Wednesday, January 16, 2019

Perfection, Genius, Evolution

Having classified non-interference in the well-being of another as a 'Perfect' Duty, Kant is confronted with the problem of characterizing promotion of the well-being of another, behavior that is plainly Morally superior to mere non-interference in it.  However, instead of conceding the possibility of behavior that Supererogatory, Super-Perfect, and/or Super-Rational, Kant instead resorts to the apparently antithetical term 'Imperfect', offering a strained explanation as justification.  Regardless, a stronger example of behavior that transcends Perfection emerges later, in his study of Aesthetic Judgment--that motivated by Genius.  Plainly, Genius reduces to neither Rationality nor Selfish Inclination, yet, again, instead of acknowledging a potential limitation of his system, Kant settles for trying to squeeze Genius into his system, i. e. by subordinating it to Taste.  Regardless, Genius can be recognized as an Evolutionary impulse--the motor of a novelty that surpasses given circumstances, and transcends personal interest.  Indeed, the scope of Genius thus far exceeds the Aesthetic or Intellectual realms to which it is usually restricted, e. g. a social visionary may be as motivated by Genius as is a Picasso or an Einstein.

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