Sensen Kant on Human Dignity

1. Auflage 2011
ISBN: 978-3-11-026716-7
Verlag: De Gruyter
Format: PDF
Kopierschutz: 1 - PDF Watermark

E-Book, Englisch, Band 166, 242 Seiten

Reihe: Kantstudien-ErgänzungshefteISSN

Immanuel Kant is often considered to be the source of the contemporary idea of human dignity, but his conception of human dignity and its relation to human value and to the requirement to respect others have not been widely understood. Kant on Human Dignity offers the first in-depth study in English of this subject. Based on a comprehensive analysis of all the passages in which Kant uses the term ‘dignity’, as well as an analysis of the most prominent arguments for a value of human beings in the Kant literature, the book carefully examines different ways of construing the relationship between dignity, value and respect for others. It takes seriously Kant’s Copernican Revolution in moral philosophy: Kant argues that moral imperatives cannot be based on any values without yielding heteronomy. Instead it is imperatives of reason that determine what is valuable. The requirement to respect all human beings is one such imperative. Respect for human beings does not follow from human dignity—for this would violate autonomy—but is an unconditional command of reason. Following this train of thought yields a unified account of Kant’s moral philosophy.

Zielgruppe

Academics, Institutes, Libraries, Human Rights Lawyers and Activists

Autoren/Hrsg.

Sensen, Oliver

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Geschichte der Westlichen Philosophie Westliche Philosophie: Aufklärung
• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Geschichte der Westlichen Philosophie Westliche Philosophie: 18. Jahrhundert
• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Ethik, Moralphilosophie

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1;Acknowledgments;9
2;Abbreviations;11
3;Introduction;13
4;Part I Respect for Others;21
4.1;Chapter 1: Kant’s Conception of Value;26
4.1.1;Introduction;26
4.1.2;Section 1: Kant on Value as a Property;26
4.1.3;Section 2: Kant’s Argument Against Value as a Foundation;35
4.1.4;Section 3: Alternative Conceptions of Value;39
4.1.5;Section 4: Kant’s Conception of Absolute Inner Value;44
4.1.6;Section 5: The Appearance of ‘Value’ in Kant’s Works;51
4.1.7;Conclusion;63
4.2;Chapter 2: The Value of Humanity;65
4.2.1;Introduction;65
4.2.2;Section 1: Korsgaard’s Regress Argument;67
4.2.3;Section 2: Korsgaard’s Modified Argument;81
4.2.4;Section 3: Allen Wood’s Modified Regress Argument;87
4.2.5;Section 4: Guyer on the Value of Freedom;91
4.2.6;Section 5: The Value of a Morally Good Will;99
4.2.7;Results of this Chapter;107
4.3;Chapter 3: Kant’s Formula of Humanity;108
4.3.1;Introduction;108
4.3.2;Section 1: The Formula of Humanity Passage (GMS 4:427–9);109
4.3.3;Section 2: The Justification for Respect;125
4.3.4;Section 3: The Application of the Formula of Humanity;130
4.3.5;Section 4: The Emptiness Objection;147
4.3.6;Conclusion;152
5;Part II Kant’s Conception of Dignity;153
5.1;Chapter 4: Three Paradigms of Dignity;158
5.1.1;Introduction;158
5.1.2;Section 1: The Contemporary Paradigm of Dignity;159
5.1.3;Section 2: The Traditional Paradigm of Dignity;164
5.1.4;Section 3: The Differences Between the Two Conceptions;173
5.1.5;Section 4: Kant and the Traditional Paradigm;176
5.1.6;Concluding Remarks;185
5.2;Chapter 5: Kant’s Conception of Human Dignity;186
5.2.1;Introduction;186
5.2.2;Section 1: The Appearance of ‘Dignity’ in Kant’s Works;189
5.2.3;Section 2: Dignity in the Groundwork;192
5.2.4;Section 3: Dignity in the Doctrine of Virtue;203
5.2.5;Section 4: The Relevance of Kant’s Conception of Dignity;214
5.2.6;Concluding Remarks;223
6;Conclusion;225
7;References;227
8;Author Index;237
9;Subject Index;241

Über Autor(innen)

Oliver Sensen, Tulane University, New Orleans, USA.