Kant's Groundwork for the metaphysics of morals : reader's guide / Paul Guyer.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Guyer, Paul, 1948-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Kant, Immanuel, 1724-1804. Grundlegung zur Metaphysik der Sitten.

Kant, Immanuel.

Ethics.

Physical Description:

viii, 186 pages ; 22 cm

Place of Publication:

London ; New York : Continuum, 2007.

Summary:

Kant is probably the philosopher who best typifies the thought and ideals of the Enlightenment. He was influenced by the modern physics of Newton the rationalist perfectionism of Leibniz and Wolff, the critical empiricism of Locke and Hume, and Rousseau's celebration of liberty and individualism; his work can be seen partly as an attempt to combine and synthesize these various ideas. He first expounded his moral vision in the Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals (1785), the seminal work of modern moral philosophy in which he introduced his infamous 'categorical imperative'. Paul Guyer's Reader's Guide will help readers find their way in this brilliant but dense and sometimes baffling work.

Contents:

1 Context 1

2 Overview of themes 10

3 Reading the text: Preface 23

4 Reading the text: Section I. From the Good Will to the Formula of Universal Law 36

5 Reading the text: Section II. Formulating the Categorical Imperative 66

6 Reading the text: Section III. The Categorical Imperative Applies to Us 146.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780826484536

0826484530

0826484549

9780826484543

OCLC:

81453240