In his early writings, Kant regarded the autonomy of the will as the supreme principle of moralit... more In his early writings, Kant regarded the autonomy of the will as the supreme principle of morality, as well as the sole principle of all moral laws and of the duties conforming to them. Nevertheless, this impressively sounding principle gradually disappeared from the later Kant’s texts, and there is not much in the literature to explain why. Pauline Kleingeld’s purpose, in the two articles I consider here, is to address this lacuna and to show that there are good philosophical reasons for this principle’s gradual disappearance from the Kantian framework. One of my aims, in this paper, is to formulate and argue for several reservations about Kleingeld’s argument; however, even if these reservations turn out to be apposite, my claim is not that Kant did not actually abandon the Principle of Autonomy; instead, I argue that, even if Kleingeld were right and Kant had abandoned the Principle of Autonomy, he would still not have needed to.
espanolDurante decadas, los teoricos interesados en la discusion de Kant sobre el bienestar han e... more espanolDurante decadas, los teoricos interesados en la discusion de Kant sobre el bienestar han estudiado la postura de Kant sobre la cuestion de la redistribucion de bienes en la sociedad. Lo han hecho tanto para aclarar su postura como para una fuente de inspiracion para problemas conceptuales actuales, frente a filosofos politicos contemporaneos que intentan reconciliar el ideal de la libertad igualitaria con la necesaria interferencia asimetrica para la redistribucion y la provision social. En este articulo, comienzo por la breve discusion kantiana sobre el estado del bienestar en la Doctrina del derecho e identifico cuatro premisas que Kant afirmo con claridad como caracteristicas de su postura. Posteriormente, propongo las cinco vias interpretativas principales en la interpretacion de la obra de Kant, las evaluo y las ordeno. La interpretacion mas acertada de la justificacion kantiana del bienestar, que llamo la postura “genuinamente kantiana” no llega a explicar, sin embargo,...
The secular interpretation of Kant is widespread and Kant is viewed as the most prestigious found... more The secular interpretation of Kant is widespread and Kant is viewed as the most prestigious founding father of liberal secularism. At the same time, however, commentators note that Kant’s position on secularism is in fact much more complex, and some go as far as to talk about an ambiguous secularism in his work. This paper defends a refined version of the secular interpretation. According to this refined version, Kant can offer a limited, political secularism on the basis of a simple argument which focuses on the distinct epistemic statuses of political and religious claims; however, the paper argues, a more general secularism is unwarranted on the basis of the same argument. If my argument is correct, then it will account at least in part for the plurality of interpretations. Moreover, any further attempt to show that Kant’s relation to secularism is ambiguous or dismissive should take into consideration the argument from epistemic grounds presented here.
English Abstract: Usually associated with a view of freedom as absolute, Sartre’s philosophy seem... more English Abstract: Usually associated with a view of freedom as absolute, Sartre’s philosophy seems particularly able to account for the indeterminacy that we experience today in most areas of human experience that have a normative dimension. Without denying that this is a plausible reading, it will be argued here that it is nevertheless a problematic interpretation. On this reading, existentialism seems unable to account for the fact that we are powerfully conditioned by a significant number of factors, which limit our freedom and, in certain situations, make emancipation a normative requirement. It is held here that this problem can be addressed and a less problematic interpretation of Sartre can be defended, once we start to acknowledge that in Sartre we have a variety of notions of freedom that can provide a robust account of our freedom, of authentic choice and of responsibility.Spanish Abstract: Habitualmente asociada a una vision de la libertad como un concepto absoluto, la fi...
The Conclusion to Cosmopolitan Right is in fact also the conclusion to Public right, which is the... more The Conclusion to Cosmopolitan Right is in fact also the conclusion to Public right, which is the second and final part of the Doctrine of Right. That Kant talks about perpetual peace in the concluding part of Rechtslehre is not surprising, since perpetual peace, as the highest political good, is supposed to be “the entire final end of the doctrine of right within the limits of mere reason”. (MM 6: 355)
In spite of its dominance, there are well-known problems with Rawls’s method of reflective equili... more In spite of its dominance, there are well-known problems with Rawls’s method of reflective equilibrium (MRE), as a method of justification in meta-ethics. One issue in particular has preoccupied commentators, namely, the capacity of this method to provide a convincing account of the objectivity of our moral beliefs. Call this the Lack-of-Objectivity Charge. One aim of this article is to examine the charge within the context of Rawls’s later philosophy, and I claim that the lack-of-objectivity charge remains unanswered. A second aim of this article is to examine the extent to which, despite Rawls’s express intention to avoid reliance on Kant’s moral philosophy, supplementing Rawls’s political constructivism with some Kantian elements, in particular Kant’s idea of a universal principle of right, not only addresses some of the issues raised by the lack-of-objectivity charge, but also does so without compromising the ability of the Rawlsian account to accommodate the pluralism of concep...
