The Rationality of Valuing Oneself: A Critique of Kant on Self-Respect

Journal of the History of Philosophy 35 (1):65-82 (1997)
  Copy   BIBTEX

Abstract

Kant claims that persons have a perfect duty to respect themselves. I argue, first, that Kant’s argument for the duty of self-respect commits him to an implausible view of the nature of self-respect: he must hold that failures of self-respect are either deliberate or matter of self-deception. I argue, second, that this problem cannot be solved by understanding failures of self-respect as failures of rationality because such a view is incompatible with human psychology. Surely it is not irrational for people, especially members of oppressed groups, to view themselves as having diminished moral worth.

Similar books and articles

Kant's ethics and duties to oneself.Lara Denis - 1997 - Pacific Philosophical Quarterly 78 (4):321–348.
Kant's critique of the Leibnizian philosophy : Contra the Leibnizians, but pro Leibniz.Anja Jauernig - 2008 - In Daniel Garber & Béatrice Longuenesse (eds.), Kant and the Early Moderns. Princeton University Press. pp. 41-63 (and 214-223 notes).
Arrogance, self-respect and personhood.Robin S. Dillon - 2007 - Journal of Consciousness Studies 14 (5-6):101-126.
Kant's argument for the autonomy of biology.Clark Zumbach - 1981 - Nature and System 3:67 - 79.
Immanuel Kant, critical assessments.Ruth F. Chadwick (ed.) - 1992 - New York: Routledge.
Kant's Metaphysics of morals: interpetative essays.Mark Timmons (ed.) - 2002 - New York: Oxford University Press.
Hobbesian friendship: Valuing others for oneself.Nancy A. Stanlick - 2002 - Journal of Social Philosophy 33 (3):345–359.
Kant's Ethical Duties and Their Feminist Implications.Lara Denis - 2002 - Canadian Journal of Philosophy, Supplementary Volume 28 (Supplement):157-87.
The uses of hierarchy: Autonomy and valuing.Neil Roughley - 2002 - Philosophical Explorations 5 (3):167 – 185.
Kant, Skepticism, and Moral Sensibility.Owen Ware - 2010 - Dissertation, University of Toronto
Epistemic rationality as instrumental rationality: A critique.Thomas Kelly - 2003 - Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 66 (3):612–640.

Analytics

Added to PP
2012-08-28

Downloads
943 (#13,428)

6 months
423 (#3,467)

Historical graph of downloads
How can I increase my downloads?

Author's Profile

Cynthia A. Stark
University of Utah

Citations of this work

Respect.Robin S. Dillon - 2018 - Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
Kant on Moral Sensibility and Moral Motivation.Owen Ware - 2014 - Journal of the History of Philosophy 52 (4):727-746.
Kant on education and improvement: Themes and problems.Martin Sticker & David Bakhurst - 2021 - Journal of Philosophy of Education 55 (6):909-920.

View all 18 citations / Add more citations

References found in this work

How to Lose Your Self-Respect.Robin S. Dillon - 1992 - American Philosophical Quarterly 29 (2):125 - 139.
The Nature of Respect.Stephen D. Hudson - 1980 - Social Theory and Practice 6 (1):69-90.
Servility and Self-Respect.Thomas E. Hill Jr - 1973 - The Monist 57 (1):87-104.
A critique of personhood.S. F. Sapontzis - 1981 - Ethics 91 (4):607-618.
Kant on self-respect.Stephen J. Massey - 1983 - Journal of the History of Philosophy 21 (1):57-73.

View all 10 references / Add more references