A Treatise On "the Fact Of Reason" Of Kant's Practical Philosophy

In Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals we have found that any attempt to deduce the supreme principle of morality by means of theoretical speculation and empirical demonstration is bound to fail. Because we cannot demonstrate an unconditional thing(moral law)through an unconditional thing(freedom).In Critique of Practical Reason Kant presents a peculiar concept,"the fact of reason", which is"consciousness of fundamental law". The fact is non-demonstrable, because it is independent and unconditional, but it forces itself upon us, whether we like it or not. And through it we can confirm the moral law and freedom. Many critics think that"the fact of reason"is a dogmatical concept, and it is a retrogression of Kant's theory.In this thesis I will demonstrate that"the fact of reason"is well-founded in Kant's theory, it is supported by symbolic and teleology of Kant's theory. Through symbolic unconditional realm can be represented by human being's cognitive; through teleology we can understand why we must conform to the moral law.Chapter I analyzes the unsuccessful deduction of moral law in Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals; Chapterâ…¡is devoted to analyze the concept of"the fact of reason"; In Chapterâ…¢I compare the Hume and Schopenhauer's demonstrations of morality with Kant's ,which are not based on"the fact of reason", but on another fact, sympathy(Mitleid) .