Kantian Right and the Categorical Imperative: Response to Willaschek

International Journal of Philosophical Studies 20 (4):541-556 (2012)
  Copy   BIBTEX

Abstract

Abstract In his 2009 article "Right and Coercion," Marcus Willaschek argues that the Categorical Imperative and the Universal Principle of Right are conceptually independent of one another because (1) the concept of right and the authorization to use coercion are analytically connected in Kant's "Doctrine of Right", but (2) the authorization to coerce cannot be derived from the Categorical Imperative. Given that the principle of right just is a principle of authorized coercion, the fact that the authorization to coerce cannot be derived from the Categorical Imperative implies that the Principle of Right cannot be derived from the Categorical Imperative. Against this claim, I first argue that a satisfactory deduction of the concept of right can be constructed out of the Categorical Imperative, the fact that we are embodied, and the fact that we act from motives other than duty. I then argue that the insufficiency of the Categorical Imperative, by itself, to generate the Principle of Right does not prevent us from interpreting the Principle of Right as a specification of the Categorical Imperative. I develop this point by means of an analogy with Kant's discussion of the moral law and the Categorical Imperative in the Groundwork.

Links

PhilArchive



    Upload a copy of this work     Papers currently archived: 79,971

External links

Setup an account with your affiliations in order to access resources via your University's proxy server

Through your library

Similar books and articles

Right and Coercion: Can Kant’s Conception of Right be Derived from his Moral Theory?Marcus Willaschek - 2009 - International Journal of Philosophical Studies 17 (1):49 – 70.
Kant on Criminal Punishment.Douglas Lind - 1994 - Journal of Philosophical Research 19:61-74.
Eternal Recurrence and the Categorical Imperative.Philip J. Kain - 2007 - Southern Journal of Philosophy 45 (1):105-116.
The Non-Derivability of Kantian Right from the Categorical Imperative: A Response to Nance.Marcus Willaschek - 2012 - International Journal of Philosophical Studies 20 (4):557-564.
Kant's Conception of Inner Value.Oliver Sensen - 2011 - European Journal of Philosophy 19 (2):262-280.
Unifying the Categorical Imperative.Marcus Arvan - 2012 - Southwest Philosophy Review 28 (1):217-225.

Analytics

Added to PP
2012-10-16

Downloads
62 (#202,910)

6 months
1 (#478,598)

Historical graph of downloads
How can I increase my downloads?

Author's Profile

Michael Nance
University of Maryland, Baltimore County

Citations of this work

No citations found.

Add more citations

References found in this work

Kant.Paul Guyer - 2006 - New York: Routledge.
Kant.Paul Guyer - 2007 - Tijdschrift Voor Filosofie 69 (4):767-767.

Add more references