第 18 节
作者:莫再讲      更新:2021-02-20 15:52      字数:9322
  has two points of view from which he can regard himself; and recognise
  laws of the exercise of his faculties; and consequently of all his
  actions: first; so far as he belongs to the world of sense; he finds
  himself subject to laws of nature (heteronomy); secondly; as belonging
  to the intelligible world; under laws which being independent of
  nature have their foundation not in experience but in reason alone。
  As a rational being; and consequently belonging to the
  intelligible world; man can never conceive the causality of his own
  will otherwise than on condition of the idea of freedom; for
  independence of the determinate causes of the sensible world (an
  independence which reason must always ascribe to itself) is freedom。
  Now the idea of freedom is inseparably connected with the conception
  of autonomy; and this again with the universal principle of morality
  which is ideally the foundation of all actions of rational beings;
  just as the law of nature is of all phenomena。
  Now the suspicion is removed which we raised above; that there was a
  latent circle involved in our reasoning from freedom to autonomy;
  and from this to the moral law; viz。: that we laid down the idea of
  freedom because of the moral law only that we might afterwards in turn
  infer the latter from freedom; and that consequently we could assign
  no reason at all for this law; but could only 'present' it as a
  petitio principii which well disposed minds would gladly concede to
  us; but which we could never put forward as a provable proposition。
  For now we see that; when we conceive ourselves as free; we transfer
  ourselves into the world of understanding as members of it and
  recognise the autonomy of the will with its consequence; morality;
  whereas; if we conceive ourselves as under obligation; we consider
  ourselves as belonging to the world of sense and at the same time to
  the world of understanding。
  How is a Categorical Imperative Possible?
  Every rational being reckons himself qua intelligence as belonging
  to the world of understanding; and it is simply as an efficient
  cause belonging to that world that he calls his causality a will。 On
  the other side he is also conscious of himself as a part of the
  world of sense in which his actions; which are mere appearances
  'phenomena' of that causality; are displayed; we cannot; however;
  discern how they are possible from this causality which we do not
  know; but instead of that; these actions as belonging to the
  sensible world must be viewed as determined by other phenomena;
  namely; desires and inclinations。 If therefore I were only a member of
  the world of understanding; then all my actions would perfectly
  conform to the principle of autonomy of the pure will; if I were
  only a part of the world of sense; they would necessarily be assumed
  to conform wholly to the natural law of desires and inclinations; in
  other words; to the heteronomy of nature。 (The former would rest on
  morality as the supreme principle; the latter on happiness。) Since;
  however; the world of understanding contains the foundation of the
  world of sense; and consequently of its laws also; and accordingly
  gives the law to my will (which belongs wholly to the world of
  understanding) directly; and must be conceived as doing so; it follows
  that; although on the one side I must regard myself as a being
  belonging to the world of sense; yet on the other side I must
  recognize myself as subject as an intelligence to the law of the world
  of understanding; i。e。; to reason; which contains this law in the idea
  of freedom; and therefore as subject to the autonomy of the will:
  consequently I must regard the laws of the world of understanding as
  imperatives for me and the actions which conform to them as duties。
  And thus what makes categorical imperatives possible is this; that
  the idea of freedom makes me a member of an intelligible world; in
  consequence of which; if I were nothing else; all my actions would
  always conform to the autonomy of the will; but as I at the same
  time intuite myself as a member of the world of sense; they ought so
  to conform; and this categorical 〃ought〃 implies a synthetic a
  priori proposition; inasmuch as besides my will as affected by
  sensible desires there is added further the idea of the same will
  but as belonging to the world of the understanding; pure and practical
  of itself; which contains the supreme condition according to reason of
  the former will; precisely as to the intuitions of sense there are
  added concepts of the understanding which of themselves signify
  nothing but regular form in general and in this way synthetic a priori
  propositions become possible; on which all knowledge of physical
  nature rests。
  The practical use of common human reason confirms this reasoning。
  There is no one; not even the most consummate villain; provided only
  that be is otherwise accustomed to the use of reason; who; when we set
  before him examples of honesty of purpose; of steadfastness in
  following good maxims; of sympathy and general benevolence (even
  combined with great sacrifices of advantages and comfort); does not
  wish that he might also possess these qualities。 Only on account of
  his inclinations and impulses he cannot attain this in himself; but at
  the same time he wishes to be free from such inclinations which are
  burdensome to himself。 He proves by this that he transfers himself
  in thought with a will free from the impulses of the sensibility
  into an order of things wholly different from that of his desires in
  the field of the sensibility; since he cannot expect to obtain by that
  wish any gratification of his desires; nor any position which would
  satisfy any of his actual or supposable inclinations (for this would
  destroy the pre…eminence of the very idea which wrests that wish
  from him): he can only expect a greater intrinsic worth of his own
  person。 This better person; however; he imagines himself to be when be
  transfers himself to the point of view of a member of the world of the
  understanding; to which he is involuntarily forced by the idea of
  freedom; i。e。; of independence on determining causes of the world of
  sense; and from this point of view he is conscious of a good will;
  which by his own confession constitutes the law for the bad will
  that he possesses as a member of the world of sense… a law whose
  authority he recognizes while transgressing it。 What he morally
  〃ought〃 is then what he necessarily 〃would;〃 as a member of the
  world of the understanding; and is conceived by him as an 〃ought〃 only
  inasmuch as he likewise considers himself as a member of the world
  of sense。
  Of the Extreme Limits of all Practical Philosophy。
  All men attribute to themselves freedom of will。 Hence come all
  judgements upon actions as being such as ought to have been done;
  although they have not been done。 However; this freedom is not a
  conception of experience; nor can it be so; since it still remains;
  even though experience shows the contrary of what on supposition of
  freedom are conceived as its necessary consequences。 On the other side
  it is equally necessary that everything that takes place should be
  fixedly determined according to laws of nature。 This necessity of
  nature is likewise not an empirical conception; just for this
  reason; that it involves the motion of necessity and consequently of a
  priori cognition。 But this conception of a system of nature is
  confirmed by experience; and it must even be inevitably presupposed if
  experience itself is to be possible; that is; a connected knowledge of
  the objects of sense resting on general laws。 Therefore freedom is
  only an idea of reason; and its objective reality in itself is
  doubtful; while nature is a concept of the understanding which proves;
  and must necessarily prove; its reality in examples of experience。
  There arises from this a dialectic of reason; since the freedom
  attributed to the will appears to contradict the necessity of
  nature; and placed between these two ways reason for speculative
  purposes finds the road of physical necessity much more beaten and
  more appropriate than that of freedom; yet for practical purposes
  the narrow footpath of freedom is the only one on which it is possible
  to make use of reason in our conduct; hence it is just as impossible
  for the subtlest philosophy as for the commonest reason of men to
  argue away freedom。 Philosophy must then assume that no real
  contradiction will be found between freedom and physical necessity
  of the same human actions; for it cannot give up the conception of
  nature any more than that of freedom。
  Nevertheless; even though we should never be able to comprehend
  how freedom is possible; we must at least remove this apparent
  contradiction in a convincing manner。 For if the thought of freedom
  contradicts either itself or nature; which is equally necessary; it
  must in competition with physical necessity be entirely given up。