The Origin of the Knowledge of Right and WrongBrentano, Franz
Philosophy
The Origin of the Knowledge of Right and Wrong
Brentano, Franz
Ethics
At the present time many approach very near to Descartes’ error in
respect of the marks of self-evidence (if we are not rather to say
that the error is really implicitly contained in their statements)
when they regard the matter as though in the case of every
self-evident judgment a criterion were referred to. In this case it
must have been previously given somewhere, either as recognized--and
this would lead to infinity--or (and this is the only alternative),
it is given in the idea. It may be said that here also the temptation
to such a misconception lies ready to hand and this may well have
exercised a misleading influence upon Descartes. Aristotle’s error
is less general, though only because the phenomenon of the emotion
qualified as right has, generally speaking, come less frequently under
consideration than that of the similarly qualified judgment.
If the nature of the former has been misunderstood, the latter has
often been so overlooked as not even to admit of its essential nature
being misinterpreted.
[29] (_p. 19_). When I affirmed that the language of common life
offers no suitable terms for activities of feeling qualified as right,
I did not mean thereby to deny that certain expressions are, in
themselves, well suited, indeed they would seem to have been created
for this purpose, particularly, for example, the expressions “_to be
well pleasing_,” and “_to be ill pleasing_” (gut gefallen and schlecht
gefallen), as distinct from the simple “to be pleasing” and “to be
mis-pleasing.” Though, however, it might seem advisable to limit these
terms in this way and so to make them serve as scientific terms,
scarcely any trace of such a limitation is to be found in ordinary
language. One does not, of course, care to say: “the good pleases him
ill,” “the bad pleases him well,” though one still says that to one
this tastes good, to another that, and so on, i.e. the expression
“_to be well pleasing_” is applied unhesitatingly even in the case
where pleasure is given in the lowest instinctive form. Indeed the
term-“impression” (Wahrnehmung) has degenerated in an almost similar
way. Only really appropriate in respect of knowledge, it came to be
applied in the case of the so-called external impression (äussere
Wahrnehmung), i.e. in cases of a belief, blind, and in its essential
relations, erroneous, and consequently would require, in order, as a
terminus technicus to have scientific application, an important reform
of the usual terminology and one which would essentially narrow the
range of the term.
[30] (_p. 19_). _Metaph._, Α 1, p. 980 a. 22.
[31] (_p. 20_) i.e., “Als richtig characterisiert.” This phrase, which
occurs frequently, I have translated sometimes as above, sometimes by
“qualified as right.” By this phrase and its equivalents is meant that
the act (sc. of loving, hating, or preferring,) is at once perceived
by us to be a right one, bears the mark or character of rightness.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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