Cunning of Reason

The cunning of reason is the strategy by which purposes realize themselves without the agent expending itself. The purpose uses the means: it lets objects act according to their own laws (mechanics, chemism) and thereby achieves its purpose. Example: the human being uses the hammer (means) according to its mechanical laws, instead of striking with the bare hand. Reason is "cunning" because it does not fight directly, but *uses* the inherent logic of objects. This is not a theodicy, but a *structural description*: the good craftsman gets to know his material. The *philosophy-of-history* transfer (Napoleon unintentionally realizes the principles of the revolution) is to be distinguished from this — it can become an apologetic figure if it suggests that reason cosmically asserts itself. We argue in Ch. 16.9 against the reading that makes the human being a "plaything."