Building a Stable 'Abode of Thought': Kant's Rules for Virtuous Thinking
Kant's 3 rules can offer a helpful check as to whether we are not only living well but thinking well.
What makes a life virtuous? The answer might seem simple: virtuous actions – actions that align with morality. We observe and spectate; meditate and contemplate. Life often unfolds in our heads.
As a philosopher, I specialize in the Enlightenment thinker Immanuel Kant, who had volumes – literally – to say about virtuous actions. What I find fascinating, however, is that Kant also believed people can think virtuously, and should.
Kant's Three Rules
- Think for yourself.
- Think in the position of everyone else.
- Think in harmony with yourself.
If followed, he thought a “sensus communis,” or “communal sense,” could result, improving mutual understanding by helping people appreciate how their ideas relate to others’ ideas.
Author's summary: Kant's rules for virtuous thinking promote mutual understanding.