Philosophical Foundations: Idealism, Liberty, and Moral Action

Idealism: Rational Intuition and Consciousness

Idealism, at its core, emphasizes the role of rational intuition in understanding reality. Key figures include:

Johann Gottlieb Fichte

• Fichte's philosophy, distinct from Kant's, centers on three concepts:
  1. I-consciousness (Self-consciousness): Fundamental for defining freedom.
  2. Rationality of Intuition: The means through which the 'I' grasps reality.
  3. Freedom: The ultimate goal, achieved through this intuition.
• His initial philosophy posits the 'I' as the source of freedom through this intuition.

Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling

• For Schelling, the Spirit (the 'I') is the fundamental element.
• He opposed Fichte's more systematic and technical approach.

Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel

• Hegel focused on the Spirit's historical development and the evolution of ideas.
• He emphasized the historical record and the reforms within consciousness, contrasting with earlier idealists' focus on the individual 'I'.

Core Idealist Tenets

Idealists place I-consciousness at the pinnacle of their systems. Unlike Kant's noumenon, which is unknowable, Fichte's "not-self" is central to the 'I'. Idealists reject Kant's limited view of consciousness to affirm its foundational role in reality.

Freedom: A Perennial Philosophical Problem

The concept of freedom has been a central problem throughout history.

Ancient Greek Perspectives

• In Greek tragedy, the question arose: Is there no fate if humans are truly free?

Natural Liberty and Determinism

The question of natural liberty asks: Is man a free being or determined by natural laws?

Determinism

• Determinists argue that no man is truly free; the belief in freedom is often based on ignorance.
• Our will is determined by necessary causes.
• Man may think he decides consciously, but subconscious reasons often dictate actions.

Arthur Schopenhauer

• A follower of Kant, Schopenhauer viewed "The World as Will and Representation."
• He saw the world as an inseparable duality of Will (noumenon) and Representation (phenomenon).
• His philosophy filtered Kant through Romanticism, presenting a world of irrational forces while maintaining Kant's framework.

Baruch Spinoza

• Spinoza faced problems with the Jewish community due to his writings on God and his deterministic views.
• Unlike Judaism, which posits God creating a world apart, Spinoza was a pantheist (from Greek pan meaning "all"): God and substance are one; God is Nature.
• Expelled from his Jewish community, Spinoza emphasized the necessary relationship between God and pantheism.
• He believed God's unfolding obeys a necessary order.
• Man, devoid of natural freedom, is determined by God/Nature.
• We believe we are free because we are ignorant of the causes that determine us. The wise person understands these determinations.
• This aligns with early Stoicism, where knowledge of causes determines one's actions.

Indeterminism: Jean-Paul Sartre

• Jean-Paul Sartre (20th century) championed Existentialism.
• He distinguished between objects (whose essence is fixed before existence) and human beings.
• For humans, existence precedes essence: individuals create their essence through their actions in existence, and this can change until death.
• "Nothing conditions you." Man is "condemned to be free."
• Sartre identified two ways of using freedom:
  1. Authentic Freedom: Conscious acceptance of responsibility for one's decisions.
  2. Inauthentic Freedom: Discharging responsibility onto others or circumstances.

Political Freedom: Liberalism vs. Totalitarianism

Liberalism: John Stuart Mill

• John Stuart Mill (19th century) was a staunch defender of representative democracy.
• He proposed three core principles of liberal governance:
  1. Liberty of Conscience and Thought: Government cannot coerce belief.
  2. Liberty of Expression: Freedom to express views, unless it causes direct harm to others.
  3. Liberty of Association: Individuals should be free to pursue their own tastes and preferences for their own improvement.

Totalitarianism

• Totalitarian systems, as analyzed by Karl Popper, contrast sharply with "open societies."
• Plato, in his ideal state, viewed the polis (city-state) as an organism that must be maintained in precise equilibrium.
• In such systems, any discontent leads the government to punish "evildoers."
• Plato famously held democracy in contempt, considering tyranny even worse. He believed only educated persons should govern.
• Individuals form part of the state machinery and are not truly free; they must submit to the needs of the people or the state.

Morality and Ethics: Understanding Human Conduct

Moral action presupposes human freedom. It prompts us to ask what actions are good and what are not. In Ancient Greece, philosophers already pondered these questions.

Morality (Latin: mores)

• A set of norms and values belonging to a community.
• It is not concrete and changes across space and time.
• Morality has a double dimension:
  1. Social (Objective):
     • Language: Contains many moral contents (e.g., the Golden Rule: "Do not do unto others what you would not have them do unto you").
     • Law (Positive Law, Written): Consists of determined norms. There is a dialectical relationship where moral norms influence law. Morality existed prior to the state, and different moralities can exist within a state.
  2. Individual (Subjective):
     • Moral growth is context-determined.
     • Since man is free, he can respond differently to what he has received.
     • Individual values can clash with social values, leading to social dilemmas.

Ethics (Greek: ethos)

• Ethics is the rational reflection on morality; it is the philosophical discipline that studies morality.
• It provides distance and an objective way to look at moral phenomena.
• According to José Luis L. Aranguren:
  1. Lived Morality: What children learn and do, often unconsciously.
  2. Ethics (Thought Morality): Conscious reflection on moral facts; to stop and think about one's actions and values.