In his recent book,The Evolution of Modern Metaphysics, Adrian W. Moore takes Kant to play a cruc... more In his recent book,The Evolution of Modern Metaphysics, Adrian W. Moore takes Kant to play a crucial role in the evolution of modern philosophy; yet, for him, Kant’s metaphysics is ultimately and profoundly unsatisfactory. In this article, I examine several of Moore’s objections and provide replies. My claim is that Moore’s reading points to fundamental issues, yet these are not issues of Kant’s transcendental idealism, but of the traditional idealism his view has often been taken to represent.
In this chapter, I would like to defend the claim of a deep similarity between Kant’s transcenden... more In this chapter, I would like to defend the claim of a deep similarity between Kant’s transcendental unity of apperception and Sartre’s non-reflective consciousness of self.2 The claim is not simply of historical interest, although this by itself I think would be sufficient to justify its importance; I take this claim to have also considerable systematic significance. Thus, my motivation for the development of a detailed discussion of Kant’s and Sartre’s philosophical views is given by the prospect of formulating the outline of a critical ethics which would combine the attractive elements of Kant’s and Sartre’s theories. I take the deep similarities between Kant’s transcendental unity of apperception and Sartre’s non-reflective consciousness of self to be important, since they provide the necessary and sufficient condition for an important aspect of accountability.
Our already acquired attitudes, beliefs and virtues considerably inform the way in which we formu... more Our already acquired attitudes, beliefs and virtues considerably inform the way in which we formulate principles of toleration. For they affect our understanding of the needs, views and practices of other groups, and, as a result, they also affect our conception of how those ...
ABSTRACT The aim of this paper is threefold. First, I critically examine two dominant Kantian vie... more ABSTRACT The aim of this paper is threefold. First, I critically examine two dominant Kantian views of practical justification and argue that they cannot provide an appropriate account of the normative force of moral and political principles. Secondly, as the main reason for these unsuccessful attempts, I identify a certain (by now standard) interpretation of Kant's account of practical judgement. Finally, I point to some of the differences between this interpretation and Kant's own claims on practical judgement, in order to suggest an alternative approach; I also note the tension between slogans, like ‘political, not metaphysical” or ‘we must stay philosophically on the surface’, on the one hand, and, on the other, the appeal this alternative approach must make to some elements of Kant's metaphysics.
In his early writings, Kant regarded the autonomy of the will as the supreme principle of moralit... more In his early writings, Kant regarded the autonomy of the will as the supreme principle of morality, as well as the sole principle of all moral laws and of the duties conforming to them. Nevertheless, this impressively sounding principle gradually disappeared from the later Kant’s texts, and there is not much in the literature to explain why. Pauline Kleingeld’s purpose, in the two articles I consider here, is to address this lacuna and to show that there are good philosophical reasons for this principle’s gradual disappearance from the Kantian framework. One of my aims, in this paper, is to formulate and argue for several reservations about Kleingeld’s argument; however, even if these reservations turn out to be apposite, my claim is not that Kant did not actually abandon the Principle of Autonomy; instead, I argue that, even if Kleingeld were right and Kant had abandoned the Principle of Autonomy, he would still not have needed to.
espanolDurante decadas, los teoricos interesados en la discusion de Kant sobre el bienestar han e... more espanolDurante decadas, los teoricos interesados en la discusion de Kant sobre el bienestar han estudiado la postura de Kant sobre la cuestion de la redistribucion de bienes en la sociedad. Lo han hecho tanto para aclarar su postura como para una fuente de inspiracion para problemas conceptuales actuales, frente a filosofos politicos contemporaneos que intentan reconciliar el ideal de la libertad igualitaria con la necesaria interferencia asimetrica para la redistribucion y la provision social. En este articulo, comienzo por la breve discusion kantiana sobre el estado del bienestar en la Doctrina del derecho e identifico cuatro premisas que Kant afirmo con claridad como caracteristicas de su postura. Posteriormente, propongo las cinco vias interpretativas principales en la interpretacion de la obra de Kant, las evaluo y las ordeno. La interpretacion mas acertada de la justificacion kantiana del bienestar, que llamo la postura “genuinamente kantiana” no llega a explicar, sin embargo,...
The secular interpretation of Kant is widespread and Kant is viewed as the most prestigious found... more The secular interpretation of Kant is widespread and Kant is viewed as the most prestigious founding father of liberal secularism. At the same time, however, commentators note that Kant’s position on secularism is in fact much more complex, and some go as far as to talk about an ambiguous secularism in his work. This paper defends a refined version of the secular interpretation. According to this refined version, Kant can offer a limited, political secularism on the basis of a simple argument which focuses on the distinct epistemic statuses of political and religious claims; however, the paper argues, a more general secularism is unwarranted on the basis of the same argument. If my argument is correct, then it will account at least in part for the plurality of interpretations. Moreover, any further attempt to show that Kant’s relation to secularism is ambiguous or dismissive should take into consideration the argument from epistemic grounds presented here.
