Kant'ın Teorik ve Pratik Felsefesinde Tanrı ve Özgürlük Kavramlarının Konumu

Abstract

This thesis aims to explain Immanuel Kant’s –one of the leading philosophers of the 18th century– understanding of “God” and “freedom” based on his theoretical and practical philosophy. The main thesis of this study is that Kant's understanding of God and freedom can be properly and coherently explained by considering his theoretical and practical philosophy together. On the other hand, in order to support our main thesis, we have put forward two main claims. The first claim is that as long as God is accepted as the ideal of pure reason, not only it is positively central in Kant’s practical philosophy, but it is also positively central in his theoretical philosophy. Our second main claim is that Kant’s understanding of freedom cannot be reduced to the freedom of choice, that his understanding of freedom depends on the free choice of necessity. Accordingly, our study is concerned with important themes and discussions of history of philosophy while simultaneously associating them with both Kant’s theoretical and practical philosophy and his understanding of God and freedom. Within this scope, the specific themes and topics we discuss in this thesis are as follows: the conceptions of transcendence and immanence, the duality of nature and subject, the ideal of pure reason, the antinomy of necessary being, Kant’s criticisms directed at the speculative arguments that claim to prove the existence of God, the antinomy of freedom and the fundamental concepts of Kantian morality.