Plato through German idealism grounded reason in an objective hierarchy of beings.

Evidence

Great philosophical systems, such as those of Plato and Aristotle, scholasticism, and German idealism were founded on an objective theory of reason. It aimed at evolving a comprehensive system, or hierarchy, of all beings, including man and his aims. The degree of reasonableness of a man’s life could be determined according to its harmony with this totality. Its objective structure, and not just man and his purposes, was to be the measuring rod for individual thoughts and actions. This concept of reason never precluded subjective reason, but regarded the latter as only a partial, limited expression of a universal rationality from which criteria for all things and beings were derived. The emphasis was on ends rather than on means. — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 1457

Categorization

• DEFINE: Definition of objective reason as the tradition running Plato-Aristotle to German idealism, with ends emphasized over means.
• XREF: connects to: Modern reason is subjective and instrumental; objective reason judges larger purposes. — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 1456; German idealism legitimated knowledge by unifying truth and justice in a single subject — Jean-François Lyotard, The Postmodern Condition: A Report on…, 268; Classical philosophy founded reason on harmony with a totality — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 1457 (+9 more)

Broader Connections

• Classical philosophy founded reason on harmony with a totality #qualifies (0.85) — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 1457
• German idealism located the subject of knowledge in a speculative System, not the State #expands (0.82) — Jean-François Lyotard, The Postmodern Condition, 269
• German idealism legitimated knowledge by unifying truth and justice in a single subject #complicates (0.80) — Jean-François Lyotard, The Postmodern Condition, 268
• Escaping monologic reason requires replacing philosophy of consciousness with communicative rationality #responds-to (0.80) — Alex Callinicos, Against Postmodernism, 383
• Philosophy’s plastic activity moves through logic, nature, and spirit #expands (0.78)
• German idealism first introduced the creativity of thought into philosophy #expands (0.75) — Antonio Gramsci, Selections from the Prison Notebooks, 1242