination of thesis and antithesis in a higher unity. This rhythm of movement is characterized as the principle of the triad. In Hegel, the dialectic of concepts determines the dialectic of the development of things, thus possessing an idealistic nature.

Hegel’s dialectical method presents contradictions with the demands of a system. Hegel believed that every system must be complete, providing definitive answers to the questions posed. His system is posited as complete. He maintained that his philosophy achieves absolute truth, resolving all contradictions of reality and arriving at an absolutely true state. If we follow Hegel’s dialectical method, the possibilities of human reason are limitless, but from the standpoint of his system, our knowledge possesses boundaries, conditioned by the task of self-knowledge of the absolute spirit. Since, within Hegel’s philosophical system, humanity has come to the knowledge of absolute truth, it follows that the time and place in which Hegel created—Germany during the era of Kaiser Wilhelm—represents the highest stage of historical development. This justification of reality, demanded by Hegel’s system, contradicted the dialectical method of incessant transformation of existing reality.

Hegel’s philosophy turned out to be the final grand embodiment of the classical type of philosophy, based on a series of fundamental principles: an unbounded faith in reason—both human and universal, and a conviction that the world as a whole is structured in an orderly and rational manner, accessible to rational knowledge.

Ludwig Feuerbach (1804-1872) is the philosopher who initiated a return to materialism in German classical philosophy. His principal works include Towards a Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy, The Essence of Christianity, and The Basic Principles of Philosophy of the Future.

The essence of Feuerbach’s materialistic philosophy can be summarized as follows:

• Nature, matter, is the foundation, the reality that necessarily engenders the thinking spirit and reason; nature, matter exists independently of thought and consciousness.
• Consciousness is a product of matter, inextricably linked to the activity of the human brain and material processes.
• Nature is the source of all our knowledge; the beginning of knowledge is sensation: "my sensation is subjective, but its basis or cause is objective."
• Human knowledge is boundless: "what we have yet to know will be known by our descendants"; thus, Feuerbach opposes Kant's agnostic theory of knowledge.
• Philosophy should not concern itself with an absolute spirit but rather with humanity—the "one universal and supreme subject of philosophy."

An interesting evolution of Feuerbach’s philosophical ideas is expressed in his statement: "My first thought was God, my second thought was reason, and my third and final thought was humanity." He regarded true philosophy as anthropological philosophy, wherein God and theology dissolve entirely into the study of humanity.

Feuerbach saw his significant task as the critique of religion, fundamentally opposing philosophy: at the core of religion lies faith in dogmas, while the core of philosophy is knowledge. He analyzes the reasons for the emergence of religion: religion imposes eternal human dreams and ideals; it depicts a perfect world; it serves the function of compensating for human weakness, imperfection, and suffering.

Feuerbach’s anthropology eradicates the concept of God as understood in Christianity and places humanity in God’s stead. If religion is love for God, then Feuerbach's new philosophy advocates love for humanity.

It should be noted that Feuerbach's conception of humanity presents it as a being beyond history and society. By emphasizing the biological nature of humanity and considering it as a purely natural being, he speaks of humanity as something unchanging, absolute; thus, neither the actual world of humanity, nor its real relations with others, nor its spiritual or productive activities fall within the scope of his studies. Despite this limitation in understanding humanity, Feuerbach's views had a profound impact on the formation of Marxist philosophy.