HKB
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Often appears with: the nature and attributes of God · reason and the intellect · unconditioned and absolute reality · teleological unity of nature · teleological unity · supreme will attributes · regulative principles · regulative correction of divine attributes · physico-theology · objective reality of concepts · moral theology · logic, method, and demonstration
Usually: argument (4) · detachment (2) · skepticism (2) · curiosity (1)
“But although pure speculative reason is far from sufficient to demonstrate the existence of a Supreme Being, it is of the highest utility in correcting our conception of this being—on the supposition that we can attain to the cognition of it by some other means—in making it consistent with itself and with all other conceptions of intelligible objects, clearing it from all that is incompatible with the conception of an ens summun, and eliminating from it all limitations or admixtures of empirical elements.” Immanuel Kant, The Critique of Pure Reason · insight
Kant argues that the “primal being” as the ground of all reality should be treated as an unconditioned, simple, all-sufficient idea without hypostatizing it into an objectively existing being like God.
is derivative, for the latter presuppose the former, and therefore cannot be constitutive parts of it. It follows that the ideal of the primal being must be cogitated as simple. The deduction of the possibility of all other things from this primal being cannot, strictly speaking, be considered as a limitation, or as a kind of division of its reality; for this would be regarding the primal being as a mere aggregate—w…
He challenges opponents to explain how we could extend cognition beyond all possible experience without losing objective assurance, arguing such transcendental procedure gives no result, though it may correct and regulate concepts.
their immanence in the field of experience, that is, their relation to objects of empirical cognition or phenomena. Thus all transcendental procedure in reference to speculative theology is without result. If any one prefers doubting the conclusiveness of the proofs of our analytic to losing the persuasion of the validity of these old and time honoured arguments, he at least cannot decline answering the question—how…
Kant explains that teleological unity is an “indissolubly” connected idea of reason serving as a legislative regulative principle, letting transcendental theology ask questions it can answer only by restricting categories to possible experience.
latter purpose succeed or not, the idea is and must always be a true one, and its employment, when merely regulative, must always be accompanied by truthful and beneficial results. Complete unity, in conformity with aims, constitutes absolute perfection. But if we do not find this unity in the nature of the things which go to constitute the world of experience, that is, of objective cognition, consequently in the un…
Kant develops a moral theology: moral unity requires a single omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, eternal supreme will, linking moral order to teleological unity and turning natural investigation into physico-theology and transcendental theology.
cause, founds, maintains, and fulfils the universal order of things, with the most perfect teleological harmony, however much this order may be hidden from us in the world of sense. This moral theology has the peculiar advantage, in contrast with speculative theology, of leading inevitably to the conception of a sole, perfect, and rational First Cause, whereof speculative theology does not give us any indication on …