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
however, seeks to establish that confusion, through a mere play upon
words, with _Universalitas_ and _Universitas_, p. 322; V. 379. Thus it is
fundamentally false that our search for higher grounds of knowledge, more
general truths, springs from the presupposition of an object unconditioned
in its being, or has anything whatever in common with this. Moreover, how
should it be essential to the reason to presuppose something which it must
know to be an absurdity as soon as it reflects? The source of that
conception of the unconditioned is rather to be found only in the
indolence of the individual who wishes by means of it to get rid of all
further questions, whether his own or of others, though entirely without
justification.
Now Kant himself denies objective validity to this pretended principle of
reason; he gives it, however, as a necessary subjective assumption, and
thus introduces an irremediable split into our knowledge, which he soon
allows to appear more clearly. With this purpose he unfolds that principle
of reason further, p. 322; V. 379, in accordance with the method of
architectonic symmetry of which he is so fond. From the three categories
of relation spring three kinds of syllogisms, each of which gives the clue
for the discovery of a special unconditioned, of which again there are
three: the soul, the world (as an object in itself and absolute totality),
and God. Now here we must at once note a great contradiction, of which
Kant, however, takes no notice, because it would be very dangerous to the
symmetry. Two of these unconditioneds are themselves conditioned by the
third, the soul and the world by God, who is the cause of their existence.
Thus the two former have by no means the predicate of unconditionedness in
common with the latter, though this is really the point here, but only
that of inferred being according to the principles of experience, beyond
the sphere of the possibility of experience.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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