Modern philosophy, since the Enlightenment, has been based on Kant's
view of reality, with one of the first being that certain valuations
transcend existence and exist in principle apart from all else. 1+1 will
always yield 2, no matter what. For Kant, basic arithmetic/mathematics was
foundational and all else built on this principle. But unfortunately Kant
couldn't bring these principles to reality. It was all theory. (In "Star
Trek" the Vulcan principle of "pure logic" is akin to this.)
Hegel brought these principles to practical implementation.
His view concluded that the higher values were those that brought
about a better (more pleasant/more stable) human existence.
The unfortunate result is that we've not reached any
concensus on the implementation of these principles. The result
has been widely varying views as to what can and should be
sacrificed to obtain this level of human existence.
That's the fundamental weakness of Kant's arguments -- it's
not specific enough to implement. It's a system that's so
open-ended that any derived system, consistent within itself, can
meet his criteria. So from Kant and Hegel we got Hitler, Marx
and Nietzsche. And humanity has suffered greatly. So much for
pure logic.
Collin
KC8TKA
http://www.brendemuehl.net
