The idea of God as a condition for the reason functionning in Kant's transcendental Theology

Abstract

According to I. Kant, reflecting on reality, the mind inevitably comes to the idea of an entity possessing the highest perfection and absolutely necessary by its nature. The idea of God as the supreme being is considered by transcendental theology as a hypothesis of pure reason, without which its practical application is impossible. The author of the article explores why and how the concept of God plays a coordinating role in the work of speculative reason. In this regard, the structure and tasks of Kant's transcendental theology are discussed, its problematic nature as a form of cognition, the prerequisites for the emergence of the idea of God in pure reason, the possibility of proving His existence solely based on a priori concepts, the problem of excluding empirical definitions from the idea of God. The idea of God is analyzed in the light of the natural tasks of the mind formulated by Kant, as a necessary condition for the possibility of achieving them. The study is based on the analysis of Kantian texts. These are mainly the works "The only possible basis for proving the existence of God" (1763), the First and Second criticisms, manuscripts from 1778-1780 (the so-called materials for the "Critique of Pure Reason"), Lectures on Rational Theology of the winter semester of 1783/84, etc. As a result of the research, it is shown that the idea of God acts as an unprovable position, which, nevertheless, the mind must accept, since this is necessary for the completeness of its application. The author explains the organizing role of the concept of God by its a priori "genetic" connection with such categories of pure reason as reality and necessity. The concept of God is "involved" in the work of these categories and is simultaneously shaped by their application. It allows, ultimately, to think about the order and expediency of reality and satisfies the requirement of reason to be economical with respect to the number of explanatory principles. The author's special contribution to the research of the topic is to demonstrate the specifics of the transcendental approach to the stated problem. It is shown that the unprovability of the existence of God is a necessary element of transcendental theology. The very idea of the supreme essence appears in it as a limit, indicating the limit of the possibilities of the mind. In this regard, it is productive, as it allows us to idealize, model consciousness and construct a different type of rationality within the boundaries of our understanding of our own mind.