Faith and Reason in Kant

Notes and ideas grabbed from Evans, C. Stephen, Faith Beyond Reason (Edinburgh: Edinburgh Uinversity Press, 1998) pp. 65-77.

For Kant, 'faith is linked to reason in its practical employment': morality. (p. 65)

'I have found it necessary to deny knowledge, in order to make room for faith'. Critique of Pure Reason, trans. Norman Kemp Smith (New York: St Martin Press, 1965) p. 29.

'by removing spurious claims to religious knowledge, the true character of religious faith can emerge more clearly'. (Evans, p. 66)

"from the viewpoint of theoretical reason, truths about God are 'transcendent'. They are, in a strict sense, above theoretical reason and reason can neither affirm them nor deny them."

'Faith is rational because it is linked to the moral life'. It is a presupposition needed in order to participate in the moral life. See here and here.

For Kant, not all human concepts are derived from our sense experience. Some must be a priori. That is, there are 'categories of the understanding' which are needed by us in order to understand our sense experience. So, for instance, 'cause and effect' and 'substance'. (p. 67)

The knowledge we gain from our sense experience interpreted with the aid of our 'categories of understanding' is not knowledge of reality - not metaphysical knowledge - only knowledge of phenomena and appearances.

The 'Ideas of pure reason' are ideas of that which transcends any possible sense experience. The concept of God is not the concept of any possible sense experience. These ideas develop by the need to explain our understanding. So, for instance when one applies the category of 'cause' to our ability to understand using sense experience and the categories. There is a potential infinite regress here which Kant puts a stop to with the 'Idea of an Unconditioned Condition'. (p. 69)

Kant thinks that reason and religion would be harmed by actual knowledge of God. God's transcendence would be compromised, and reason would be harmed because humans would appeal directly to God.

The Idea of God is not knowledge of God. There is a difference between need and reality.

We recognise that reason has reached its limits when the 'antinomies of pure reason' are encountered. Kant claims that proof can be offered for contradictory propositions. In fact one of these is antinomies is that arguments can be created for God's necessary existence and non-existence.

The Idea of God can be rationally embraced through moral faith however.

The Categorical Imperative: 'Act only according to that maxim [the subjective principle on which a moral act is based] whereby you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law'. This is rational because it embodies the demand for coherence and consistency. In effect, immorality involved inconsistency.