Understanding Kant's Ethics

A systematic guide to Kant's ethical work and the debates surrounding it, accessible to students and specialists alike.

Michael Cholbi (Author)

9781316615225, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 31 October 2016

242 pages, 8 tables
22.8 x 15.2 x 1.5 cm, 0.36 kg

'Cholbi's book is well written, well-structured, clearly argued and touches upon most of the important aspects of Kant's moral philosophy. Cholbi also provides systematically argued responses to some of the most common objections to and criticisms of Kant's ethics, and convincingly shows that and why Kant's moral theory (or at least a distinctively Kantian approach to and understanding of ethics) is still worthy of continued philosophical interest and respect. Both the philosophy student and the advanced Kant-scholar are thus bound to find something of interest and something to discuss and disagree on in Cholbi's book. And that of course is one of the things which all good introductions should do.' Carsten Fogh Nielsen, Metapsychology (www.metapsychology.mentalhelp.net)

Kant's ethical thought remains one of the most influential, yet notoriously challenging, systems in the history of philosophy. This volume provides a sympathetic but critical reconstruction of the main strands of Kant's ethics, focusing on the most commonly read of Kant's ethical works, the Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals. Part I outlines Kant's arguments in defense of his Categorical Imperative, as well as elaborating Kant's understanding of dignity and human freedom. Part II addresses the most common objections to Kant's ethics, including challenges to the Formula of Universal Law; Kant's controversial ethical stances on suicide, sex and marriage, and non-human animals; and the place of reason, sentiment, and happiness in Kant's ethics. For scholars and specialists alike, the volume offers a clear and accessible account of what Kantian morality both offers us and asks of us.

Preface
Introduction
Part I: 1. Kant's pursuit of the supreme principle of morality
2. The Categorical Imperative and the Kantian theory of value, part I
3. The Categorical Imperative and the Kantian theory of value, part II
4. Dignity
5. Freedom, reason, and the possibility of the Categorical Imperative
Part II: 6. Objections to the Formula of Universal Law
7. Three problems in Kant's practical ethics
8. Reason and sentiment: Kantian ethics in a good human life
Conclusion.

Subject Areas: Ethics & moral philosophy [HPQ], Western philosophy: c 1600 to c 1900 [HPCD], Philosophy [HP]