Early life Born in
Griffin, Georgia, Beck was the youngest of four children in a family raised by Erasmus W. Beck and Ann H. Beck. His siblings included: Evelyn H. Beck, Edwin H. Beck and Sarah A Beck. His father was employed as both an engineer and a sales representative. In his youth, Beck exhibited a natural talent for philosophical discourse and repeatedly raised questions related to the famous
"Scopes Monkey Trial". Much to his delight, he was formally introduced to the subject of philosophy by his sister who provided him with a copy of
Will Durant's
The Story of Philosophy at the age of fourteen. This subsequently inspired him to investigate the scientific writings of
Thomas Henry Huxley and to acquire employment as a "lab assistant" while enrolled in high school. Beck received his bachelor's degree Phi Beta Kappa from
Emory University in 1934, his master's degree from
Duke University in 1935, and his doctoral degree from Duke University in 1937. His dissertation was entitled: "Synopsis: A Study in the Theory of Knowledge. an instructor at
Emory University (1938–41), Associate Professor of Philosophy at the
University of Delaware (1941–48), and associate professor at
Lehigh University (1946–48), eventually becoming professor (1948–49). Beck joined the faculty at the
University of Rochester in 1949 and served as Chairman of its Department of Philosophy from 1949 to 1966. He also served as Associate Dean of the Graduate School (1952-1956) as well as the Dean of the Graduate School (1956–1957) where he helped to raise international recognition for the PhD. program in Philosophy. During this time he was awarded a
Guggenheim Fellowship in the field of Philosophy (1957). He is credited with assisting his colleague
Colin Murray Turbayne in his work
The Myth of Metaphor (1962). Subsequently, he collaborated with his colleague
Robert L. Holmes in the publication of a comprehensive introduction to the study of philosophy,
Philosophical Inquiry: An Introduction to Philosophy (1968)). In 1970 he also collaborated with the Kantian scholar Gottfried Martin at the
University of Bonn to organize the first International Kant Congress to be hosted in the United States and helped to established an enduring close collaboration between Kantian scholars in both Germany and America. In 1962 he was appointed as the Burbank Professor of Moral and Intellectual Philosophy and subsequently Professor Emeritus in 1979. From 1970 to 1975, Beck also served on the
National Endowment for the Humanities Council. During this time he also served as a member of the board of directors for the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1970–1978). In addition, he was a President of the Eastern Division of the
American Philosophical Association. His original research into the philosophy of
Immanuel Kant was also published within the authoritative journal
Kant-Studien in both the German and English languages. In addition, in 1970 he served as editor of the
Proceedings of the Third International Kant Congress. In 1985 he also contributed to the formation of the
North American Kantian Society.
Academic works Immanuel Kant Beck is most noted for his research into the collective writings of the German philosopher
Immanuel Kant. Included among his publications is a translation of Kant's extensive "
Critique of Pure Reason" in 1949. His comprehensive work, ''A Commentary on Kant's Critique of Practical Reason'' (1960) was praised by Professor A. R. C. Duncan at
Queen's University as "an unquestionably first-rate piece of Kantian scholarship which ranks along with the great German, French, and British commentaries on Kant." In addition, he has been cited in
Kant-Studien as one of the first scholars in the Anglo-Saxon tradition to compile a comprehensive review of early German philosophy before Kant and clarifying Kant's work within such a historical context. Beck also asserted that Kant's
Critique of Practical Reason has been largely neglected by modern readers and sometimes supplanted in the minds of many scholars by the
Foundations of the Metaphysics of Morals. He claimed that a complete understanding of Kant's moral philosophy is most easily attained by reviewing Kant's "second critique" which puts forth an analysis of the concepts of both freedom and practical reason. In his ''A Commentary on Kant's Critique of Practical Reason'' (1961) Beck asserts that Kant's "second critique" serves to weave these divers strands into a unified pattern for his theory on moral authority in general. In addition, Beck argues that Kant revised his initial resolution of the antimony between the two concepts of freedom and determinism which was first presented in the
Critique of Pure Reason. In Beck's view, this revision emerges in Kant's resolution of the "Antimony of Teleological Judgment" which is presented in his "third critique", the
Critique of the Power of Judgment (1790). Beck also traced the development of the "antimony of pure reason," which Kant described as "the most singular phenomenon of human reason." Beck observed that Kant's development of the "
antiinomy" may have been influenced by its use in jurisprudence, biblical exegesis, and the antinomic mode of argument employed by the Greek philosopher
Zeno. Such a "skeptical method" avoids the objective of resolving a conflict between opposing assertions by favoring one assertion over another. Instead, it emphasizes an investigation into whether the object of the controversy itself is deceptive in nature. Beck cites the second chapter of the Transcendental Dialectic in the
Critique of Pure Reason to argue that Kant's development of the antimony played a central role in his effort, "to dispel the illusion that pure reason can give knowledge of what lies beyond the limits of sensory perception" while asserting that "the world we experience is not and does not contain a thing in itself but is only phenomenal." He then traces the influence of Kant's antimonies on the works of later philosophers including
Charles Renouvier and
Nicolai Hartmann.
