Relation between religion and reason in Kant's philosophy is one of the topics which is difficult to be judged rapidly and decisively. In the present article, relying on Kant's important works and in particular his Religion within the Limits of Reason Alone, the author tries to explore and describe ...
Read More
Relation between religion and reason in Kant's philosophy is one of the topics which is difficult to be judged rapidly and decisively. In the present article, relying on Kant's important works and in particular his Religion within the Limits of Reason Alone, the author tries to explore and describe Kant's real position. Taking into account transcendent idealism and originality of reason's autonomy in the Critical Philosophy as well as metaphors used by Kant in his works, we will come to the conclusion that, in Kant's intellectual construct, points such as God, revelation, religion, and permanence have been mentioned in various ways and emphasized occasionally. But either these points are considered as unproved axioms of ethics and mental ideas or they are of importance as much as they are consistent with principles and axioms ratified by human autonomous reason; and, conscience sometimes helps this reason and some other times it is supported by such a reason. In long run, in Kant's thoughts, God is reduced to a moral commonwealth which is a society based on virtues; and permanence is stripped of its individual and personal aspect and changes into a typical and collective hope for realization of such a society. Thus, as a personal phenomenon like dreaming, revelation is of interest as much as it is consistent with rules, laws, and ideals of the autonomous reason (whether theoretical or practical). Otherwise, like dreaming, it is regarded as a kind of temporary insanity and exodus from the social realm of man, and is denied implicitly.
