Chapter 8 Chapter Four Transcendental Idealism in Germany

Transcendental idealism is a philosophical attitude that believes that the ideas and concepts formed by the human mind have an autonomous nature and denies that these ideas and concepts are only people's reflections on the changing world of experience .This philosophical approach is characterized by endowing human intellect with enormous strength and power, and holds that empirical reality is largely formed by ideas constructed or produced by human thought.Transcendental idealism also tends to believe that both the knowledge of reality itself and the forms, methods and categories that human minds rely on to try to understand reality are not produced postnatally through sensory experience, but are transcendental and independent of experiential sense-data.The most extreme form of this philosophy is to turn the human mind into "the only support of the universe."It was in Germany in the 18th and 19th centuries that idealism in Western philosophy reached its peak.

Whether it is appropriate to classify the great German philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724-1804 AD) as a transcendental idealist has been a matter of debate and doubt.We may properly give the following explanation: the main purpose of Kant's philosophy, at least in some respects, was to attempt to reconcile idealist rationalism (characterized by the primacy of thought over experience) with empiricist sensualism ( be guided by the view that all human knowledge is attached to sensory cognition).According to Kant, "sensation" is the only source of our knowledge about objects in the empirical world.At the same time, however, he believed that sensory experience was limited by the structure of the human mind; he believed that the human brain contained some forms of cognition or understanding by which fleeting sensory impressions were assimilated, coordinated and integrated.Among the cognitive forms and categories inherent in the human brain, he listed concepts such as space, time, cause and effect, and some mathematical propositions.All of these, he argued, were not products of experience, but a priori categories assigned to sense-data by an intellectual observer.

Although Kant's philosophy of science, as outlined in his Critique of Pure Reason, can easily be interpreted as a compromise between empiricist sensualism and transcendental idealism, in In his philosophy of morality and freedom, the tendency of idealism is extremely prominent.He pointed out that since human beings are part of the world of empirical phenomena, human will and actions are also subject to the iron law of causality expounded in Newtonian physics theory, thus human beings are not free and determined.On the other hand, man's inner experience and practical reason tell him that man is a free and moral dynamic force who can choose between good and evil.In order to resolve this contradiction between theoretical reason in natural science and practical reason in human moral life, Kant assumed that human beings not only belonged to the "sensible" world (that is, sensory cognition world) and also belonged to what he called an "intelligible" or "noumenal" world.A world in which freedom, self-determination, and moral choice are both possible and real.Kant believed that law and morality must be brought into the world of concepts.Contrary to the natural law philosophers, he repudiates all attempts to base the general principles of morality and law on the empirical nature of man, and seeks instead to base them on a rational imperative Its foundations are found in the a priori world of "should be".After a careful study of the whole of Kant's philosophy, one gets the strong impression that he regarded the world of noumenon, that is, the world of freedom and human reason, as a real world, like "things-in-itself." "(thing-in-itself), while the empirical world of physical properties and causal relations, in his view, is just an illusory world, that is, a phenomenal world that we see through colored and defective glasses.If this interpretation is correct, then it is entirely correct to classify Kant as a transcendental idealist.

The concept of freedom is at the heart of Kant's moral and legal philosophy.However, he makes a distinction between ethical freedom and legal freedom.For him, ethical or moral freedom means the autonomy and self-determination of human will; as long as we can abide by the moral law engraved in the hearts of all people, then we are morally free.This moral law requires us to act according to some maxim which we hope to be the universal law.Kant called this moral law "The Categorical Imperative".On the other hand, he defines legal liberty as the individual's independence from the arbitrary will and control of others.He regards this freedom as the only original and inherent right of man according to his human nature.He pointed out that this fundamental right itself contained the idea of ​​formal equality, because it meant that each person was independent and his own master.Kant advocated the inner dignity of personality very much, so he pointed out that no one has the right to use others only as a tool to achieve his own subjective goals.Each individual should always be regarded as an end in itself.

Kant defines law as "the synthesis of all the conditions which enable the arbitrary will of one man to be reconciled with the arbitrary will of others in accordance with the general law of liberty".This means that anyone who prevents me from performing this act, or from maintaining the status quo, violates my rights if my conduct or my condition is compatible with the liberty of any other person under general law. .Thus, the law can use coercive power against those who improperly and needlessly interfere with the liberty of others.As Roscoe Pound pointed out, this conception of law "seems to be the ultimate ideal form of the dominant social order from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries: the ideal of maximizing the individual is the purpose of the legal order."

Kant's theory of the state is consistent with Rousseau's theory of the state.Kant recognized the social contract, but not as a historical fact, but as a rational regulation and "a criterion for evaluating the legitimacy of the state".Kant also adopted Rousseau's theory of the general will, declaring that legislative power could only belong to the united will of the people.He holds that the will of the legislator as to what constitutes an external "mine" and "thy" is irreproachable, since it is the combined will of all men, which cannot have any effect on the individual citizen. Impaired (Volenti non fit injury).

