Glossary of Kant's Religious Terms
This Glossary is provided
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http://www.hkbu.edu.hk/~ppp
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This Glossary supplements the Glossary
in KSP1:453-61, providing brief definitions for selected
technical terms that are specifically related to Kant's
theology and philosophy of religion. (The only terms
listed here that Kant himself does not use are 'Critical
mysticism' and 'theocentric'.) Taken together, these
Glossaries can serve as a study aide to help make
the intricate web of Kant's terminology comprehensible
to those who have little or no familiarity with Kant's
writings. Where relevant, the opposite term is given
in curved brackets at the end of the definition. When
a word defined here (or a slight variation on such
a word) is used in defining some other word in this
Glossary, its first occurrence in that definition
is given in italics. Likewise, terms already defined
in KSP1's Glossary appear here in quotation marks.
archetype: the 'idea' of perfect humanity that resides within each person.
Calling Jesus the Christ signifies that
his life fully realized this idea.
atheism: the philosophical stance whereby a person believes there is
no God. A strict atheist believes it is possible
to prove God's nonexistence. (Cf. theism.)
Bible: the scripture of the Jewish and/or Christian 'faiths'.
Kant has a genuinely high regard for this book, viewing
the New Testament in particular as a divine revelation
enabling humanity to take a major step forward
in its moral evolution. Nevertheless, regarding the
propositions themselves as literally God's
words is a serious religious illusion. (See
scripture.)
biblical theology:
any theology that takes the Bible as
its primary starting-point. Kant warns that such a
theologian must be careful not to deny the validity
of 'reason'. (Cf. philosophical theology.)
caloric: heat. This is an important aspect of Kant's theory of ether
in Opus Postumum.
Christ: a person anointed with such a God-like disposition
that we can regard him as the perfect example of the
archetype. Kant regards Jesus as the
Christ in this sense.
Christianity: an historical faith that accepts the Bible as its scripture
and practises religion in a church tradition
founded by Jesus Christ.
church: an ethical commonwealth wherein the members regard themselves
as being governed by God. The visible form
promotes a particular historical faith, whereas
the invisible form promotes pure rational faith.
A true church is a visible church that is based on
the four principles of the invisible church: universality,
purity, 'freedom', and unchangeableness.
cosmological
argument: one of the three
types of 'theoretical' proofs for God's existence,
arguing that 'experience' in general provides us
with 'knowledge' that God exists.
Critical mysticism:
the final goal of Kant's Critical System (though
he never fully developed it himself), consisting of
an openness to immediate experience in various
forms, and an awareness that at this level the
presence of God can be felt, but with the crucial
qualification that no knowledge-claims can be
constructed out of such ineffable experiences.
deism: the philosophical stance claiming that God exists, but not
as a living being who intervenes in the natural or
moral worlds we inhabit (as in theism). Many
deists believe there are proofs for the existence
of God that succeed in making God's existence
knowable.
direct service
of God: obeying the 'moral
law' within. (Cf. indirect service.)
disposition: the 'noumenal' source of a person's moral motivation, also
called the heart. It can be either evil (like
the propensity) or good (like the predisposition),
but not both at once.
ecclesiastical
faith: a form of historical
faith that is focused on a church tradition.
ens realissimum:
a Latin term for the most real BeingЎXi.e., God.
Kant uses this term as the basis for his special possibility
proof of God's existence.
ether: the hypothetical material that fills empty space. Kant regards it
as an unknowable substrate of nature that symbolizes
how the hand of God operates.
ethical commonwealth:
a humanly organized group of persons who agree
to live and let others live 'autonomously', according
to the principles of the 'moral law'.
evil: reversing the proper order of moral 'incentives', whereby a person
regards 'maxims' promoting
happiness as more important than maxims promoting 'duty'. (See radical evil.)
fanaticism: a form of religious enthusiasm that allows workings of
grace to obscure the voice of 'conscience',
thus encouraging moral laziness and false assurance
of salvation.
God: the ens realissimum who administers the 'moral law' to all
persons. We can know this Being only as an
'idea' (i.e., as a 'hypothetical' 'concept'
that cannot be absolutely proved to exist);
but we must postulate such a Being in order
to make sense out of our moral life, and we can feel
this Being's presence in the 'moral law' and in
nature. God's unique way of knowing consists of intellectual
intuition and intuitive understanding.
(See Trinity.)
grace: unmerited assistance from God. Kant argues that, although
radical evil prevents everyone from being
worthy to receive grace, our good disposition,
and the good life-conduct that comes from it, can
nevertheless make us worthy to be made worthy by God.
hand of God: Kant's metaphorical way of describing the ineffable experience of
God's presence in nature. (Cf. voice of
God.)
historical faith:
belief in and/or commitment to a religious tradition
that looks back to specific past events, rather than
to bare reason, for its grounding. Such a faith may
or may not promote true religion among its
believers.
hope: the topic of the third of the three (or four) questions that Kant
says define the task of philosophy. Kant views religion
as establishing the human standpoint that best answers
the question of what we may hope.
ideal: in the first Critique, the 'idea' of God, viewed
as an externally existing object. As such, God's
existence is wholly unknowable to humans, though we
may know God's nature.
immediate experience: the fundamental contact between 'subject' and 'object' that gives
rise to 'experience' in the sense of 'empirical'
'knowledge'. 'Representations' that are not mediated
by the 'transcendental' conditions of 'space',
'time', and the 'categories', are useless for
constructing knowledge, but we may nevertheless be
aware of them in various ways.
indirect service
of God: doing or believing
something that is not itself required by the 'moral
law', but will encourage oneself to obey the latter.
