Beyond duty : Kantian ideals of respect, beneficence, and appreciation / Thomas E. Hill, Jr.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Hill, Thomas E., Jr., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Ethics, Modern.

Kant, Immanuel, 1724-1804.

Kant, Immanuel.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xii, 319 pages).

Other Title:

Kantian ideals of respect, beneficence, and appreciation

Place of Publication:

Oxford, United Kingdom : Oxford University Press, 2021.

Summary:

Beyond Duty presents key works on Kantian moral theory and practical ethics from a distinguished Kant scholar and moral philosopher. With a new emphasis on ideals beyond the strictest requirements of moral duty, Thomas E. Hill, Jr. expands the core aspects of Kantian ethics to offer a broader perspective on familiar moral problems.

Contents:

Cover

Beyond Duty: Kantian Ideals of Respect, Beneficence, and Appreciation

Copyright

Contents

Acknowledgments

Part I: Kant and Kantian Perspectives

Part II: Practical Ethics

Abbreviations for Kant's Works

Aims, Abstracts, and Why 'Beyond Duty'?

General Remarks

Why Beyond Duty?

Summary of the Essays

Notes

1: The Groundwork

Background: From the First Critique to the Groundwork

Preface: Aims and Methods

Section One: The Principle of a Good Will

Section Two: Duty Presupposes the Categorical Imperative and Autonomy of the Will

Section Three: Practical Reason Presupposes Autonomy of the Will

Questions of Interpretation

2: Imperfect Duties to Oneself

Background and General Concepts

Ethical duties

Duties to oneself

Imperfect duties

One's Duty to Oneself to Develop One's Natural Powers

The content and latitude of the duty to develop natural powers

The reason for the duty

The role of natural teleology

One's Duty to Oneself to Increase One's Moral Perfection

3: Kantian Autonomy and Contemporary Ideas of Autonomy

Autonomy of the Will in Kant's Moral Theory

Kantian Autonomy as Distinct from Other Influential Conceptions

Common Conceptions of Autonomy in Practical Ethics as Distinct from Kant's

From Kantian Autonomy to Practical Values and Principles

4: Rüdiger Bittner on Autonomy

Introduction

Various Senses of Freedom: Bittner's Project to Clean Up Ordinary Language

Kantian Autonomy: What Is It, What Are the Problems, and What Can We Retain?

5: Kantian Perspectives on the Rational Basis of Human Dignity

What Is Human Dignity?

By Virtue of What Is Dignity Attributed to Human Beings?.

Why Believe in Human Dignity?

What Are the Practical Implications?

6: In Defense of Human Dignity: Comments on Kant and Rosen

Preliminary Points: Contemporary Resources and Potential Abuse of Theories

Can Diverse Ideas of Dignity Be Coherently Unified?

Problems of Application: Indeterminacy and Absolutism

Metaphysics or Morals?

7: The Kingdom of Ends as an Ideal and a Constraint on Moral Legislation

Summary of the Deliberative Framework

Human Dignity

Positive Ideals of Human Dignity

8: Kantian Ethics and Utopian Thinking

Problem Cases: (A) Lying to the Murderer and (B) Torture and the Ticking Bomb

What Are "Utopias" and (Unwarranted) "Utopian Thinking"?

Some Potentially Good Uses of Utopias

Corresponding Dangers of Bad "Utopian Thinking"

"Utopian Thinking" in Rousseau's Political Philosophy

Similar Utopian Thinking in Everyday Life and in Kantian Ethics?

(A) Making Principles Universal

(B) Treating Each Person with Dignity That Must Never Be Violated

(C) Respecting Principles (and Exceptions) That Every Reasonable Person Would Accept

Concluding Note

9: Varieties of Constructivism

O'Neill's Kantian Projects: Aims, Limits, and Development

Points of Agreement and General Objections to Rawls' Constructivisms

Arbitrary Authority and Restricted Domains: A Problem for Rawls?

Further Objections: Are Specific Features of Rawls' Theories Arbitrary?

Concluding Note about Remaining Questions

10: Human Dignity and Tragic Choices

Preview

Examples and Theoretical and Practical Challenges for Philosophers

Brief Historical Background: Consequentialists, Pluralists, and Kantians

Comments on Terminology

Aspirations and Limits of Normative Moral Theory.

Why Turn to Kantian Normative Theory?

Kantian Constructivism in Normative Ethics

Two Objections and Responses: Non-conformity and Disagreement

Human Dignity: A Kantian Interpretation

Responses to Objections

Persistent Examples: Are Lies and Torture Always Wrong?

Concluding Remarks: The Value of Simplicity

11: Duties and Choices in Philanthropic Giving: Kantian Perspectives

Background and the Supreme Moral Principle(s)

A Kantian Framework for Thinking about Moral Principles and Choices

Kant on the Imperfect Duties of Beneficence and Mutual Aid

Is the Kantian Duty to Give Aid Too Anemic?

Must We Regard Others' Happiness as More Important Than Our Own?

Can Promoting Others' Happiness Be Good to Do But beyond Duty?

Complicating Factors

A. The Relevance of Justice in Particular Contexts

B. Priorities in Philanthropic Giving: Basic Needs vs. Education, the Arts, and Entertainment

C. How Do Motives Affect the Worth of the Giver and the Gift?

12: Killing Ourselves

The Concept of Suicide and the Central Moral Questions

Different Perspectives on Suicide: Theological, Libertarian, and Consequentialist

Obligations to Others

Respecting One's Own Dignity as a Human Being: A Modified Kantian Perspective

Appreciation: Further Reflections on the Value of Continued Life

Concluding Note: Assisted Suicide

13: Conscientious Conviction and Conscience

Conscientious moral conviction

II. Conscience

Brownlee's conception

Contrasting conceptions of conscience

Concluding Remarks

14: Stability, A Sense of Justice, and Self-Respect

Stability, its Role, and Rawls' Two Lines of Argument

Moral Psychology and a Sense of Justice

Self-Respect and the Kantian Interpretation

Values Not Lost in the Move to Political Liberalism

Notes.

15: Two Conceptions of Virtue

Kant's Conception of Virtue

Cultivating Kantian Virtue: The Good News and the Bad News

Rawls on a Sense of Justice

How Rawls Goes Beyond Kant

Concluding Questions

Postscript

16: Beyond Respect and Beneficence: An Ideal of Appreciation

Investigating Ideals of Moral Attitude: Aims and Methods

Beneficent Concern for Others' Happiness

Respect

Appreciation

17: Ideals of Appreciation and Expressions of Respect

Aims, Method, and Larger Project

Positive Expressions of Respect

Ideals Inherent in Human Dignity

An Analogy: Local and Global Dignity

Human Dignity from a Kantian Perspective

Application to Disabilities: Appreciation

Application to Disabilities: Positive Expressions of Respect

References

Index.

Notes:

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

0-19-193770-3

0-19-266021-7

OCLC:

1276862115