2010 Issue №2(32)

The author analyses the Enlightenment's principle of justifying lie from altruistic motives, which was criticised by Kant in the article "On a supposed right..." The article considers the advantages and disadvantages of arguments drawn in Kant's work. The author proves and specifies the admissibility of lie due to ethical and legal principles put forward by Kant in other publications and lectures, namely: need for self-defence and internal legal duty to humanity (categorical imperative).

This article attempts to demonstrate the influence of Kant's philosophy of law and politics and philosophy of history alongside his aesthetic ideas on “The Bronze Horseman” by A. Pushkin.

The early reception of Kantianism in Russia at the turn of the 18th century took place at Moscow University and was connected with the endeavours of two graduates of Göttingen University. J. W. L. Mellmann was the first adherent of Kant's critical philosophy in Russia and thus provoked a philosophical-theological-administrative conflict, which led to his untimely death. J. G. Buhle taught one of the first courses on Kant's philosophy of the critical period and safely returned to Germany after a 20 year residency in Russia.

This article analyses the impact of Kant's ideas on the development of logic and University philosophy in Russia. The integrity of philosophy, psychology (pedagogy), and logic until the early 20th century implied that Kant's ideas influenced logic via its philosophical foundations (empiricism versus the rationalistic aspects of Kant's philosophy). It was especially evident in the interpretations of logic in terms of psychologism and anthropologism ensuing from empiricism.

The major difference between Kant's axiological and cognitive discourse is that the former contains a greater number of persona pronouns that signify different speech roles of the author. This text is characterised by a more direct expression of the addressee factor, which explains the emergence of the speech acts that are absent in Kant's cognitive texts. Another substantial difference is the explicit imperative modality of this type of Kant's texts.

This article analyses, first of all, the epistemological theory of reflection (Abbildtheorie) of Heinrich Rickert, the main representative of the Baden Neo-Kantianism School. The author analyses the key arguments put forward by Rickert against the understanding of cognition as a reflection of reality. Rickert’s standpoint is neutral. He criticises the transcendental theory of reflection, but does not reject the idea of reflection as a model of cognition and acknowledges the immanent theory of reflection as relatively justified. The article also addresses the standpoint of another representative of the Baden School, Emil Lask, who rejected the theory of reflection in favour of the aftervision theory (Nachbildtheorie).

Kant's 'Technique of hope' appears to be the 'most genuine hope of the Enlightenment' for the moral intersubjectivity of being. Its immense significance becomes obvious against the background of Kant's 'Copernican Revolution', which resulted in the new subject-oriented ontology. The viability of this ontology depends on the possibility of freedom, i. e. on whether the human being is capable of the practical implementation of the free causality of moral law. Due to its history, Kaliningrad is meant to become a window to Kant's ontology of hope.

The article is meant for teachers and everyone interested in the problems of upbringing and self-upbringing. The major incentive for all works of the great scientists was the desire to reveal the extent of possibility and necessity of dignity for a person pursuing their vocation. Kant showed the world as the world should be in accordance to the sensible disposition of the human being. The author analyses the main concepts of Kant's rational ethics and attempts to classify his pedagogical ideas, which can be traced through all his works. The article also addresses the influence of Immanuel Kant's philosophical and pedagogical ideas on the development of pedagogy in Germany in the 19th century as well as on the modern theory and practice of education.