Critique of Pure Reason

In the third chapter of the "Metaphysical Series," "Critique of Pure Reason," I focus on the limitations of rational capabilities and the inevitable contradictions and dilemmas humans face in the pursuit of ultimate truth. This series uses artistic methods to satirize the absurd world under pure reason. By combining the philosophical thoughts of Kant and Nietzsche and considering the historical development of science, I aim to explore the relationship between reason and non-reason and reveal the profound impact of the worship of reason. In the previous chapter, I played a fanatical rationalist, but here, I stand from a sensuous perspective, criticizing the limitations of reason.

Kant pointed out in the "Critique of Pure Reason" that reason is an important tool for human cognition of the world, but its role is not limitless. By combining sensory experience and understanding, humans comprehend the phenomenal world. However, reason can never reach the "thing-in-itself," the essence of truth beyond experience. Kant believed that human cognition is strictly confined within the framework of sensory experience and logical reasoning, meaning that in the realm beyond the senses, reason appears powerless. Human exploration of the world, despite significant progress in the phenomenal realm, remains stagnant in the noumenal realm. This limitation reveals reason's impotence in facing existences beyond the phenomenal world and reflects its inherent flaws in dealing with abstract concepts and ultimate truths. This cognitive dilemma forces us to re-examine the role of reason in philosophy and science, making us realize that reason might be just one pathway to truth, not the sole one.

Nietzsche further criticized modern society's blind worship of reason and science. He believed that humans mistakenly think that the accumulation of knowledge can solve all problems, ignoring the irrational aspects of life, such as emotions and intuition. Nietzsche pointed out that modern society often pursues the supremacy of reason, trying to explain all phenomena through science and logic, yet overlooks the indispensable irrational factors in human existence. He emphasized that pain and contradiction are part of life's essence, and solely relying on reason cannot understand or eliminate these issues, instead distancing people from genuine experiences. For Nietzsche, life's richness and complexity far exceed the range that reason can cover. Humans need to fully experience life's diversity through emotions, intuition, and other irrational ways. His philosophy reminds us that reason is not the only dimension of life; emotions and intuition are equally important and may, in some contexts, provide more direct and authentic understanding. This emphasis on the value of the irrational prompts us to reflect on the hegemonic status of reason in modern culture.

This issue is particularly prominent in the development of science. The essence of science is specialization, refining research directions through logic and reason, attempting to uncover the truth of the world. Universities are seen as temples of reason worship; scientific research methods can bring progress in exploring specific problems but gradually narrow individual perspectives. If the world's truth is holistic, then science is clearly moving along a biased path. The academic method of specialization fragments the whole, making it difficult for researchers to re-examine these pieces from a global perspective, forming a self-enclosed loop. As Kuhn stated in "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions," this fragmented research approach may hinder a comprehensive understanding of truth.

In this chapter, I attempt to visualize these ideas through artistic language, deliberately incorporating contradictory and extreme elements, requiring the audience to fill in the parts that reason cannot explain through their own senses and intuition. This is not only a reflection on the worship of reason but also an exploration of how humans find balance in a complex world. By combining Kant’s critique of reason, Nietzsche's philosophy of life, and the historical development of science, I hope to reveal a multi-perspective cognitive system—neither sensibility nor reason holds the sole truth; both are crucial parts of human cognition. This framework is not meant to solve problems but to understand them more profoundly, finding new acceptance and relief in life, letting go of prejudice and stubbornness. Through this multidimensional exploration, we might get closer to the true essence of life.

Compared to the previous chapters, this chapter holds more significance in today's era, for reasons that are self-evident. However, without the groundwork laid by the first two chapters, pure criticism of reason would be even more ludicrous and unhelpful.


在《形而上系列》第三章《对纯粹理性批判》中，我聚焦于理性能力的局限性及人类追求终极真理时的矛盾与困境。这一系列作品通过艺术手法讽刺纯粹理性下的荒谬世界，结合康德与尼采的哲学思想，并参照科学史的发展背景，探讨理性与非理性之间的关系，揭示理性崇拜的深远影响。在上一个篇章中，我扮演了疯狂的理性至上主义者，而在这里，我将站在感性的立场上数落理性的局限性。

康德在《纯粹理性批判》中指出，理性是认知世界的重要工具，但并非无限。通过感性经验与知性结合，人类理解现象界，但理性始终无法触及“物自身”，即超越经验的本质真相。康德认为，人类认知被限制在感官经验与逻辑推理的框架内，这意味着在超越感官的领域时，理性显得无能为力。人类对世界的探索在现象界有进展，但在本体界却止步不前。这种局限性揭示了理性在面对超越现象界的存在时的无力，也反映出理性在处理抽象概念和终极真理时的缺陷。这种认知困境迫使我们重新审视理性在哲学和科学中的角色，意识到理性或许只是通向真理的一种途径，而非唯一途径。

尼采进一步批判现代社会对理性和科学的盲目崇拜，认为人类误以为知识积累能解决所有问题，这种理性主义忽视了生命中的非理性层面，如情感与直觉。尼采指出，现代社会追求理性至上，试图通过科学和逻辑解释一切现象，却忽略了人类存在中不可或缺的非理性因素。他强调，痛苦与矛盾是生命本质的一部分，单纯依赖理性无法理解或消除这些问题，反而使人远离真实体验。对于尼采而言，生活的丰富性和复杂性远超理性所能涵盖的范围。人类需要通过情感、直觉及其他非理性方式充分体验生命的多样性。他的哲学提醒我们，理性不是生活的唯一维度，情感和直觉同样重要，甚至在某些情境下，它们可能提供更直接、更真实的理解。这种对非理性价值的强调，促使我们反思理性在现代文化中的霸权地位。

这一问题在科学发展过程中尤为突出。科学本质是“分科之学”，通过逻辑与理性细化研究方向，试图揭示世界真理。大学被视为理性崇拜的殿堂，科学研究方法在探寻具体问题时带来进展，但也缩小了个体视野。如果世界的真理具有“整体性”，科学显然沿着“偏向”的道路前行。学术分科方法将整体性割裂为碎片，使研究者难以从全局角度重新审视这些片段，形成自我封闭的闭环。正如库恩在《科学革命的结构》中所述，这种碎片化研究方式可能阻碍对真理的全面理解。

在这一章中，我通过艺术语言将这些思想视觉化，故意融入矛盾和极端元素，观众需通过感性和直觉填补理性无法解释的部分。这不仅是对理性崇拜的反思，也是对人类如何在复杂世界中找到平衡的探索。结合康德的理性批判、尼采的生命哲学及科学史发展，我希望揭示一种多视角的认知体系——无论是感性还是理性，都不具备唯一的真理性，都是人类认知的重要组成部分。这一框架并非旨在解决问题，而是为了更深刻地理解问题本身，并在这种理解中找到对生命的新接受与释然，放下偏见与执拗。通过这种多维度探索，我们或许能更接近于生命的真实本质。

相比前两篇章，这一篇章在当今时代更具意义，其缘由不言而喻。但如果没有前两个篇章的铺垫，纯粹的对理性批判反而显得滑稽。