| Religion is an important part of Kant’s philosophy,and the problem of good and evil in human nature is an important problem that religious philosophy must solve.In Religion within the Limits of Pure Reason(hereinafter referred to as Religion),Kant started with the investigation of human nature,and discussed good and evil along the basic clue that the principle of coexistence,opposition and struggle between good and evil in human nature leads to the ultimate victory and dominance of the principle of evil.In Kant’s view,the concepts of good and evil are not empirical concepts judged subjectively by human beings,but the results derived from practical rules.When the highest criterion that determines the will to act is the moral law,the subject’s behavior is good,otherwise it is evil,and the source and possibility of good and evil exist in people themselves.It is impossible to conclude that people are good or evil,and the foundation of all this should be based on "freedom".From the free will in Critique of Practical Reason to the free willfulness in Principles of Moral Metaphysics and Religion,Kant’s concept of freedom has changed to some extent,bringing the willfulness of people’s preferences into the free system,thus finding a logical dwelling place for people’s evil and opening the way for the possibility of being good.Kant holds that man has fundamental and irremediable evil,but he also has the ability to turn evil into good,that is,to carry out an ideological revolution,rebuild respect for moral laws and establish an ethical community.Kant’s view of good and evil in "Religion" shows people’s subjective status and lofty and dignified personality,and also promotes the humanistic development of religion,and builds up moral religious metaphysics,which has made great contributions to the development of human nature theory and religious philosophy in later generations.However,due to the idealism,Kant’s view of good and evil also has some limitations. |
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