Kantian Constructivism and the Sources of Normativity

Kant Yearbook 14 (1):97-120 (2022)
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Abstract

While it is uncontroversial that Kantian constructivism has implications for normative ethics, its status as a metaethical view has been contested. In this article, I provide a characterisation of metaethical Kantian constructivism that withstands these criticisms. I start by offering a partial defence of Sharon Street’s practical standpoint characterisation. However, I argue that this characterisation, as presented by Street, is ultimately incomplete because it fails to demonstrate that the claims of Kantian constructivism constitute a distinctive contribution to metaethics. I then try to complete the practical standpoint characterisation by elaborating on Christine Korsgaard’s suggestion that metaethical Kantian constructivism takes up a position on the source of morality’s normativity.

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Janis David Schaab
Utrecht University

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References found in this work

Kantian constructivism in moral theory.John Rawls - 1980 - Journal of Philosophy 77 (9):515-572.
The Right and the Good.W. D. Ross - 1930 - Philosophy 6 (22):236-240.
Ruling Passions.Simon Blackburn - 1998 - Philosophy 75 (293):454-458.
Constructivism about reasons.Sharon Street - 2008 - Oxford Studies in Metaethics 3:207-45.
The right and the good.W. Ross - 1932 - Revue de Métaphysique et de Morale 39 (2):11-12.

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