Faculty of Opposition. The University and the Public Use of Reason in "Der Streit der Fakultäten"

Der Streit der Fakultäten pits the Faculty of Philosophy against the higher faculties of Theology, Law and Medicine. The ministerial function of the latter, at the service of the government, makes them prima facie indisputable, since their expertise is useful both to the state and to society. The former, whose field is basic research, seems useless or even dangerous because it is not at the service of the state. According to Kant, however, a debate about the utility of research would abolish science altogether by electing an arbiter whose rule is not truth, as pursued through a free public use of reason, but utility. He thus turns the question around: how can institutions claim any kind of legitimacy (even political), if they declare that truth is not among their concerns? How can people trust governments or scientific institutions if they declare that (their own) utility is more important than truth?