The World as Will and Idea (Vol. 2 of 3)Schopenhauer, Arthur
Philosophy
The World as Will and Idea (Vol. 2 of 3)
Schopenhauer, Arthur
Idea (Philosophy); Knowledge, Theory of; Philosophy; Will
The understanding also is constantly being explained anew. In seven
passages of the “Critique of Pure Reason” it is explained in the following
terms. On p. 51; V. 75, it is the faculty which of itself produces ideas
of perception. On p. 69; V. 94, it is the faculty of judging, _i.e._, of
thinking, _i.e._, of knowing through conceptions. On p. 137 of the fifth
edition, it is the faculty of knowledge generally. On p. 132; V. 171, it
is the faculty of rules. On p. 158; V. 197, however, it is said: “It is
not only the faculty of rules, but the source of principles (_Grundsätze_)
according to which everything comes under rules;” and yet above it was
opposed to the reason because the latter alone was the faculty of
principles (_Principien_). On p. 160; V. 199, the understanding is the
faculty of conceptions; but on p. 302; V. 359, it is the faculty of the
unity of phenomena by means of rules.
Against such really confused and groundless language on the subject (even
though it comes from Kant) I shall have no need to defend the explanation
which I have given of these two faculties of knowledge—an explanation
which is fixed, clearly defined, definite, simple, and in full agreement
with the language of all nations and all ages. I have only quoted this
language as a proof of my charge that Kant follows his symmetrical,
logical system without sufficiently reflecting upon the subject he is thus
handling.
Now, as I have said above, if Kant had seriously examined how far two such
different faculties of knowledge, one of which is the specific difference
of man, may be known, and what, in accordance with the language of all
nations and all philosophers, reason and understanding are, he would
never, without further authority than the _intellectus theoreticus_ and
_practicus_ of the Schoolmen, which is used in an entirely different
sense, have divided the reason into theoretical and practical, and made
the latter the source of virtuous conduct. In the same way, before Kant
separated so carefully conceptions of the understanding (by which he
sometimes means his categories, sometimes all general conceptions) and
conceptions of the reason (his so-called Ideas), and made them both the
material of his philosophy, which for the most part deals only with the
validity, application, and origin of all these conceptions;—first, I say,
he ought to have really examined what in general a _conception_ is. But
this very necessary investigation has unfortunately been also neglected,
and has contributed much to the irremediable confusion of intuitive and
abstract knowledge which I shall soon refer to. The same want of adequate
reflection with which he passed over the questions: what is perception?
what is reflection? what is conception? what is reason? what is
understanding? allowed him to pass over the following investigations,
which were just as inevitably necessary: what is it that I call the
_object_, which I distinguish from the _idea_? what is existence? what is
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