Kant's Search for the Supreme Principle of Morality

This book investigates the claim that there can only be one principle of morality, the categorical imperative.

Samuel J. Kerstein (Author)

9780521009270, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 9 June 2005

244 pages
23.5 x 15.8 x 1.8 cm, 0.477 kg

'… the author joins the discussion of the grounds for a moral theory that has preoccupied philosophers for some time, and advances that discussion significantly further. This is a book that will be required reading for those interested in that topic of Kant's moral theory.' Roger Sullivan, author of Immanuel Kant's Moral Theory and An Introduction to Kant's Ethics

At the core of Kant's ethics lies the claim that if there is a supreme principle of morality then it cannot be a principle based on utilitarianism or Aristotelian perfectionism or the Ten Commandments. The only viable candidate for such a principle is the categorical imperative. This book is the most detailed investigation of this claim. It constructs a new, criterial reading of Kant's derivation of one version of the categorical imperative: the Formula of Universal Law. This reading shows this derivation to be far more compelling than contemporary philosophers tend to believe. It also reveals a novel approach to deriving another version of the categorical imperative, the Formula of Humanity, a principle widely considered to be the most attractive Kantian candidate for the supreme principle of morality. This book will be important not just for Kant scholars but for a broad swathe of students of philosophy.

Acknowledgments
Key to abbreviations and translations
Introduction: derivation, deduction, and the supreme principle of morality
1. Fundamental concepts in Kant's theory of agency
2. Transcendental freedom and the derivation of the formula of universal law
3. The derivation of the formula of humanity
4. The derivation of the formula of universal law: a criterial reading
5. Criteria for the supreme principle of morality
6. Duty and moral worth
7. Eliminating rivals to the categorical imperative
8. Conclusions: Kant's candidates for the supreme principle of morality
Notes
Index.

Subject Areas: Western philosophy: Enlightenment [HPCD1]