Human, All Too Human, Part 25 summary
Part 25 of 152 · 2 min to read the part
In 25, the speaker argues that humanity must define its own shared goals once belief in divine guidance disappears, and challenges Kant’s demand for universally applicable conduct. Instead of assuming that identical rules benefit everyone, the argument makes knowledge of cultural conditions essential to judging humanity’s aims.
What happens
- The loss of belief in divine direction makes humanity responsible for defining goals that embrace the world.
- Kant’s ethics asks individuals to follow conduct they want everyone to adopt.
- The speaker challenges the assumption that individuals can readily identify conduct that benefits humanity.
- Different goals may require different principles of conduct, including aims considered evil under certain circumstances.
- Scientific knowledge of cultural conditions becomes the proposed standard for assessing shared goals and the task assigned to coming thinkers.
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In this part
What to notice
The closing sentence assigns coming thinkers the task of grounding shared goals in knowledge of cultural conditions rather than an assumed universal rule.
Quick check
What does the speaker propose as a scientific standard for judging humanity’s goals?
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