Challenging Kant. By Laurence Mordekhai

Much of Philosophy is about truths that a person can ascertain merely by acts of ratiocination. Increasingly, I am of the belief that there is precious little about human beings that is truly meaningful that one can ascertain merely by acts of ratiocination. There is nothing that substitutes for experience and having insight into the character of human beings. The two essays below are meant to shed some light on that reality. There is no amount of theory that can substitute for experiencing another as an equal. Most significantly, Kant’s own view of “others” underscores this truth. And it is not enough to say that he thought that everyone indeed had moral standing. For that does not suffice to give complete moral equality in terms of ascertaining right and wrong, as the difference between an adult a child makes abundantly clear. Kant himself thought that blacks were pretty stupid. So it is not at all obvious how he could have thought that, in terms of displaying moral perceptivity, blacks could be the equal of whites.