19th Century Romanticism was greatly dominated by 'German Idealism'. Influenced by the almighty power of the Prussian State, it produced such philosophers as Immanuel Kant who declared that "not everything can be known" - the idea that certain knowledge of the world is beyond our understanding.
His philosophy went on to influence the likes of Hegel, Byron and Schopenhauer at a time when British Empiricism was thriving.
KANT (page 637)
Kant believed that all men are Rational. He believed in "Mind over Matter", through which he was greatly influenced by Descartes.
He was awakened from his 'dogmatic slumber' by Hume's rejection of Causation, in which he stated that there can be no idea without an impression. Kant produced "The Critique of Pure Reason" (1781) in response, claiming that knowledge is A priori - it does not derive from experience. Kant's approach is 'analytical' rather than 'synthetic'. Our understanding of Causation relies on the Law of Contradiction rather than Sense Perception.
As Decartes claims, our senses can be "deceptive", whereas, to Kant, Causality is the 'law of nature'. Our external sensations are merely part of a 'mental apparatus', the 'law of nature' must, therefore, be true of everything experienced.
"I venture to assert that there is not a single metaphysical problem which has not been solved" (page 642)
According to Kant, experience is only possible within Space. It is Transcendental. There is only one. It is so vast and contains so many parts, that we cannot even begin to understand it. Our perception of Space is A priori - derived from Geometry - which has been proved as 'truth'.
Space exists as a "thing-in-itself". It is nowhere and nothing exists outside of it. It relies on objects of perception to exist, therefore it is 'imagined'.
"... mind orders the raw material of sensation, but never thinks it necessary" (page 648)
As Kant describes, it is "possible to imagine no space, but impossible to imagine no space". We imagine the world exists as it appears, just like we imagine our own existence. Therefore, Space must exist, but is revealed to us in many forms. These forms are what Kant calls "things-as-perceived".
In his work "The Critique of Practical Reason" (1786), Kant describes the three proofs of God's existence. Kant was opposed to the idea of God as the 'Absolute Being' (Ontological) as his existence would defy the 'law of nature'. In his counter-argument, however, he claims that if anything exists, then the 'Absolute' must exist, as I know that I must exist (Cosmological). Mind over Matter - "I think, therefore I am" - we think of the 'Absolute' without actually experiencing him, therefore, he must exist. He also held the belief, later adapted by Hegel, that the order of the Universe reflects it's purpose (Physico-Theological). To Kant, the existence of God is 'pure reason' and Reason forms this idea even though we cannot prove its reality.
He was against Utilitarianism - "Happiness is pleasure and the absence of pain" - reflected in his ethical doctrine "Metaphysics of Morals" (1785). He claims that Morality is Apriori, in which a man acts from a sense of duty. He is Rational and abides by the 'Hypothetical Imperative' in order to achieve a certain end. It is through this duty that man becomes 'virtuous'.
Some actions are 'necessary', which Kant calls the 'Categorical Imperative'. In his work "Perpetual Peace" (1795), he describes how Democracy is 'necessary' to achieve the "perfect" Government.
"Act as if the maxim of your action were to become through your will a general natural law" (page 645)
HEGEL (page 661)
Very much influenced by Kant's Idealistic outlook, Hegel was much more materialistic.
In his doctrine "Phenomenology of Mind" (1816), he claimed that nothing is real except the Whole. The Whole consists of all parts, each part containing a greater or lesser degree of reality. All parts are governed by a process Hegel calls the "dialectic". His process considers the subject-predicate logic as part of the Whole.
His process is as follows:
THESIS ---> ANTITHESIS ---> SYNTHESIS
His process begins with his THESIS that the "Absolute" is pure - it exists with no qualities - therefore, exists as nothing. It shifts to states of being and not-being (ANTITHESIS), therefore, it is becoming (SYNTHESIS). The more we experience, the more "becomes", of which I believe Hegel means "exists". The Whole exists as nothing until it comes into existence through Sensory Perception. Similar to rationalists Descartes and Kant, Hegel was sceptical of the senses.
NOTHING ---> NOT BEING ---> BECOMING
As the Whole is "Absolute", there is nothing outside of itself for it to know. The Whole is a "thing-in-itself" which exists for itself alone.
"Nothing can be spherical unless it has a boundary... to suppose the universe as Whole to be spherical is self-contradictory" (page 662)
In "The Nature of Spirit", he explains how the essence of matter is purely metaphysical. SPIRIT is the only Reality and the highest form of knowledge. To have knowledge is to be free and the essence of SPIRIT is "Freedom". According to Hegel, "Freedom" is the right to obey the Law (as it wouldn't exist without it). The SPIRIT communicates this Law through the Monarchy, a collective body that abides by the "General Will". They have private interests, whereas the public share one common interest. This is what Rousseau calls the "Will of All". In a Democracy, the State and Individual remain separate.
"... the State is the actually existing realised moral life" (page 669)
BYRON (page 675)
Byron was very much a Liberal. He believed that men were "forces" that drove change. To Byron, the Aristocracy caused the suffering of the poor and the only way the working classes could free themselves was to Revolt.
He believed in the concept of "Liberty". He praised Freedom - achieved through Rebellion - to which the State was an obstacle.
"... the good is enough to eat and the rest is talk. No hungry man is likely to think otherwise" (page 676)
It was the ANTITHESIS that caused "moral" men to rebel. The kind of Scepticism that lead to "Byronic unhappiness". Revolt was the key to overthrowing the power of the State in the quest for Freedom. Men are driven to rebel by their endless Scepticism towards their existence.
SCHOPENHAUER (page 681)
To Schopenhauer, the Will was ethically evil. It provoked anarchy, of which, reform was "futile". He was against the Prussian Government and was highly Anti-Democratic.
In his doctrine "The World as Will and Idea" (1818), he states that all knowledge is Metaphysical. What we perceive as our body is really our Will - my body is the physical, but my Will is reality - my body as the "thing-as-perceived", but my Will as the "thing-in itself".
Following on from Kant, he believed the Will is "timeless". A "thing-in-itself" does not exist in Time and Space, therefore it must be real.
According to Schopenhauer, the Will is "wicked" and causes endless suffering. The more knowledge we acquire of reality, the more we suffer. Suffering is essential to life and there can be no fixed end. The only end is extinction - "nirvana"- that detaches us from reality. A "good man" spends his life breaking down the Will through self torture and fasting, in a bid to come as near as possible to "non-existence".
"We must banish the dark impression of that nothingness which we discern behind all virtue... through myths and meaningless words... in whom the will has turned and denied itself... our world, which is so real, with all its suns and milkyways - is nothing" (page 684)
All quotes sourced from:
Russell, Bertrand "The History of Western Philosophy" (2009)
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