Immanuel Kant's Critique of Pure Reason — trans. F. Max Müller

victions ?

If this has not been., and in fact could not be so, on account of the unfitness of the ordinary understanding for such subtle speculations ; and if, on the contrary, with regard to the first point, the hope of a future life has chiefly rested on that peculiar character of human nature, never to be satisfied by what is merely temporal (and insufficient, therefore, for the character of its whole destination) ; if with regard to the second, the clear consciousness oi freedom was produced only by the [p. xxxiii] clear exhibition of duties in opposition to all the claims of sensuous desires ; and if, lastly, with regard to the third, the belief in a great and wise Author of the world has been supported entirely by the wonderful beauty, order, and providence, everywhere displayed in nature, then this possession remains not only undisturbed, but acquires even greater authority, because the schools have now been taught, not to claim for themselves any higher or fuller insight on a point which concerns general human interests, than what is equally within the reach of the great mass of men, and to confine themselves to the elaboration of these universally comprehensible, and, for moral purposes, quite sufficient proofs.

The change therefore affects the arrogant pretensions of the schools only, which would fain be considered as the only judges and depositaries of such truth (as they are, no doubt, with regard to many other subjects), allowing to the public its use only, and trying to keep the key to themselves, quod mecutn nescit^ solus vult scire videri.

At the same time full satisfaction is given to the more moderate claims of speculative philosophers, [p. xxxiv] They still remain the exclusive depositors of a science which benefits the masses without their knowing it, namely, the critique of reason.

That critique can never become popular, nor does it need to be so, because, if on the one side the public has no understanding for the fine-drawn arguments in support of useful truths, it is not troubled on the other by the equally subtle objections.

It is different with the schools which, in the same way as every man who has once risen to the height of speculation, must know both the pro's and the con's and are bound, by means of a careful investigation of the rights of speculative reason, to prevent, once for all, the scandal which, sooner or later, is sure to be caused even to the

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masses, by the quarrels in which metaphysicians (and as such, theologians also) become involved, if ignorant of our critique, and by which their doctrine becomes in the end entirely perverted. Thus, and thus alone, can the very root be cut off of 7naterialisni, fatalism^ atheism^ free-thinking, unbelief, fanaticism, and superstition, which may become universally injurious, and finally of idealism and scepticism also, which are dangerous rather to the schools, and can scarcely ever penetrate into the public. If [p. xxxv] governments think proper ever to interfere with the affairs of the learned, it would be far more consistent with their wise regard for science as well as for society, to favour the freedom of such a criticism by which alone the labours of reason can be established on a firm footing, than to support the ridiculous despotism of the schools, which raise a loud clamour of pubHc danger, whenever the cobwebs are swept away of which the public has never taken the slightest notice, and the loss of which it can therefore never perceive.

Our critique is not opposed to the dogmatical procedure of reason, as a science of pure knowledge (for this must always be dogmatical, that is, derive its proof from sure principles a priori) , but to dogmatism only, that is, to the presumption that it is possible to make any progress with pure (philosophical) knowledge, consisting of concepts, and guided by principles, such as reason has long been in the habit of employing, without first enquiring in what way, and by what right, it has come possessed of them.

Dogmatism is therefore the dogmatical procedure of pure reason, without a previous criticism of its own powers ; and our opposition to this is not intended to defend either that loquacious [p. xxxvi] shallowness which arrogates to itself the good name of popularity, much less that scepticism which makes short work with the whole of metaphysic.

On the contrary, our critique is meant to form a necessary preparation in support of a thoroughly scientific system of metaphysic, which must necessarily be carried out dogmatically and strictly systematically, so as to satisfy all the demands, not so much of the pubhc at large, as of the schools, this being an indispensable condition, as it has undertaken to carry out its work entirely a priori ^ and thus to the complete satisfaction of specula704 Stipplefnent II