PHILOSOPHY. 247 
predicate; and fecondly, that, as no correfponding pure 
intuition can be laid as a foundation for it, ftriCtly fpeak- 
ing, no real contradiction h priori, i. e. without all refer¬ 
ence to empirical intuition, can pofllbly be conceived. 
If we think we are able to prove the pofition of Caufality 
indirectly, it is clear that we take it for an analytical 
pofition. We here confound the conception of an 
Event with that of an EffeR, in which the relation of the 
given thing to a Caufe is implied. If we confider Caufa- 
1 ity as a fynthetical pofition, and yet hope to prove it indi¬ 
rectly, we mull remark, that the fuppofed oppofite pofition 
muft of necefiity be an empirical one. But this is not fuf- 
ficient for our purpofe, The pofition itfelf is h priori, and 
we are bound to ftiow ii priori the impoffibility of its op¬ 
pofite. And this muft be the cafe with all tranfcendental 
proofs. A diret proof alone is polfible with refpect to 
tranfcendental pofitions, which muft always have this ad¬ 
vantage over the indirect, that it not only leads to cer¬ 
tainty, but exhibits the peculiar fource of this knowledge ; 
namely, that arifes merely from the principle of the 
poflibility of experience, according to which we are certain 
a priori, that all the principles of pure Under/landing' are 
objectively valid, becaufe by means of them alone the 
given in the empirical intuition is thought as an objeCt. 
Chap. II. The Canon of Pure Reason. 
Tranfcendental Analytics have furnilhed the principles, 
<1 priori, upon which the correCt ufe of our Knowing Fa¬ 
culty refts, and have at the fame time precifely determined 
the entire and legitimate extent of this ufe. This fci- 
ence is the Canon of pure Underfunding and the fphere 
within which its principles are conftitutive r and conducive 
to knowledge, is the territory of experience. Reafon, 
however, in its fpeculative ufe, contains no principles 
whofe aggregate can be called a Canon. The chief bufi- 
nefs of Speculative Reafon is to be a difcipline to itfelf, 
in order to prevent its confidering fome of its laws as 
furniftiing knowledge, whereas they are only regulative 
principles, for the purpofe of giving unity to our empiri¬ 
cal knowledge, which, though only accidental, is good 
knowledge without them. If Pure Reafon were only 
fpeculative, it could have no Canon. But, befides the fpe¬ 
culative ufe of Reafon, which is valid oniyin its reference 
to experience, where it is always regulative ; there is alfo 
a pure PraRical ufe of Reafon which fubfifts of itfelf, and 
has a Canon. 
Sect. I. Of the Final End of the Pure Ufe of Reafon. 
When we confider the refult of Tranfcendental Dia¬ 
lectics, which confifts in allowing a certain kind of objec¬ 
tive validity to the Ideas of Reafon, namely, that accor¬ 
ding to which theyferveto guide the Underftanding in 
its empirical ufe, we eafily perceive that this refult does 
not entirely fatisfy our intereft. It is not to be denied 
that we have a defire for the eftablilhment of thefe Ideas 
as objeCts, and to be able to confider their ufe in experi¬ 
ence merely as fecondary. It is chiefly the objective va¬ 
lidity of the three Ideas, the freedom of the Will, the im¬ 
mortality of the Soul, and the exiflenee of God, in which we 
take fo deep an intereft; and the reality of the others 
only intereft us fo far as they depend on thefe. 
