Kant infamously claimed that all human beings, without exception, are evil by nature. This collection of essays critically examines and elucidates what he must have meant by this indictment. It shows the role which evil plays in his overall philosophical project and analyses its relation to individual autonomy. Furthermore, it explores the relevance of Kant's views for understanding contemporary questions such as crimes against humanity and moral reconstruction. Leading scholars in the field engage a wide range of sources from which a distinctly Kantian theory of evil emerges, both subtle and robust, and capable of shedding light on the complex dynamics of human immorality.
Author(s): Sharon Anderson-Gold, Pablo Muchnik
Edition: 1
Year: 2010
Language: English
Pages: 264
Half-title......Page 3
Title......Page 5
Copyright......Page 6
Contents......Page 7
Abbreviations......Page 12
Introduction: Sharon Anderson-Gold and Pablo Muchnik......Page 15
I......Page 16
II......Page 19
III......Page 22
IV......Page 24
Introduction......Page 27
Evil and the Relentless “Why” of Reason......Page 30
The unity of Reason: Finding Home on Fractured Ground......Page 37
Freedom: The Sturdy Fragility of Practical Reason......Page 41
2 Kantian Moral Pessimism......Page 47
1. Situationism and Optimism......Page 48
2. Optimistic Neo-Kantianism......Page 52
3. Kant’s Moral Pessimism......Page 62
4. Conclusion......Page 69
I......Page 71
II......Page 73
III......Page 75
IV......Page 82
V......Page 85
1. Prologue......Page 88
2. The Excluded Middle......Page 91
3. Evils vs. Lesser Wrongs......Page 97
4. Two Ways to Lack Unity in the Will......Page 101
5. Gray Zones......Page 105
5 Evil Everywhere: The Ordinariness of Kantian Radical Evil......Page 107
Explanatory Impotence and Human Freedom......Page 109
Self-Love and the Moral Law......Page 113
Diabolical Evil and Moral Responsibility......Page 117
Anthropology and the Universality of Evil......Page 122
6 An Alternative Proof of the Universal Propensity to Evil......Page 130
A Brief Genealogy of Evil’s Radicalism......Page 132
“Natural Dialectic” Naturalized......Page 135
Practical Illusion......Page 138
The Need of a Formal Proof......Page 139
Kant’s Dilemma:......Page 141
Conceptual Stratification......Page 146
Kant’s Failed Deduction......Page 147
The Challenge of Teleology......Page 149
A Failure in Subordination......Page 152
Conclusion......Page 154
7 Kant and the Intelligibility of Evil......Page 158
Introduction......Page 187
Society as a Necessary Condition for Evil......Page 188
Reinterpreting Kant’s Social Story......Page 190
Evil Propensities and Evil Actions......Page 192
The Social, Kantian-style......Page 196
Individually Evil Acts......Page 201
Socially Evil Acts......Page 203
3. Conclusion......Page 208
Introduction......Page 209
The “Inhumanity” of Genocide......Page 210
Genocide as an “International” Crime......Page 211
Extended Self-Love and the Propensity to Evil......Page 213
Shared Responsibility for Collective Evils......Page 219
Cosmopolitan Right and Ethical Community......Page 225
Conclusion......Page 227
10 Unforgivable Sins?: Revolution and Reconciliation in Kant......Page 229
Select bibliography......Page 250
Index......Page 256
