Misology...Philosophical Blasphemy.

I found it extremely interesting that not even two full pages into Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals Immanuel Kant brings up the idea of misology, or the hatred of reason. Kant believes this to be truly present in those "most experienced in the use of reason" because after they actually think back on their lives they "find that they have in fact only brought more trouble on their heads than they have gained in happiness. (Groundwork 8-9)

So, Kant (a philosopher), is trying to say that those who find themselves reasoning most often (usually philosophers) look back on their lives and wish they had just been dull drones like the rest of the masses so they didn't realize how little they've accomplished towards make themselves happy. This is far from the praise the Greek philosophers gave to those who dedicated their time to logic and reasoning. If Plato was in charge, all our leaders would be depressed, psychiatric patients dreading the next time they delved into deep thought.

Well, as it obviously did for me, Kant declaring that the thinkers of the world wish they weren’t thinkers can seriously derail a reader from paying attention to the actual arguments. Kant introduces the idea of misology not to tell us that reason is bad and will only make us unhappy, but that we may have been thinking about reason in the wrong ways. For example, Greek philosophers usually thought that reason was the ultimate channel through which we reach happiness. A life spent pondering what is good would lead to a virtuous and satisfactory life. However, Kant seems to think that this would simply be a waste of our reason. He says our “instincts” are there to make us happy, our reason exists bring about a life and will that is good in itself. (Groundwork 8) Striving for one’s own happiness is a good for a particular purpose (one’s own happiness) and is therefore not truly good in Kant’s definition of good.

And, in this argument Kant really informs his audience of why the arch-enemy of philosophy can exist in a world that has hope. Misology isn’t really a hatred of reasoning but a hatred of the misuse of reasoning. See reasoning is like a kazoo. Some people can use reason to best bend their will into something truly good in itself just as some people can play great, if not glorious, songs on a kazoo. Then there are others who only use reason to ponder their own purposes eventually realizing it’s not leading them to happiness. These people are like that one guy who is continually blowing the same note into an innocent kazoo for the entire hour after it hits their mouth.

And that’s how I taught myself Kant today!