(Cf. direct service.)
intellectual
intuition: a form of knowing
that creates its object in the very act of perceiving
it. God is the concept of a Being possessing
this power, lacked by humans.
interpretation,
scriptural: in a church,
scripture should be interpreted morally whenever possible,
even if this was not the author's original intention;
'theoretical' interpretations are for historical
scholars. Interpretation by personal feeling should
be avoided, since it can easily be both morally harmful
and theoretically inaccurate.
intuitive understanding:
a form of knowing that is immediate, and does not
require perception. God is the concept of a
Being possessing this power, lacked by humans.
Jesus: the human being who, as founder of the first true church,
can also be regarded as divine, in the sense of possessing
the very disposition of God, to the
extent that he was able to withstand the corrupting
influence of radical evil. He can thereby be
regarded as the Christ.
Judaism: an historical faith based on adherence to externally legislated
statutes and thereby used by Kant to exemplify
the essence pseudo-service to God.
kingdom of God:
a political situation characterized by universal peace
and respect between all human persons, with
the 'moral law' being followed so consistently that
external legal forms are no longer needed. Bringing
this (or its moral equivalent, the kingdom of ends)
about is the final goal of the ethical commonwealth,
but will probably require assistance from God
in order to become a reality in the distant evolution
of the human race.
means of grace:
one of the four parerga, referring to ceremonies
or rituals that make us aware of God's assistance.
To believe such ceremonies can themselves make a person
good is a religious illusion that leads to
pseudo-service; but the same ceremonies can
be an indirect service of God. Kant's four
examples are prayer; church-going, baptism,
and communion.
miracles: one of the four parerga, referring to a presumed supernatural
intervention in the 'empirical'
world.
Kant does
not rule
out this
possibility, but
claims such
external 'experiences' of the impossible must be
regarded as happening either almost never or else
all the time.
moral argument:
Kant's new way of justifying belief in God's
existence by arguing that a person who believes
it is rational to act morally is acting as if God
exists; so it would be absurd for that person
to deny God's existence, even though it cannot be
proved 'theoretically'.
mysteries: one of the four parerga, referring to a divinely prompted
'understanding' of 'transcendent' 'objects'
that incomprehensible by means of 'reason' alone.
Kant examines the Trinity as his primary example.
mysticism: a way of interpreting certain types of immediate experience
as a direct encounter with God or with 'transcendent'
'reality'. Kant speaks harshly about mystics who
tend to be fanatics or who make unjustified
knowledge-claims based on such experiences. Ironically,
his own philosophical 'System' can be interpreted
as an attempt to transform mysticism into a philosophically
justifiable (i.e., Critical) way of life.
natural religion:
any religion wherein a command must be recognized
as a 'duty' before it can be regarded as God's
command, and whose doctrines can therefore be spread
to all human beings by the unaided use of universal
'reason'. (Cf. revealed religion.)
ontological
argument: one of the three
types of 'theoretical' proofs for God's existence,
arguing that the necessity of God's existence can
be known from the 'concept' of God alone.
parerga: 'transcendent' 'ideas' that arise as by-products of 'pure'
rational faith in order to solve problems that
'reason' alone cannot solve. They are an acceptable
part of a true religion only if used to direct
believers to its moral core. The four parerga Kant
discusses are: workings of grace, miracles,
mysteries, and means of grace.
person: a living, rational, and responsible being, capable of being aware
of the 'moral law'.
philosophical
theology: any theology
that takes 'reason' as its primary starting-point.
Kant argues that such an approach does not prevent
a person from also taking a specific revelation
into consideration; however, the latter must be consistent
with the former. (Cf. biblical theology.)
physicotheological
argument: one of the three
types of 'theoretical' proofs for God's existence,
arguing that particular 'experiences' provide us
with 'knowledge' that God exists.
predisposition: a person's original disposition, before performing
any moral acts. Our animal, rational, and personal
natures all indicate that the human predisposition
is good. Unfortunately, it is corrupted by radical
evil in our first moral act. (Cf. propensity.)
possibility
proof: Kant's
own preferred version of a 'theoretical' proof
for
God's existence, whereby God is viewed as the ens
realissimum,
who must
exist in order for
anything else
even
to be possible. Kant never completely rejects this
proof, but he does admit that it serves only to clarify
what we mean by the word, God, without providing any
theoretical 'knowledge'.