Secular philosophy In his
Six Secular Philosophers (1966, Rev. 1997), Beck also endeavored to explore the general characteristics of a secular philosophy and whether such a philosophy can be formulated to accommodate religious beliefs and values. Beck observed that while an exact or precise conceptualization of a secular philosophy might be elusive, a secular philosophy is likely to require an appeal to an independence of thought. In Beck's view it should also incorporate certain aspects of religious thought as well. With this in mind, Beck identified several "families" of secular philosophers. In his first group Beck calls our attention to philosophers who placed limits on the scope, validity and content of religious belief by an appeal to scientific and philosophic endeavors. He identifies
Baruch Spinoza,
David Hume and Kant in this grouping. In his second grouping, Beck identified
Friedrich Nietzsche,
William James and
George Santayana, each of whom explored the relationship of religious values in general to other values in life. Beck asserted that Kant ultimately could not embrace Spinoza's embrace of
substance or his appeal to
monism. According to Beck, Kant agreed instead with Hume that a scientific interpretation of nature cannot serve by itself to confirm religious belief. According to Beck, Kant also parted ways with Hume, however, by insisting that a different rational basis for religious thought can be found in mankind's moral consciousness. He further suggests that while
Skinnerian Behaviorism may serve as a rich model for psychology, "whatever plausibility the
machine theory has- and it has much plausibility and is a rich model for psychology and neurology- it gains by being associated with a
self-exemption clause". Beck also embarks upon an exploration of several topics in his book including the nature of thought, human behavior and the nature of
free will.
Conscious and unconscious motives Beck's scholarly publications also reflect his interest in philosophical topics which are not prima facia directly related to the works of Immanuel Kant. In 1966 he published a detailed philosophical examination of the characteristics of mankind's conscious and unconscious motives entitled
Conscious and Unconscious Motives. In 1968, he also collaborated with his colleague
Robert L. Holmes at the University of Rochester in the book
Philosophic Inquiry: An Introduction to Philosophy. In this work, Beck traces the evolution of philosophical speculation concerning the presence of intelligent
extraterrestrial life forms starting with the ancient writings of
Lucretius,
Plutarch and
Aristotle, to the contributions made by
Copernicus and culminating in the modern age within the works
Darwin, Immanuel Kant,
William Whewell and
Marx. He argues that our ancestors in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries were plagued by a profound pessimism over the decline of the natural world due to mankind's sinfulness and consequently sought redemption by searching for the presence of "higher beings" within the universe. Similarly, in modern times, mankind's despair and technological shock is due in part to his pollution of the natural world and in part due to repeated failures of moral belief. Complicating matters further, Beck notes that, "the only species on earth which prides itself on its intelligence is the only one with the intelligence necessary, and possibly sufficient, to render itself extinct tomorrow." He argues further that deeply seated religious, philosophical and existential beliefs are serving to perpetuate the comforting archetypal idea that mankind is not alone in the universe. Beck concludes on an optimistic note, however, by suggesting that while the quest for other or superior forms of life in the universe may not prove successful, it may yield beneficial consequences by assisting mankind in the actualization of better ways of life here on Earth.
Man as creator Beck was also intrigued by the concept of "man as a creator". His analysis of the history of philosophy within the Western tradition, traces the dynamic interaction of Kant's idea of the "land of truth", in which man's creativity evolves within the context of his search for knowledge, with the creative idea of an "unknowable beyond", which was first cultivated by philosophers of the ancient world. In Beck's view, the
Platonic idea of a creative yet hidden ultimate reality now functions as a more dominant paradigm in the form of a
nervus probandi within our modern systems of thought and ethical values. He notes that three responses to such a paradigm shift have emerged. In the first, philosophers deny the existence of such a transcendent "unknowable beyond" by asserting that it is merely the product of human imagination which can be easily dismissed. As examples, Beck cites the works of
Karl Marx,
Friedrich Nietzsche, and various
positivistic scholars. The second possible response has been adopted by scholars who accept that such a hidden reality exists and that it can be known through either philosophical reasoning,
mystical insight or a combination of both. As examples, Beck points to the works of both Plato and
Georg Hegel. Lastly, Beck observes yet a third response incorporates the assertion that such an "unknowable beyond" may exist but that mankind is "indefeasibly" ignorant of it. Beck argues that
Thomas Acquinas,
Blaise Pascal,
Søren Kierkegaard,
William James and
Immanuel Kant all adopt variations on this theme In this view, man is a creator of order only within narrow limits and cannot acquire definitive knowledge of the "unknowable beyond." Nevertheless, such a realm is clearly of paramount
existential importance. Therefore, instead of professing "knowledge" of its existence, mankind is advised to knowingly acknowledge his ignorance and affirm its existence purely as an act of faith. Beck himself seems partial to this view when he gently reminds his readers that: : "It is not my place to tell you whether there is indefeasible ignorance of ultimate reality. I am ignorant of whether there is or is not. But you should think of these things because there are no things more important, though there are no questions more difficult or less answerable. But one's whole life may be changed if one changes his mind about these questions."
Causal and rational explanations An additional central theme which emerges in several of Beck's philosophical writings is the importance of recognizing the distinction between a
causal explanation of both natural events and human behavior, as contrasted with a
rational explanation or
justification of human actions. In Beck's view, these constitute two entirely different perspectives on essentially the same subject matter. Consequently, neither view can claim to be metaphysically superior in its nature when compared to the alternate view. Stated more simply, causal explanations of human behavior when considered on one hand and rational assessments of actions when considered on the other hand, are rendered compatible with each other only by the recognition that they represent a regulative ideal in mankind's conduct of inquiry. In short, Beck's resolution of the apparent incompatibility of these two ideals illustrates the profound influence of Kant's work on his own philosophical perspective.
Honours In addition to receiving fellowships from the
Rosenwald Fund in 1937, ==Selected publications==