According to Kant, the only function of the state is to make and enforce laws.Therefore, he defined the state as "a union of people organized according to the law".The state must not and must not interfere in the activities of its citizens, nor must it or must take care of their interests and personal well-being in a paternalistic way.The state should limit its activities to the protection of citizens' rights.In order to prevent the formation of absolute rule, Kant called for the separation of powers.Legislative power must belong to the people.If the legislative power is transferred to the executive branch of the government, it will lead to tyranny.Judiciary should adjudicate to a man that which by law is due to him.But Kant believed that the judiciary had no right to review the validity of laws.Therefore, according to Kant, people's freedom and rights can only be protected by the will of the majority of the legislature.Kant believes that people cannot resist this will under any circumstances; and within Kant's political framework, people have no right to oppose administrative autocracy. "The supreme power in a country has only rights, but no (mandatory) obligations" over its subjects.It is the duty of the people to suffer abuses and injustices of the legislative power, even if they cannot bear it, for the Sovereign, the source of all laws, cannot do evil himself.Kant paved the way for the rise of positivism in legal theory because Kant believed that only positive law had coercive force.

Transcendental idealism appears in a purely irreconcilable form in the philosophy of Johann Gottlieb Fichte (1762-1814 AD).For him, the starting point and core of all philosophical thought is and must be the self of intellectual man.Fichte argued that not only what Kant called our cognitive forms, but also what we perceive and feel are products of our consciousness. "All existence, the existence of the self and the existence of the not-self, are certain forms of consciousness. Without consciousness, there is no existence."According to Fichte, the not-self, that is, the objective world, is only a goal of human action, that is, a field for exercising human will; and this will can shape and change the world.Fichte's philosophy was an unfettered human activism that enthusiastically affirmed the limitless power of the human intellect.

According to Fichte, the human ego sets goals for itself and can achieve these goals, so in this sense, the rational human ego is free; in other words, human actions are determined only by their own will.However, since the human ego is in interaction with other people's ego, their respective spheres of freedom must be adjusted and coordinated.Thus, like Kant, Fichte saw law as a means of ensuring the mutual coexistence of free individuals.Everyone must respect the freedom of others, and no one can claim freedom that he does not grant to others in the same way.In other words, each individual must exercise his liberty within certain limits determined by the liberties enjoyed equally by other individuals.Fichte emphasized that the restrictions on individual self-freedom should be announced by general law, not by individual judgments of judges, because individuals must be deemed to have agreed to the legislation promulgated by the legislature to protect the freedom of all the general law of the law, and cannot be considered to have agreed to submit to the arbitrary judgment of a particular judge.

Fichte presented his legal philosophy in a comprehensive and systematic manner early in his scholarly activity.But throughout his academic career he made some important revisions to his legal philosophy.While in his earlier phases he emphasized individual liberty, independence, and natural rights, in his later writings he turned to emphasizing the importance of nation-states and justifying the expansion of nation-state activities beyond the protection of universal liberties of.For example, in terms of economy, he opposed free trade and laissez-faire policies, and advocated the management of production by the government and the monopoly of foreign trade by the state; in the political field, he also gradually deviated from the individualism he advocated in his youth.He believes that the nation-state is an indivisible organic collective entity, and gradually links the main destiny and responsibility of individuals with the nation-state; therefore, he tends to use Machiavelli's policies to rule the country's political life , thus ending his worship of the spirit.

