Abstract

Kant opened the third section of his Grundlegung zur Metaphysik der Sitten with an argument purporting to show that every free creature is subject to moral laws. The present paper offers a reconstruction of this argument and indicates its problematic points. It shows furthermore which assumptions prevented Kant from noticing these problems: first, the notion that we are, and not just have, reason; second, and more importantly, the idea that lawless freedom is terrible and the source of evil. The latter idea probably derives from theological sources