On the needs of theoretical and practical reason

Abstract

Thinking beyond the limits of possible empirical knowledge requires a subjective reason for legitimizing its judgments. According to Kant, this lies in the feeling of a "need for reason", which for its part (in contrast to "non-rational" urge) must be justified as such. For this purpose is claimed a special "right of the need" of reason, as a “subjective reason to assume something [...] which it may not presume to know by objective reasons" [08:137]. In contrast to the need of theoretical reason and its satisfaction by mere hypotheses ("original reason"), the practical need of reason is unconditional, because here we do not only "want to judge, but must [...] judge" [08:139]. - The special conditions of this "must" - the moral "postulates" - are to be critically examined in the following.

Keywords

• Needs of reason
• Subjective/objective reason
• Moral postulates