If we turn our attention to this intereft, it is eafily 
to be obferved, that it partakes very little of a fpeculative 
nature. For, fuppofe we could perceive that the will of 
Man was free, we fhouid be obliged to think this property 
as merely intellectual, and it would notwithftanding molt 
certainly appear, that nothing can be given in experience 
which can be thought by the conception of a Caufality 
that itfelf had no beginning. We confequently fhouid 
ftill confider the effects of the Will as events whofe caufes 
are to be fought for; and it would be as necefi'ary to think 
the feries of the fucceflrve determining grounds as pro¬ 
ceeding to the indefinite as if we had not this perception 
of freedom. Suppofe, further, thatf/ie Soul is a fimple fub- 
fiance, and asfuch indeftruCtible ; fuch an objeCl can only 
be thought as a noumenon. If we were fo fortunate as to 
perceive its fpiritual nature h priori, we fhouid not gain 
by this any ground of explanation for the phenomena of 
Internal Senfe. This is to us the given; and, according 
to the laws of Underftanding, (the Categories,) we ought 
to feek the ground of explanation again only in the given, 
and never make a leap to the intellectual. Laftly; if the 
exiflenee of a Highcfl Intelligence could be proved, we 
might unite to a firm point the order and wifdom difeo- 
verable in nature; but this could only take place in tlie 
univerfal, that is to fay, only in the conception of a rela¬ 
tion of collective nature, as the aggregate of the objeCts 
of Intuition, to a merely intellectual fubftratum, which 
can never be given. In our inveltigations of Nature, we 
never could make a conftitutive ufe of this; but, 
on the contrary, muft endeavour to explain every event 
from the laws of Nature. If we had had only a fpecu¬ 
lative intereft in the objective reality of thefe Ideas, 
the troublefome attempt to prove their objectivity would 
probably never have been made, fince it may be known, 
h priori, that no fpeculative ufe could be made of them. 
Everyone who conliders the importance he attaches to 
fuch inveftigations, eafily perceives that this intereft is 
wholly practical. 
A pofition is practical when it exprefies that fomething 
is to be done. If it refers to an arbitrary and confe¬ 
quently to an empirical end, and gives a rule for obtain¬ 
ing it, then it is only fubjeCtively valid, becaufe this is 
merely a fubjeCtive end. Happinefs is the fum of all lub- 
jeCtive ends ; and thevarious rules which contribute to its 
attainment are called Rules of Prudence, (pragmatical 
maxims.) On the other hand, a practical pofition, if it is 
an objective praRical Law, abfolutely exprefies that fome¬ 
thing muft be done, without any regard whatever to fub¬ 
jeCtive ends. The end in this cafe is reprefented by Rea¬ 
fon itfelf as an end, and is on that account an objeCtive- 
ly-valid end for every body. This is not the place to 
profecute this inveftigation; 1 only appeal therefore to 
every body’s confcioufnefs, when I maintain, that the 
Moral Law is reprefented as an objeRive praRical Law. 
From this explanation of an objective practical Law it 
is evident, that the confcioufnefs of fuch a law muft be 
united with that of PraRical Liberty. For a Will in 
which Pure Reafon, without any regard to fenfible de¬ 
terminations, nay even in opposition to them, makes a 
demand, is a Free Will. Whether it be fubjeCtively de¬ 
termined, and therefore a Moral Will, is not here the 
queftion. I merely ftate, that, when I reprefent my Will 
as fubjeCted by Reafon to the Moral Law, I confider my- 
felf as a freebeing; and this is an analytical pofition. I 
am to perform certain aCtions, merely becaufe the law 
commands them. Now, if I obferve aCtions conformable 
to the law, whofe motives are juft as much links in the 
chain of Nature as the caufes of all other events; it is 
plain, that, in allowing that I ought to perform a certain 
aCtion, I alfo admit that I have the power to do it. This 
practical Liberty, therefore, is as much a faCt of con¬ 
fcioufnefs as the Moral Law itfelf. 
We may now eafily conjecture, that the importance 
conftantly attached to the two queftions, Whether there 
is an immortal life? and Whether God exilts ? is con¬ 
fined merely to a practical point of view; that is to fay, 
to the moral law, and to the confcioufnefs of PraRical 
Liberty arifing from it. To develope this, and at the fame 
time to define the Canon of Pure Reafon, both with re¬ 
gard to its contents and method, is our prelent objeCt. 
SeCt. II. Of the Ideal of the Higheft Good as a Motive to the 
Final End of Pure Reafon. 
We have now to fix the Canon of Pure Reafon. As to 
the aggregate of principles by which Experience is pro¬ 
duced, they are contained in Transcendental Analy¬ 
tics, which is a Canon of Pure Underfunding. As we in- 
veftigated 
