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  3. Kant on the Rationality of Morality
  • Cited by 8
Publisher:
Cambridge University Press
Online publication date:
July 2019
Print publication year:
2019
Online ISBN:
9781108529761
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108529761
Subjects:
History of Philosophy, Eighteenth-Century Philosophy, Philosophy Texts, Philosophy
Series:
Elements in the Philosophy of Immanuel Kant
Information

Book description

Kant claims that the fundamental principle of morality is given by pure reason itself. Many have interpreted Kant to derive this principle from a conception of pure practical reason (as opposed to merely prudential reasoning about the most effective means to empirically given ends). But Kant maintained that there is only one faculty of reason, although with both theoretical and practical applications. This Element shows how Kant attempted to derive the fundamental principle and goal of morality from the general principles of reason as such, defined by the principles of non-contradiction and sufficient reason and the ideal of systematicity.

References

Bibliography

A Note on Translation and Citations to the Works of Kant

Translations from Kant’s works are from the Cambridge Edition volumes listed in the Bibliography. On the model of Kant’s own typography, Kant’s emphasis is indicated by boldface. The following abbreviations are used: Anth = Anthropology from a Pragmatic Point of View; CJ = Critique of the Power of Judgment; CPrR = Critique of Practical Reason; CPR = Critique of Pure Reason; G = Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals; JL = Jäsche Logic; MM = Metaphysics of Morals (DV = Doctrine of Virtue/DR = Doctrine of Right); Eth-C = Moral Philosophy Collins; L-NR = Naturrecht Feyerabend; Refl = Reflexion; Rel = Religion within the Boundaries of Mere Reason; TP = “On the Common Saying: That May Be Correct in Theory But It Is of No Use in Practice.” The volume and page numbers of the Akademie edition are used, except for the Critique of Pure Reason, for which the pagination of its first (“A”) and second (“B”) editions are used. Kant used roman type for Latin words; I use italics for those as well as for my own emphasis.

I

I Kant’s Works

Kant, Immanuel (1900–). Kants gesammelte Schriften. Edited by the Royal Prussian (later German, then Berlin-Brandenburg) Academy of Sciences. 29 vols. Berlin: Georg Reimer (later Walter de Gruyter). (Akademie edition)
Kant, Immanuel (1992). Lectures on Logic. Edited and translated by Young, J. Michael. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Kant, Immanuel (1993). Theoretical Philosophy, 1755–1770. Edited and translated by Walford, David E in collaboration with Meerbote, Ralf. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Kant, Immanuel (1996a). Practical Philosophy. Edited and translated by Gregor, Mary J.. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Kant, Immanuel (1996b). Religion and Rational Theology. Edited and translated by Wood, Allen W. and di Giovanni, George. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Kant, Immanuel (1997). Lectures on Ethics. Edited by Heath, Peter and Schneewind, J. B., translated by Peter Heath. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Kant, Immanuel (1998). Critique of Pure Reason. Edited and translated by Guyer, Paul and Wood, Allen W.. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Kant, Immanuel (2000). Critique of the Power of Judgment. Edited by Paul Guyer, translated by Paul Guyer and Eric Matthews. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Kant, Immanuel (2004). Vorlesung zur Moralphilosophie. Edited by Stark, Werner and Kuehn, Manfred. Berlin and New York: Walter de Gruyter.
Kant, Immanuel (2005). Notes and Fragments. Edited by Guyer, Paul, translated by Curtis Bowman, Paul Guyer, and Frederick Rauscher. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Kant, Immanuel (2006). Anthropology, History, and Education. Edited by Louden, Robert B. and Zöller, Günter. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Kant, Immanuel (2016). Lectures and Drafts on Political Philosophy. Edited by Rauscher, Frederick, translated by Frederick Rauscher and Kenneth R. Westphal. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
II

II Other Primary Sources

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Meier, Georg Friedrich (1762–74). Philosophische Sittenlehre. Second, improved edition. 5 vols. Halle: Carl Hermann Hemmerde.
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Meier, Georg Friedrich (2016). Excerpt from the Doctrine of Reason. Trans. Aaron Bunch, in collaboration with Axel Gelfert and Ricardo Pozzo. London: Bloomsbury.
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III

III Secondary Sources

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