Journal of Philosophical Research 34:189-214 (2009)
Authors |
|
Abstract |
Kant has often been accused of being far too “optimistic” when it comes to the extremes of evil that humans can perpetrate upon one another. In particular, Kant’s supposed claim that humans cannot choose evil qua evil has struck many people as simply false. Another problem for Kant, or perhaps the same problem in another guise, is his supposed claim that all evil is done for the sake of self-love. While self-love might be a plausible way to explain some instances of evil, it seems to be an implausible way to explain instances where people imprudently act in senselessly destructive and even self-destructive ways. Can Kant handle such extreme cases of moral evil? I shall argue that Kant can handle such cases by: (1) defending Kant’s denial of the possibility of a devilish human being; (2) showing how Kant can conceptually account for agents who choose evil qua evil, and (3) putting Kant’s account of passions to work inorder to understand self-destructive evil
|
Keywords | Kant evil moral psychology |
Categories | (categorize this paper) |
ISBN(s) | 1053-8364 |
DOI | 10.5840/jpr_2009_13 |
Options |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Download options
References found in this work BETA
Critique of Practical Reason.T. D. Weldon, Immanuel Kant & Lewis White Beck - 1949 - Philosophical Review 58 (6):625.
Conjectural Beginning of Human History (1786).Immanuel Kant - 2007 - In Anthropology, History, and Education. Cambridge University Press.
View all 9 references / Add more references
Citations of this work BETA
Is Kant a Moral Constructivist or a Moral Realist?Paul Formosa - 2013 - European Journal of Philosophy 21 (2):170-196.
Philosophy of Education in a New Key: Constraints and Possibilities in Present Times with Regard to Dignity.Klas Roth, Lia Mollvik, Rama Alshoufani, Rebecca Adami, Katy Dineen, Fariba Majlesi, Michael A. Peters & Marek Tesar - 2022 - Educational Philosophy and Theory 54 (8):1147-1161.
The Role of Vulnerability in Kantian Ethics.Paul Formosa - 2014 - In Catriona Mackenzie, Wendy Rogers & Susan Dodds (eds.), Vulnerability: New Essays in Ethics and Feminist Philosophy. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 88-109.
Kant on the Highest Moral-Physical Good: The Social Aspect of Kant's Moral Philosophy.Paul Formosa - 2010 - Kantian Review 15 (1):1-36.
Can Kant’s Theory of Radical Evil Be Saved?Zachary J. Goldberg - 2017 - Kantian Review 22 (3):395-419.
View all 9 citations / Add more citations
Similar books and articles
Kant on Human Nature and Radical Evil.Camille Atkinson - 2007 - Philosophy and Theology 19 (1/2):215-224.
The Contingency of Evil: Rethinking the Problem of Universal Evil in Kant's 'Religion'.Ryan Kemp - 2011 - In Oliver Thorndike (ed.), Rethinking Kant: Volume 3. Cambridge Scholars Press.
“There is None Righteous”: Kant on the Hang Zum Bösen and the Universal Evil of Humanity.Samuel Duncan - 2011 - Southern Journal of Philosophy 49 (2):137-163.
Necessary Evil: Justification, Excuse or Pardon? [REVIEW]Vinit Haksar - 2011 - Criminal Law and Philosophy 5 (3):333-347.
Kant on Radical Evil and the Origin of Moral Responsibility.Irene McMullin - 2013 - Kantian Review 18 (1):49-72.
Moral Evil, Freedom and the Goodness of God: Why Kant Abandoned Theodicy.Sam Duncan - 2012 - British Journal for the History of Philosophy 20 (5):973-991.
Is Radical Evil Banal? Is Banal Evil Radical?Paul Formosa - 2007 - Philosophy and Social Criticism 33 (6):717-735.
Analytics
Added to PP index
2011-12-02
Total views
310 ( #33,833 of 2,504,875 )
Recent downloads (6 months)
61 ( #13,592 of 2,504,875 )
2011-12-02
Total views
310 ( #33,833 of 2,504,875 )
Recent downloads (6 months)
61 ( #13,592 of 2,504,875 )
How can I increase my downloads?
Downloads