English Abstract: Usually associated with a view of freedom as absolute, Sartre’s philosophy seem... more English Abstract: Usually associated with a view of freedom as absolute, Sartre’s philosophy seems particularly able to account for the indeterminacy that we experience today in most areas of human experience that have a normative dimension. Without denying that this is a plausible reading, it will be argued here that it is nevertheless a problematic interpretation. On this reading, existentialism seems unable to account for the fact that we are powerfully conditioned by a significant number of factors, which limit our freedom and, in certain situations, make emancipation a normative requirement. It is held here that this problem can be addressed and a less problematic interpretation of Sartre can be defended, once we start to acknowledge that in Sartre we have a variety of notions of freedom that can provide a robust account of our freedom, of authentic choice and of responsibility.Spanish Abstract: Habitualmente asociada a una vision de la libertad como un concepto absoluto, la fi...
The Conclusion to Cosmopolitan Right is in fact also the conclusion to Public right, which is the... more The Conclusion to Cosmopolitan Right is in fact also the conclusion to Public right, which is the second and final part of the Doctrine of Right. That Kant talks about perpetual peace in the concluding part of Rechtslehre is not surprising, since perpetual peace, as the highest political good, is supposed to be “the entire final end of the doctrine of right within the limits of mere reason”. (MM 6: 355)
In spite of its dominance, there are well-known problems with Rawls’s method of reflective equili... more In spite of its dominance, there are well-known problems with Rawls’s method of reflective equilibrium (MRE), as a method of justification in meta-ethics. One issue in particular has preoccupied commentators, namely, the capacity of this method to provide a convincing account of the objectivity of our moral beliefs. Call this the Lack-of-Objectivity Charge. One aim of this article is to examine the charge within the context of Rawls’s later philosophy, and I claim that the lack-of-objectivity charge remains unanswered. A second aim of this article is to examine the extent to which, despite Rawls’s express intention to avoid reliance on Kant’s moral philosophy, supplementing Rawls’s political constructivism with some Kantian elements, in particular Kant’s idea of a universal principle of right, not only addresses some of the issues raised by the lack-of-objectivity charge, but also does so without compromising the ability of the Rawlsian account to accommodate the pluralism of concep...
In his recent book,The Evolution of Modern Metaphysics, Adrian W. Moore takes Kant to play a cruc... more In his recent book,The Evolution of Modern Metaphysics, Adrian W. Moore takes Kant to play a crucial role in the evolution of modern philosophy; yet, for him, Kant’s metaphysics is ultimately and profoundly unsatisfactory. In this article, I examine several of Moore’s objections and provide replies. My claim is that Moore’s reading points to fundamental issues, yet these are not issues of Kant’s transcendental idealism, but of the traditional idealism his view has often been taken to represent.
In this chapter, I would like to defend the claim of a deep similarity between Kant’s transcenden... more In this chapter, I would like to defend the claim of a deep similarity between Kant’s transcendental unity of apperception and Sartre’s non-reflective consciousness of self.2 The claim is not simply of historical interest, although this by itself I think would be sufficient to justify its importance; I take this claim to have also considerable systematic significance. Thus, my motivation for the development of a detailed discussion of Kant’s and Sartre’s philosophical views is given by the prospect of formulating the outline of a critical ethics which would combine the attractive elements of Kant’s and Sartre’s theories. I take the deep similarities between Kant’s transcendental unity of apperception and Sartre’s non-reflective consciousness of self to be important, since they provide the necessary and sufficient condition for an important aspect of accountability.
Our already acquired attitudes, beliefs and virtues considerably inform the way in which we formu... more Our already acquired attitudes, beliefs and virtues considerably inform the way in which we formulate principles of toleration. For they affect our understanding of the needs, views and practices of other groups, and, as a result, they also affect our conception of how those ...
ABSTRACT The aim of this paper is threefold. First, I critically examine two dominant Kantian vie... more ABSTRACT The aim of this paper is threefold. First, I critically examine two dominant Kantian views of practical justification and argue that they cannot provide an appropriate account of the normative force of moral and political principles. Secondly, as the main reason for these unsuccessful attempts, I identify a certain (by now standard) interpretation of Kant's account of practical judgement. Finally, I point to some of the differences between this interpretation and Kant's own claims on practical judgement, in order to suggest an alternative approach; I also note the tension between slogans, like ‘political, not metaphysical” or ‘we must stay philosophically on the surface’, on the one hand, and, on the other, the appeal this alternative approach must make to some elements of Kant's metaphysics.
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