This week we were focus on the reviewing for the midterm exam. So I feel like at this point we have addressed a variety of materials and in this post, I would just like to find a way to sum up the main ideas that we have covered and a culmination of our readings and discussions. Then I would like to address some of the ideas presented in Hegel since that was on the tail end before the test.
In my opinion most of the texts were centered around humans and our conscious decision making. For example, in Machiavelli's The Prince, Machiavelli writes about how the prince should rule the state and strive to protect his empire. He has to decide how he is going to lead and learn how to utilize his personal qualities to his advantage. Luther's text addresses the topic of free will and how humans choose to lead their lives. As humans we have the right to make choices, whether or not they are positive or negative. Nothing can hold us back. Additionally, Kant talks about his own existence and how he can use his imagination to prove the presence of God. I think that each text acknowledges the responsibilities of each human. We should strive to make the best decisions for ourselves and also to benefit others.
Also many of our texts are related to the human mind. For example, Kant often refers to the separate existence of the mind and the soul. He also uses his imagination to explain certain concepts. For example, he uses the idea of a rhombus inscribed in a circle to prove the existence of God. Further more, in class we discuss concepts that relate to knowledge. For example we talked about intrinsic qualities. We also talked about the idea of a priori knowledge and a posteriori knowledge. Thus, I think that our texts are centered upon how we evolve as humans and develop our intellect. We can do this in numerous ways. We can expand our moral viewpoints. We can seek to become less ignorant and expand our knowledge about things that we are indifferent to. We can learn things from life experiences. Even though I have not addressed all of the terms that we covered in class, I think that it is safe to say that many of them can be applied to our everyday life. We should seek to continue to foster them.
Now, I would like switch over to Hegel's viewpoints about the struggle for recognition. I believe that this text is meaningful because it relates to society today. Today we see different groups arising and striving to prove their points. For example their are issues regarding gay rights and women's rights today. There are also controversial religious issues that are being presented. Hegel's ideas support the notion that the need for competition and debate is inevitable. The essential thing that many groups and individuals try to attain is understanding to a certain extent even if they have opposing viewpoints towards another group. Everyone wants to get their point across and if they are successful at doing this, they have accomplished something.
I would love to gain more feed back about everything that we have covered in general. If you guys have any ideas about any broad topic that we have covered be sure to comment. I have not covered all of the main ideas about all of the books so I would love to hear what you have to say.
I need to point out that what you mean by Kant’s views seem to be that of Descartes’. Kant by no means proves the existence of God. On the contrary, he allows us to have moral values independent of God. Descartes proves the existence of his soul and God in order to establish the foundation of science. Descartes offers the answer that he knows for certain that his mind, thus Descartes himself, exists. God is not deceiving and must exist by reasoning. Therefore our experiences are not deceiving because God is not deceiving. Now science that comes form experiences has support.
ReplyDeleteSimilar to Descartes, Kant dismisses experiences as proof in his discussion, however not of what we know for sure that there is in the world, but of what we know for sure that there is in the metaphysics of morals, or ethics. He simply tells us there are certain things our reasoning can come to and know for sure are the right things to do.
I am not sure where Hegel’s view is going at this point. Take your interpretation, different groups with opposite viewpoints should come together and try to understand each other. What does this mean to us? Is the best polity a place where everyone’s opinion is voiced and attended to in the final decision? How is that possible? Say if most of the decision makers are men, then how can the women ever be considered favorably in the decisions? What do we need to do in order to look at issues completely rationally and decide fairly to every existing consciousness? The way Hegel is going may lead to something theory such as abolishing all differences, worldly concerns and discriminations when making a decision in order to keep it fair and rational.