Summum Bonum (The Highest Good) from the Point of View of Kant and Schleiermacher

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Associate professor of Islamic philosophy and theology, University of Ilam, Ilam, Iran

10.22080/jre.2024.26568.1192

Abstract

The highest good is the most important concept in Schleiermacher's ethics, which is explained and developed within a theological framework without relying on the theory of the divine command. Contrary to Kant, Schleiermacher eliminated the concept of happiness from the concept of the highest good due to its relevance to sensory desires, and thereby he attempted to extricate the moral act from material motives more than Kant has done. In his earlier views about the highest good, Schleiermacher refers to the concept of inclusiveness to define the highest good, which indicates that the highest good in his opinion is much more comprehensive than what Kant and others imagined and that it cannot be achieved only through our actions. This leads us to his later view of the highest good, in which the Greek and Christian view of God-likeness plays a central role. Here the ensoulment of nature, relationality of the highest good and the role of the individual in relation to the whole and the intertwining of the components of the highest good are emphasized. Finally, as a Christian theologian, Schleiermacher considers Christ as a condition for the realization of the highest good. Unsurprisingly he holds this belief, given that his ethical thinking revolves around religious experience. But since religious people do not share a single religious experience, the highest good is not a fixed thing that can be defined and realized once and for all, but it is experienced subjectively, and people interpret it within the framework of their own religious experience. Therefore, developing a truly religious feelings or intuitions can lead to moral action and the realization of the highest good.

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