Kant’s wager?

betting as a touchstone of subjective conviction

Autores

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5380/dp.v22i3.101182

Palavras-chave:

Belief, Canon, Faith, Kant, Knowledge, Opinion

Resumo

In the Third Section. On having an opinion, knowing, and believing of “The Canon of Pure Reason” of the Critique of Pure Reason, Kant writes: “Taking something to be true, or the subjective validity of judgment, has the following three stages in relation to conviction (which at the same time is valid objectively): having an opinion, believing and knowing [Meinen, Glauben, Wissen] (A822/B850). This article attempts to show that P. Guyer and A.W. Wood’s translation of Glaube is inadequate. The translation rests on false premises and leads to a momentous misunderstanding of what is at stake in “The Canon of Pure Reason” as well as its entire thesis and argument. This article offers a new interpretation of the Third Section, in which rational faith is put at the same level of certainty as knowledge.

Biografia do Autor

Jean-Christophe Merle, Universität Vechta

Holds a degree in Philosophy from the University of Paris IV (Paris-Sorbonne) (1985) and a degree in History from the University of Paris IV (Paris-Sorbonne) (1987). Completed a Ph.D. in Philosophy at the University of Fribourg (1993) and earned a Habilitation (equivalent to a post-doctoral qualification in Brazil) from the University of Tübingen. Currently, is a Full Professor at the University of Vechta (Germany) and Honorary Professor at the University of Saarland (Germany). Member of the editorial board of the Revista Brasileira de Estudos Políticos at the Faculty of Law and Political Science of UFMG.  Merle has teaching and research experience in the field of Philosophy, with a focus on Practical Philosophy, and have published several works in this area.

Referências

HABERMAS, J. 1989. The structural transformation of the public sphere (1962). Trans. Thomas Burger & Frederick Lawrence. London: Polity.

HÖWING, T. 2018. Zur Vollständigkeit von Kants Unterscheidung zwischen Meinen, Glauben und Wissen. In: WAIBEL, V. L.; RUFFING, M.; WAGNER, D. (Eds.). Natur und Freiheit: Akten des XII. Internationalen Kant-Kongresses. Berlin: De Gruyter.

KANT, I. 1900-. Gesammelte Schriften. Königlich Preussische Akademie der Wissenschaften (and successors) (Eds.). Berlin: de Gruyter (and predecessors).

QUASSAM, Q. 2019. Vices of the mind: from the intellectual to the political. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

TRULLINGER, J. 2013. Kant’s two touchstones for conviction: the incommunicable dimension of moral faith. The Review of Metaphysics, Washington D.C., v. 67, n. 2, p. 369-403, dec 2013.

Downloads

Publicado

23-02-2026

Como Citar

Merle, J.-C. (2026). Kant’s wager? betting as a touchstone of subjective conviction. DoisPontos, 22(3). https://doi.org/10.5380/dp.v22i3.101182

Edição

Seção

Racionalidade e irracionalidade social