A Haskalah story: Kant and Maimon on rational faith
In 1789 Salomon Maimon sent Kant, via Markus Herz, the manuscript of his Essay on Transcendental Philosophy (Kant, 1999, pp. 291-294). A surprised Kant replied to Herz: “None of my critics understood me as well as Herr Maimon does” (Kant, 1999, pp. 311-315). Kant’s praise of Maimon makes him a singu...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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EDP Sciences
2023-01-01
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| Series: | SHS Web of Conferences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.shs-conferences.org/articles/shsconf/pdf/2023/10/shsconf_kr2023_02006.pdf |
| _version_ | 1811157394262065152 |
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| author | Lopes Christine |
| author_facet | Lopes Christine |
| author_sort | Lopes Christine |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In 1789 Salomon Maimon sent Kant, via Markus Herz, the manuscript of his Essay on Transcendental Philosophy (Kant, 1999, pp. 291-294). A surprised Kant replied to Herz: “None of my critics understood me as well as Herr Maimon does” (Kant, 1999, pp. 311-315). Kant’s praise of Maimon makes him a singular figure in the Haskalah, the Jewish Enlightenment. But while the theoretical aspect of Maimon’s criticism of Kant has received increasing attention in recent years, its practical implications remain under-examined. In what follows, I use the notion of rational faith for the purposes of a tentative reconstruction of Maimon’s reading of Kant’s transcendental philosophy that brings together theoretical and practical aspects of the thought of both philosophers. Kant and Maimon shared a project of devising a form of faith that would express rational rather than religious-based morality. Kant argued for a rational moral freedom that is vouched by an infinite intellect that cannot be attributed to humans but more appropriately to God. For Maimon, the answers to the questions What can I know? and What should I do? involve a cognitive and affective process of striving to expand our finite consciousness. This process is the rational expression of God in us. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T05:06:49Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-11eececb148449c199a5dbc42bbf342f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2261-2424 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T05:06:49Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | EDP Sciences |
| record_format | Article |
| series | SHS Web of Conferences |
| spelling | doaj.art-11eececb148449c199a5dbc42bbf342f2023-03-09T12:04:36ZengEDP SciencesSHS Web of Conferences2261-24242023-01-011610200610.1051/shsconf/202316102006shsconf_kr2023_02006A Haskalah story: Kant and Maimon on rational faithLopes Christine0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4533-0428University of Oxford, Oxford Cognitive Therapy CentreIn 1789 Salomon Maimon sent Kant, via Markus Herz, the manuscript of his Essay on Transcendental Philosophy (Kant, 1999, pp. 291-294). A surprised Kant replied to Herz: “None of my critics understood me as well as Herr Maimon does” (Kant, 1999, pp. 311-315). Kant’s praise of Maimon makes him a singular figure in the Haskalah, the Jewish Enlightenment. But while the theoretical aspect of Maimon’s criticism of Kant has received increasing attention in recent years, its practical implications remain under-examined. In what follows, I use the notion of rational faith for the purposes of a tentative reconstruction of Maimon’s reading of Kant’s transcendental philosophy that brings together theoretical and practical aspects of the thought of both philosophers. Kant and Maimon shared a project of devising a form of faith that would express rational rather than religious-based morality. Kant argued for a rational moral freedom that is vouched by an infinite intellect that cannot be attributed to humans but more appropriately to God. For Maimon, the answers to the questions What can I know? and What should I do? involve a cognitive and affective process of striving to expand our finite consciousness. This process is the rational expression of God in us.https://www.shs-conferences.org/articles/shsconf/pdf/2023/10/shsconf_kr2023_02006.pdftranscendentallawfulnessrational faithinfinite understandingaffectsmoralityconsciousness |
| spellingShingle | Lopes Christine A Haskalah story: Kant and Maimon on rational faith SHS Web of Conferences transcendental lawfulness rational faith infinite understanding affects morality consciousness |
| title | A Haskalah story: Kant and Maimon on rational faith |
| title_full | A Haskalah story: Kant and Maimon on rational faith |
| title_fullStr | A Haskalah story: Kant and Maimon on rational faith |
| title_full_unstemmed | A Haskalah story: Kant and Maimon on rational faith |
| title_short | A Haskalah story: Kant and Maimon on rational faith |
| title_sort | haskalah story kant and maimon on rational faith |
| topic | transcendental lawfulness rational faith infinite understanding affects morality consciousness |
| url | https://www.shs-conferences.org/articles/shsconf/pdf/2023/10/shsconf_kr2023_02006.pdf |
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