Worthiness To Happiness And How To Practice

Happiness is an important issue in the field of ethics, and has been repeatedly discussed for thousands of years. Kant has a profound insight into the issue of happiness, but Kant’s thoery of happiness has not been able to get enough attentions, which is the reason that many controversies and misunderstandings on Kant’s theory of happiness have been caused. This article firstly expounds the position and significance of Kant’s thoery of happiness in Kant’s ethics, secondly shows the twofold dimensions of Kant’s theory of happiness, thirdly discusses the contents related to practice. At last, I clarify the real nature of Kant’s happiness and it’s fundamental value.On the basis of the relevant results,this paper argues that the thoery of happiness is a logical extention and the eventually point of Kant’s deontology ethics. Kant’s ethics is not and should not be considered only focused on the abstract and rigorous moral form. Kant also noticed that the meaning of happiness that making ethics and life complete.Afterwards, Kant’s theory of happiness has twofold dimensions, which are material dimension and form dimension. Material dimension is composed of material pleasure which is governed by moral law and still has a unique significance as an essential part in Kant’s theory of happiness. But it is easy for people to make their motives based on the empirical and occasional objects of desire in perceptual world so that makes human being dependent on the senses and being as tools for material end. Form dimension is the moral law which governs the material pleasure and makes people independent from the emotionally self-interested preferences and thematerial factors are excluded from the people’s practical principle so that highlights the people’s morality and dignity of personality.This paper also argues that:Kant also concerned about the practice of happiness in real life and put forward specific method namely ethics education and rational religion, by which people pursue highest good in real life. Virtue is not what people are born with, otherwise there are not evil actions in the world. So virtue must be learnt in experience. And the personality disposition makes the virtue learning possible. At last, in practical life people should establish an ethical community namely the visible church. Thus people can make their motivations abide by moral law freely, then have the qualification of worthiness to happiness.The introduction outlines the origin, current situation and idea of research, and then this researches divided into three chapters:Chapter 1 states the content and position of happiness in Kant’s ethics, then respectively expounds the origins and features of twofold dimensions, eventually puts forward the necessity of practice of happiness.Chapter 2 states the obstacles to material dimension in practice. It is easy for human to pursue material pleasure beyond moral law because of the tendency of evil of human which must be corrected by ethics education.Chapter 3 states the completeness of form dimension in the future world. Form dimension reflects that the people’s morality can not be achieved in real life by people themselves, so the postulates of the existence of God and the immortality of the soul is indispensable. Finally, the rational religion will be formed.