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Single Idea 6184

[filed under theme 1. Philosophy / D. Nature of Philosophy / 5. Aims of Philosophy / e. Philosophy as reason ]

Full Idea

Consistency is the highest obligation of a philosopher and yet the most rarely found.

Gist of Idea

Consistency is the highest obligation of a philosopher

Source

Immanuel Kant (Critique of Practical Reason [1788], I.1.1.§3)

Book Ref

Kant,Immanuel: 'Critique of Practical Reason (Third edition)', ed/tr. Beck,Lewis White [Library of Liberal Arts 1993], p.23

A Reaction

I agree with this, and it also strikes me as the single most important principle of Kant's philosophy, which is the key to his whole moral theory.

The 18 ideas with the same theme [philosophy explores where reason take us]:

15447 We shouldn't always follow where the argument leads! [Lewis on Plato]
23767 The winds of the discussion should decide its destination [Plato]
5891 Philosophy is the collection of rational arguments [Cicero]
17240 Definitions are the first step in philosophy [Hobbes]
5631 Reason is only interested in knowledge, actions and hopes [Kant]
21406 Because there is only one human reason, there can only be one true philosophy from principles [Kant]
6184 Consistency is the highest obligation of a philosopher [Kant]
21753 If we look at the world rationally, the world assumes a rational aspect [Hegel]
19241 An idea on its own isn't an idea, because they are continuous systems [Peirce]
24143 Thinkers might agree some provisional truths, as methodological assumptions [Nietzsche]
17641 Discoveries in mathematics can challenge philosophy, and offer it a new foundation [Russell]
5189 Philosophers should abandon speculation, as philosophy is wholly critical [Ayer]
21896 Philosophy aims to build foundations for thought [Derrida, by May]
15209 Like disastrous small errors in navigation, small misunderstandings can wreck intellectual life [Harré/Madden]
9808 Philosophy aims to reveal the grandeur of mathematics [Badiou]
6851 We overvalue whether arguments are valid, and undervalue whether they are interesting [Monk]
9593 Progress in philosophy is incremental, not an immature seeking after drama [Williamson]
6855 Interesting philosophers hardly every give you explicitly valid arguments [Martin,M]