If first book of
Wolff's Philosophia Practica Universalis was all about
establishing the primary principle of practical philosophy, the second book, published year
later than the first one, is then about application of this principle
to more concrete cases. One must still remember that concreteness is
here only a relative notion, and we are far from solving any
determinate ethical or political questions.
The basic rules for
good human action Wolff has already stated in the first book. One
should follow natural law, which means striving for one's perfection.
Since perfecting oneself means finding reliable and consistent
happiness, natural law also guides us to strive for our own
happiness. And, since God has made the world order, in which people
become happy in certain manner, living according to natural law means
also living according to God's decrees.
A new element in the
second book is the social side of human activity. We are not just
completely indifferent about each other's actions, but for instance,
agree with other's actions, try to persuade them to some things etc.
All these various social relations make responsibility of the actions
also shared – if I convince my neighbour to do something, it is
partially my fault, if something bad happens through her actions.
An important feature
of this social element of human action Wolff emphasises is emulation
– we tend to imitate behaviour of other people. This is important
especially for making people act better. That is, if we set up
examples of good life, heroes and saints, people might tend to improve
their own live by imitating the lives of such good examples.
Wolff's suggestion
that moral improvement might happen through emulation is an important
sign of his appreciation of the less than fully intellectual side of
human activity. True, Wolff thinks that one should try to improve
one's behaviour through moral reasoning. Yet, he also sees that this
is generally not enough, but there must be something to rouse the
sensuous side of human mind. Thus, Wolff suggests that symbolism and
rituals could be used for quickly teaching people about moral truths.
Despite admitting
the importance of such sensuous element for morality, Wolff is still
pretty antisensualist, when it comes to determining the actual
principles of action. Senses and imagination provide us only with
confused knowledge, which still requires conceptual analysis and
reasoning to become truly valid and certain. Thus, sensuality as a
source of confusion must be inhibited, in order to make oneself truly
perfect.
Now, sensual side of
human being is in Wolff's eyes not just a servant of morality or a
mere hindrance to properly good life – it is also a sign of a
person's motivation for his actions. Here Wolff once again speaks
about physignomy, and since this is a topic I've discussed earlier I shall now merely mention it.
So ends Wolff's
treatise on practical philosophy in general, although these outlines
will be filled with more detailed treatises on ethics and politics
later. But in case of theoretical philosophy, new personalities were
already taking Wolff's formerly dominating place.
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