prayer, spirit
of: a heart-felt wish
to live a life well-pleasing to God, based
on a good moral disposition, and the good life-conduct
that comes from it. The letter of prayer (i.e., verbal
prayer) does not please God on its own, but only if
it promotes this inner spirit.
proofs for the
existence of God: arguments
attempting to establish 'theoretical' 'knowledge'
that God exists. Kant demonstrates that all three
types (the ontological, cosmological,
and physicotheological) must fail. He puts
his own special moral argument in their place,
but insists this argument does not constitute a theoretical
proof. This is important, because only the latter
can provide a proper philosophical foundation for
theism and religion.
propensity: a person's tendency to act in either a good or an evil
way. Prior to undergoing a change of heart (or disposition),
a person's propensity is naturally evil. (Cf.
predisposition.)
postulate: a 'transcendent' 'idea' that we must regard as true, even in
the absence of 'theoretical' proof, because
it is 'practically' necessary to justify living
a moral life. Kant's moral argument postulates
God's existence, but does not claim to prove it.
pseudo-service: attempting to please another person by performing an action
that actually (usually inadvertently) hinders one's
ability to please that person. Acts of divine worship
fall into this category, for example, if the worshipper
believes that because such actions are directed solely
to God, they can take the place of good life-conduct.
(Cf. service.)
pure rational
faith: religious
belief that has the pure religion of reason
at its core.
pure religion
of reason: the moral core
of all genuine religion. Historical faiths
are of value only if they serve as vehicles for pure
religion; they are the shell that protects the inner
core. Religion needs some such vehicle, because it
raises questions 'reason' cannot answer.
radical evil: a rationally inexplicable corruption at the very root of the moral
life of every human being. As a result, each person's
first moral act is evil, as is their initial
propensity.
rational theology:
the metaphysical discipline that tries to prove
the existence of God. Kant demonstrates that this
discipline is bound to fail as long as it aims at
'knowledge'.
religion: the practice of viewing human duties as divine commands. For Kant
this does not imply that religion is just a form of
morality in disguise; rather, it means morality, though
ontologically independent of religion, needs religion
in order to reach its goal.
revealed religion:
any religion wherein a command must be recognized
as being from God before it can be regarded
as a 'duty', and whose doctrines are therefore available
only to those human beings who are familiar with a
given historical faith. (Cf. natural religion.)
revelation: unprecedented moral insights, believed by a religious individual or community to be given by God. 'Reason' can
test them by checking their consistency with the 'moral
law'.
scripture: a text believed by an historical faith to be revealed.
(See Bible and interpretation.)
service: attempting to please
another
person by performing an action that
actually (sometimes even inadvertently) hinders one's
ability
to please
that person. Good
life-conduct falls
into this
category when viewed as a way of serving God. In addition
to such direct service, any nonmoral act
that encourages good life-conduct can be called indirect
service. (Cf. pseudo-service.)
statutes: external commands put forward by a scripture and/or an ecclesiastical
faith on the grounds that God commands
obedience to such rulesЎXregardless of whether they
are moral.
supreme maxim: the fundamental 'maxim' that determines the disposition
a person has.
symbol: any part of an historical faith (e.g., a doctrine or a ritual)
that has, in addition to its literal meaning, another
deeper meaning with a moral content.
teleological
argument: A 'theoretical'
proof for the existence of God based on
reference to specific designs or purposes 'experienced'
in nature. Kant regards this as a type of physicotheological
argument. Viewed from the 'judicial' 'standpoint',
however, it can provide good reasons for believing
in God, reasons that support rather than endangering
theism.
theism: the philosophical stance claiming not only that God exists
(as in deism), but that God is alive and interacts
with the human world. Kant regards theists as those
who are willing to make a moral commitment to postulate
God's existence, but argues that the various attempts
to prove God's existence are harmful to theism
in the long run. (Cf. atheism.)
theodicy: an attempt to justify God in the face of evil. Kant argues
that all such attempts must fail, for they require
a misuse of 'reason' that is ultimately harmful
to religion.
theology: 'knowledge' of God, based on either 'theoretical' or 'practical'
'reason'. Kant practices philosophical theology
and believes this should complement biblical theology.
Trinity: a mystery that arises in Christianity when believers
attempt to 'understand' God's threefold
nature. Kant proposes a moral version, viewing God
as holy Legislator, benevolent Ruler, and righteous
Judge. In this 'practical' sense, the Trinity
ceases to be a mystery.
true religion: any 'empirical' religion that has the pure religion of reason
at its core.
voice of God: Kant's metaphorical way of describing the ineffable experience of
God's presence in the form of the 'moral
law' within us. (Cf. hand of God.)
workings of
grace: one of the four
parerga., referring to a presumed inner 'experience'
of God's grace. Fanatics often (wrongly) believe
this can replace the need for good life-conduct.
worship: any action that pleases God. The most profound expression
of a life of worship is good life-conduct. Praising
God without having good life-conduct is pseudo-service.
Source:
http://www.hkbu.edu.hk/~ppp/ksp2/KCRglos.html
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