Kantian Enlightenment through Kafka's Colony

The narrator’s background of education conflicts with the current situation of war that he is in. The narrator has “graduated in law from St. Petersburg University”, giving him higher ground among soldiers with not only the education he possess but also the moral capacity he has. His fellow soldiers are on the other side of the spectrum in relation to the narrator. They have endured the tragedy of war, giving them vulgar personalities that allows them to express ideas and thoughts with no filter: “go and mess up a lady . . . and you 'll have the boys patting you on the back”. These contrasting personalities and cultures has set up the narrator to get test his singular moral standings to fit in with the other soldiers. Otherwise, the narrator would have to endure embaressing behavior such as: “went over to my little trunk and tossed it out at the gate . . . [and] emitted a series of shameful noises”.

To begin with, the colonel represents a rigid male perspective of the 1940’s. He helps reveal the theme and author’s point get across to the reader by showing the manly figure of the 1940’s, stereotyping of women’s self control in a crisis. In the story the colonel claims, “And while a man may feel like it, he has that ounce more of nerve than a woman has. And that last ounce is what counts.”(paragraph 2) The colonel believes this because since he is high ranking, he feels as if he is better than everybody. This makes him feel that only his

   "The colonel one writes," is a work that consists of seven chapters separated by a white typo. In this paper, I will stop for a brief summary of each chapter.

8. What does the simile at the end of the first paragraph suggest about the lieutenant?

ma[k]e an arrest. Prosecutors would then prosecute the case to the letter of the law, and

The commanding officer, and intelligent realist, and his fellow officers issue orders from the top floor of the mayor’s house. Compelled to mine coal for the invading country, the townspeople try to resist. An officer is killed; the accused is tried and executed; in revenge, the man’s wife kills another officer. Resistance continues. The mayor and the doctor are arrested, and the mayor is condemned to death. The novel ends with the mayor’s speech on democratic principles.

officer are guided in their decision-making by policy, training, intelligence information, and more. On a

Immanuel Kant is widely-regarded as one of the greatest thinkers and philosophers of all time, with his teachings having more influence on other contemporary thinkers than any other philosopher of the 18th century. Fighting against the governmental and monarchical constraints of the time, Kant began his work by maintaining that all humans are free beings, who out to think autonomously, free from the dictates of external authority (SEP, 2011, pp.1). Kant

The officer is motivated by his will to be just. “Then the officer began to spell out the inscription and then read out once again the joined letters. ‘Be Just!’ it states, he said” (Kafka 15). The officer had believed

officer desire for the needed training in order for him to be in charge, it is very rear that the

Officer Billstein is maturing as an officer. His decision making is greatly improved. Officer Billstein no longer rushes to judgment and he makes informed and thoughtful decisions. Officer Billstein is able to take a step back and analyze the information he obtains during investigations, which leads to sound judgments.

His ‘solidity and sturdiness’ is proven by the fact he remains on task despite numerous attempts from Mr. Birling to divert the discussion away from the points he is making. The Inspector is a stark contrast to the views of Mr. Birling which is that “Every man must only look out for himself,". This is best illustrated in the Inspector's final

The lieutenant is described as having a very strong and resolute temperament. As a disciplined man of principles, he is always sure of his decisions, he never hesitates and he has self-respect. He reveals the dangers of the cold idealism. So, he is associated with the “power” of the novel’s title while the priest is associated with the “Glory”.

This paper offers an analysis of Immanuel Kant and Jeremy Bentham in order to argue that both of their moral theories are two different ethical principles. Nevertheless, many of their reasonings are applied in moral debates and are relevant in today’s society. Both of these philosophers brought back moral philosophy and provided different approaches on how an individual should follow moral principles. In the first part of this essay, I will analysis Kant’s moral philosophy, such as context of right and wrong, the meaning of the text, and provide evidence that these principles is applied in today’s moral debate. Then, I will discuss Bentham’s moral philosophy using the same steps of analysis.

In the late eighteenth century, with the publication of his theories on morality, Immanuel Kant revolutionized philosophy in a way that greatly impacted the decades of thinkers after him. The result of his influence led to perceptions and interpretations of his ideas reflected in the works of writers all around the world. Kant’s idealism stems from a claim that moral law, a set of innate rules within each individual, gives people the ability to reason, and it is through this that people attain truth. These innate rules exist in the form of maxims: statements that hold a general truth. Using this, Kant concluded with the idea of autonomy, in which all rational human wills are autonomous, each