In the philosophy of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770-1831 AD), German transcendental idealism turned from subjective rationalism to objective rationalism.Fichte mainly attributed reason to the individual mind, while Hegel claimed that the "objective spirit" (objective spirit) that has been continuously displayed in the development of history and civilization is the main carrier of reason.He believes that in different historical eras, rationality manifests itself in different forms, and its content is constantly changing.History, according to Hegel, is "a perpetually moving river, in which unique individuality is continually cast aside, and always new individual structures are formed on that new legal basis".He put forward a new concept, that is, the concept of evolution, which had a profound impact on the history of legal philosophy.Hegel taught that all manifestations of social life, including law, are the product of a dynamic, evolutionary process.This process takes a dialectical form: it is presented in thesis, antithesis and synthesis (thesis, antithesis and synthesis).The human spirit establishes a thesis that becomes the main idea in a certain era, and in order to oppose this thesis, it establishes an antithesis, and then develops a synthesis from the contest between the two, so this synthesis is The result of the reconciliation and assimilation of elements of thesis and antithesis at a higher level.This process has unfolded over and over again throughout history. However, what is the meaning and ultimate goal of this dynamic process?Hegel believed that behind the colorful and complex historical movements, there is a great ideal, that is, to realize freedom.Hegel said that history does not realize this ideal in a once-and-for-all manner, because the realization of freedom is a long and complicated process.In this process, although the role of reason often appears, it is not easy to confirm, because even letting evil forces serve the process of realizing freedom is also a "rational strategy."In the course of this evolution, each nation in history has committed itself to a specific task which, once accomplished, has lost its historical significance: the "world spirit" transcends Abandoned its ideals and institutions, and forced to pass the torch of wisdom to a younger and more vigorous nation.Hegel believes that the world spirit realizes the ultimate goal of universal freedom in this way.In the ancient absolute monarchies of the East, only the king was truly free.In ancient Greece and Rome, only some people were free, while most people were slaves.Only the Germanic peoples were the first to realize that every individual is free and that spiritual freedom is the most unique characteristic of man. Hegel believed that law and the state played a crucial role in this historical process.Legal institutions, he declared, were designed to realize the ideal of liberty in its external form.But it is worth emphasizing that Hegel also believes that freedom does not mean that a person has the right to do whatever he wants.In his view, a free man is one who can control the body with the spirit, one who can make his natural emotions, irrational desires, and purely material interests subordinate to the more rational and spiritual self proposed. demanding person.Hegel warned people to live a life governed by reason, and pointed out that one of the basic requirements of reason is to respect the personality and rights of others.He also believes that the law is one of the main means of enhancing and protecting this respect. Hegel defines the state as "the ethical world" and "the reality of the ethical ideal".This definition shows that Hegel differs from Kant in that he sees the state not only as a law-making and law-enforcing institution, but also, in the broad sense of the term, as an organism that manifests the ethical life of a nation.This ethical life is expressed in the habits, customs, common beliefs, art, religion, and political institutions of a people, in short, in its social value patterns.Hegel believed that since the individual is integrated into the overall culture of his country and time, and because he is the "son of the country" and "son of the time", he can only possess him as a rational being through the country The value and reality of the country, because the country is considered to be the overall embodiment of the national spirit and social ethics.Hegel said that to be a member of the state is the highest privilege of the individual.As such, individuals are often unable to clearly discern the specific content of their ethical obligations, which must therefore be determined in an objective manner by the habits and ways of life of an organized society. The argument is often made that Hegel was an advocate of the power state and the philosophical founder of modern fascist totalitarianism.There is no doubt that Fascist legal theorists have at times tended to a great extent to rely on Hegel's philosophy of the state, and one can also find in Hegel some words which seem to support this view; This is especially true in my discussion of the foreign relations of states.Hegel believed that the sovereignty of each country in conducting foreign affairs was absolute and unlimited.Disputes between states could only be settled by war if they could not be settled by mutual agreement, and at the same time Hegel believed that war was a necessary and beneficial institution for the protection of the internal health and vitality of states.However, it would be a mistake to think that Hegel advocated a totalitarian method of government in domestic relations, especially in the treatment of citizens or subjects, because he did not think that the highest goal pursued by the state is to expand the power of the ruler.On the contrary, Hegel believed that the state should serve the spiritual interests of man, and that the state, in its deepest nature, was the embodiment of spiritual power.He believed that the perfect form of state was one in which the arts, sciences, and other forms of cultural life had been developed to the highest degree, because such a state would also be a powerful state. Hegel made it quite clear that the state should give its citizens the right to own private property, and in principle he did not favor public ownership.He wanted to give individuals the right to freely enter into contracts.He considered the institution of the family to be of great value.Furthermore, he also demanded that laws be used to determine and adjudicate the rights and duties of citizens and the rights and duties of the state.Finally, he gives individuals the right to live a private life, to develop their individuality, and to advance their particular interests, provided that they do not disregard the interests of society as a whole in the exercise of these rights. In the preface of Hegel's Philosophy of Law, we can see such a famous saying: "What is reasonable is real, and what is real is reasonable." The author attempts to infer from this statement the assertion that Hegel endorsed modern totalitarian government.However, after careful study of Hegel's philosophical treatises, we will find that for Hegel, only ideas are truly real.In his view, in the gradual and unremitting process towards its goal, historical events can show progress towards the idea of ​​freedom, even if specific, perhaps insignificant events show a considerable degree of irrationality, then historical It is realistic and reasonable.We should never forget that Hegel was a complete idealist.He placed the spirit above matter and believed in the basic dignity of the human being.The state he praised was an ethical state, not a state that demeaned the individual, enslaved the individual, and disregarded the legitimate demands of the individual.Thus, Hegel's philosophy contains a great deal of individual liberty, although this aspect of his thinking is sometimes muddied by his statements which (taken out of context rather than context) seem to exalt the state at the expense of the individual Indistinct.