The eighteenth century in world history is called the Age of Enlightenment. It was during this period that great changes took place in the spiritual, cultural and socio-economic life of Europe. All of them, one way or another, were closely connected with the establishment of the resurgent capitalist system. The new historical era has radically changed not only the character, but also the entire content of human life.
Significant changes have taken place in relations between people. Social institutions have changed. The relationship between man and nature, as well as his role in the course of historical processes, were revised. Rapidly developing life gave a powerful impetus to science and became one of the most important components of the cultural sphere. At the same time, education received the status of a measure of social significance and individual culture.
The greatest thinker of the 18th century
In the ethics of the Enlightenment, a special place is given to Immanuel Kant. The works of this major thinker of the 18th century have had a tremendous influence on philosophy to this day. The spiritual situation that developed in the society of that time was characterized by attemptscreate a special flow. It was supposed to be an autonomous philosophy based only on reason and experience.
These tortures led to the fact that the disputes of worldviews became extremely acute. It turned out that if we use only purely logical reasoning and rely on experience, then the conclusion can be both the existence of God and his denial. This approach allowed both proving a thesis and completely rejecting it with equal success.
Kant's Principles
One of the main merits of the great thinker is that he was able to separate issues that concerned theoretical and practical reason. He showed humanity the true path. According to him, practical reason, which points us to our duty, does not depend on theoretical reason and is much wider than it.
Ethics is at the center of Kant's reasoning. The thinker pointed out that the social nature of people's behavior is regulated not only by legal, but also by moral norms. However, these concepts are different from each other. They are in the nature of coercion. Legal normativity is distinguished by external coercion on the part of social institutions, other people, as well as the entire state as a whole. Otherwise, it is a matter of morality. Here, only internal coercion is possible. It occurs through the realization of one's duty by each person.
According to Kant's principles, the right is public. Morality is the inner spherefree and independent choice of the individual.
Introduction of new concepts
The most famous work of I. Kant is "Critique of Practical Reason". This book is devoted to the problems caused by the normative regulation of social behavior. In the work, new terms were first introduced, which the thinker called "imperatives". This concept implies special rules that contain objective coercion to act of a certain kind.
Kant classified all imperatives. This was the result of the selection of hypothetical and categorical units from them. The thinker gave the basic concepts of these categories.
Hypothetical imperatives
Kant referred to them those requirements that are observed as necessary conditions for achieving the set goals. Thus, the hypothetical imperative for a person who is engaged in trade and wants to have regular customers is honesty. Fulfillment of this requirement, without any doubt, will attract buyers. The fairness condition for the trader is a hypothetical imperative. It will allow you to receive the planned income. In this case, hypothetical imperatives are not an end in themselves. It's just a tool to trade successfully.
The hypothetical imperatives, in turn, are subdivided into rules of skill and prudence. The former include requirements that prescribe the acquisition of specific skills that are necessary in trading activities. But the imperative of prudence is a condition of honesty. However, it is not dictated by moral motives. Its origin lies inpragmatic reasons.
All actions that a person performs under the influence of hypothetical imperatives, Kant refers not to moral, but to legal. They are quite acceptable and approved by society. At the same time, they do not contradict the tasks and interests of the development of civilized relations.
Categorical imperatives
The concept of these requirements is fundamentally different from hypothetical ones. A categorical imperative is the fulfillment of certain conditions. They mean by themselves the requirement that a person treat all people only disinterestedly. At the same time, in his relations, he should see not a means to achieve goals, but a value in itself, which is absolute and independent. According to Kant, any of us deserves this, since man is the image and likeness of God. In other words, each of us is the highest value on earth.
Unfortunately, categorical imperatives are an ability that nature has not been able to fully endow with a person. That is why, in order not to turn into a slave of our egoism, each of us needs to constantly remember our moral duty and carry out volitional self-coercion. Kant proved that a person has all the necessary qualities for this. Each of us not only can, but must behave in accordance with the terms of the categorical imperative. At the same time, according to the thinker, each of us strives not for happiness, but for the fulfillment of our moral duty. Gradually moving along this difficult path, a person gets to the highest steps of spirituality. The award thatwaiting, – self-esteem.
Environmental imperatives
The development of society is directly related to natural conditions. A calmer evolutionary period in the development of mankind was observed in those eras when the environment could be subordinated to one's interests. At the same time, people did not think about the consequences of their activities, about whether there is feedback that can make irreversible adjustments to their lives.
There have been crises in the history of mankind when the opportunities that were acquired in calmer periods of development were completely exhausted. At the same time, the continued existence of civilization became possible only with fundamental changes in the ecological niche, as well as with a new organization of society. Such periods were characterized by great migrations of peoples, a radical change in the structure of civilization, etc.
The environmental danger that awaits humanity is very serious. Eliminating this problem poses rather difficult tasks for society. To continue its history, humanity must necessarily coordinate all activities with the needs of nature. At the same time, the development of society should go in the same chain with the development of the earth's biosphere. This requirement is an environmental imperative. Violation of its terms threatens with catastrophic consequences.
Moral imperatives
The life of any person proceeds within the constrained framework of the requirements put forward by society. At the same time, new moral principles are constantly being affirmed.principles. For example, some acceptable actions in the past become unacceptable in today's world. Such restrictions are the moral imperative.
Here the requirements are no less stringent than environmental ones. Moral imperatives are the conditions on which the future of mankind will depend to a decisive extent. We all need to recognize, understand and assimilate these requirements. Any person belongs not only to any particular nation or country. He is a member of the community of the entire planet. For the normal development of civilization, people must have a different attitude towards nature. They must give up the dangerous illusion of dominance over her. At the same time, the entire life of human society must be subject to the laws of nature, as well as its morality.
