Practical reasons before Kant The 18th century German philosopher Christian A. Crusius is an important figure in his own right, beyond his influence on the work of Immanuel Kant. Researchers at the University of Würzburg aim to shed new light on the work of Crusius and other pre-Kantian philosophers and bring their ideas to greater prominence, as Dr Sonja Schierbaum explains. The ideas and writings of the 18th century German philosopher and theologian Christian A. Crusius had a major influence on the later work of Immanuel Kant, yet Crusius is also an important historical figure in his own right. With a background in medieval philosophy, Dr Sonja Schierbaum is re-examining Crusius’ works not from the perspective of his influence on Kant and later philosophers, but rather from the other way round. “I think we can gain fresh insights if we approach the topic from that direction,” she explains. Based at the University of Würzburg in Germany, Dr Schierbaum is the leader of an Emmy Noether Group in which researchers are investigating a number of 18th century pre-Kantian philosophers, including not only Crusius, but also the rationalist Christian Wolff and his disciple Alexander Gottlieb Baumgarten. “The overall aim of the project is to arrive at a more complete ‘map’ of the theoretical landscape concerning conceptions of practical reasons in 18th century German philosophy before Kant,” she says. A lot of attention in the project is focused on Crusius’ philosophical works, of which there are three main texts. “One is about metaphysics, it’s called Entwurf der nothwendigen Vernunftwahrheiten, then the main text on ethics is Anweisung, vernünftig zu leben,” outlines Dr Schierbaum. “There’s also some work on epistemology and logic, which is the Weg zur Gewißheit und Zuverläßigkeit der menschlichen Erkenntniß.”
Arbitrariness objection There are also a series of Latin works to consider, with Dr Schierbaum and her colleagues pursuing several different strands of research, aiming to dig deeper into Crusius’ philosophical outlook and bring his ideas to wider prominence. One topic that researchers are investigating is the arbitrariness objection to the libertarian conception of free will, which also implies freedom of indifference
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and so leads to the conclusion that choices can be made without a rational basis. “The rationalist view is that if you have no reason to do something, or to will something, then that leads to irrationality,” says Dr Schierbaum. In her research, Dr Schierbaum aims to show that Crusius rejects the arbitrariness objection and validates the voluntarist view by showing that there is no choice without a reason. “He gives an explanation of the conditions that have to be met in order for a choice to be made. So you have to will something,” she explains. “An individual is free to choose something or not. If they choose it then they will act on that.” The reason that an individual wants something is because they see some good in it, believes Crusius, whether that’s about personal pleasure, health benefits or other perceived positive effects. This does not automatically mean that it’s the best possible option at the time, but rather that it is a sufficiently good option to justify the individual’s choice. “According to Crusius if you see some good in it, you always have a reason for your choice, even if it might not be the absolute best option,” says Dr Schierbaum. Alongside her research into Crusius’ work, Dr Schierbaum is also looking at the views of some of his opponents, notably Christian Wolff and Gottfried Leibniz, who held a different position on this specific topic. “Leibniz would say that there’s always one best option, even if sometimes we don’t know exactly what that is. If you were perfectly rational, then you would always choose the best option,” outlines Dr Schierbaum. “Leibniz would say that Crusius was not committed to the principle of sufficient reason.” This principle essentially means that every fact must have a sufficient reason why that is indeed the case. For Crusius, it’s not necessary to choose the factually best option in a given scenario. “He would deny that if you are in a position where you need to make a
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