Kant's deontological eudaemonism : the dutiful pursuit of virtue and happiness / Jeanine M. Grenberg.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Grenberg, Jeanine, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Kant, Immanuel, 1724-1804.

Kant, Immanuel.

Virtue.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (427 pages)

Edition:

First edition.

Other Title:

Dutiful pursuit of virtue and happiness

Place of Publication:

Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2022.

Summary:

Grenberg defends the idea that Kant's virtue theory is best understood as a distinctive form of eudaemonism that makes it preferable to other forms. A system of what she calls deontological eudaemonism - achieving happiness both rationally conceived (as non-felt pleasure) and empirically conceived (as pleasurable fulfilment of one's desires).

Contents:

Cover

Kant's Deontological Eudaemonism

Copyright

Dedication

Cicero

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introductory Thoughts

Introduction

I. A History of Philosophical Blunders

A History of Philosophical Blunders: Deontology

A History of Philosophical Blunders: Eudaemonism

II. Toward a Positive Conception of Kant's Deontological Eudaemonism

Aristotelian Moments in Kant's Deontological Eudaemonism

An Objection Considered

Summing Up

III. Summary of Chapters

Part I. Deontological Teleology: The Objective Telos of Virtue

Part II. Deontological Eudaemonism: The Subjective Telos of Virtue

IV. A Note on Phenomenological Method

PART I: DEONTOLOGICAL TELEOLOGY: THE OBJECTIVE TELOS OF VIRTUE

I.i: In Search of the Objective Telos of Self-Governance

I. The Contours and Limits of Naturalistic reasoning

The Limits of Naturalistically Grounded Reasoning

Natural Limits Applied to the Practical Realm: Incompleteness in the Pursuit of Happiness

A Frankfurtian Objection: Good Enough Governance by Rules of Thumb?

The Volatility of Boundless Desires

Quantitative Failures of Governance of Desire by Desire

Axiological Failures of Desire-Governance: The Passionate Failure of Evaluative Distance

The Passionate Failure of the Pursuit of Happiness

The Obfuscating Relativity of Evaluation by Passion

The Self-Absorptionof Desire

II. Seeking a More Satisfactory Objective Telos for Self-Governanceof Desire

The Material, Objective Telos of Virtuous Self-Governance

The Subjective Telos of Virtuous Self-Governance

Conclusion

I.ii: Deontological Teleology: An Objective and End-Based Approach to the Virtuous Self-Governance of Desire

I. Interpretive Work on Kant, Ends, and the Formula of Humanity

Teleology in Kant Interpretation.

How to Construe the Value at the Heart of Kant's Teleology?

The Reciprocity of Deontology and Teleology

Interpretations of the Formula of Humanity

II. Kant's Early Thoughts on Ends

Relative, Subjective, and Unfree Ends in the Groundwork and second Critique

Virtue's Need for Ends

III. The Freedom of End-Setting

Introduction: The Basics of Ends in the Doctrine of Virtue

A. Pragmatic Ends

Pragmatic versus Moral (Obligatory) Ends

The Free Incorporation of Ends

"The Dutiful Maxim Test" for Pragmatic Ends

Conclusion and Caveat

B. Moral or Obligatory Ends

Obligatory Ends

Deontological Teleology Affirmed

I.iii: The Proper Objective Telos of Deontological Teleology: Making Persons as Such One's End

I. Preliminary Thoughts on the Deduction of Respect for Persons as the Material, Objective Telos of Virtue

A Note on Practical Deductions

Materialized Imperatives: The Birth of Deontological Teleology

Perplexities about a Materialized Version of a Formal Formulation

II. The Deduction of Respect for Persons as the Material, Objective Telos of Virtue

Introduction: What is Being Deduced Here?

Revisiting the Groundwork

The Second Formulation in the Groundwork

Backing Away from Positive Commands of Virtue

Deduction of a Materialized Version of the Second Formulation

Which is Prior: The Deontological Principle or the Teleological Purpose?

Concluding Thoughts

A New Prominence for the Second Formulation in Grounding Duties of Virtue

I.iv: A Deontological Deduction of the Obligatory Ends of Virtue

Introduction: The Establishment of an End as a Telos via Desire-Governanceand End-Setting

I. Desire-Governancevia a Moral-Feeling-Expressed Experience of Conscience.

Desire-Governancevia a Moral-Feeling-Expressed Experience of Conscience

Is Respect for Persons Any Better thanSelf-Elevated Ruling Desires?

A Footnote on Vice

II. A Dedication of Obligatory Ends

Introductory Thoughts on Deducing Obligatory Ends

Duties of Love, Not Just of Respect

A. Duties to Others: Beneficence

The Relationship of the First and Second Formulations in any Forthcoming Deduction of the Duty of Beneficence

The Deduction of the Duty of Beneficence

B. Duties to Self: A Transition to Deontological Eudaemonism

The Very Category of Duties to Self

The Epistemic and Moral Psychological Priority of Duties to Self

The Evaluative Distance of Moral Self-Cognition

The Tools of Virtue are the Tools of Happiness

C. Another Duty to Others: Sympathy

I. Desire-Governancevia a Moral-Feeling-Expressed Experience of Conscience

Desire-Governancevia a Moral-Feeling-Expressed Experience of Conscience

Is Respect for Persons Any Better than Self-Elevated Ruling Desires?

I.v: Objections to Deontological Teleology Considered

I. Objections

Happiness, Not Respect, as a More Proper Telos?

Reason as Foreign Invader to World of Desire?.

Respect for Persons is an Overly Moralized Telos of Humanity?

II. A Further Objection: A Persons-CenteredTelos Fails to Respect Non-HumanBeings?

A Duty to and a Duty in Regard to: Direct and Indirect Duties

A More Satisfying Notion of Duties in Regard to

A Non-EgregiousAnthropocentric Affirmation of the Intrinsic Value of Animals and the Environment

A Return to and Re-Visioningof Kant's Instrumental Appeal to the Usefulness of Nature for Our Purposes

Conclusion of Part I

PART II: DEONTOLOGICALEUDAEMONISM: The Subjective Telos of Virtue

II.i: Apathy, Moderation, Excitement: The Herculean Work of Virtue

Introduction: The Subjective Telos of Virtue

I. Step One: Moral Apathetic Toleration of Sacrifice

The Pedagogical Power of Examples of Sacrifice

II. Step Two: Governing One's Felt Attachments in the Herculean Pursuit of the Subjective Telos of Virtue

Moral Apathy and Moral Enlivening

Practicing the Constraint and Cultivation of Felt Attachments

Subduing Affects

Governing Passions

The Herculean Effort of Virtue

Practicing One's Way Out of Passions

II.ii: Happiness, Rationally Conceived: Pleasure in the Virtually Unimpeded Activity of a Free Aptitude for Virtue

I. Review of Secondary Literature

II. A Kantian Story of the Pleasure of Unimpeded Activity in the Free Aptitude for Virtue

An Aristotelian Interpretive Lens

A Free Aptitude for Virtue

A Free Aptitude for Virtue is the Experience of Unimpeded Activity

III. A Transcendentally Ideal Defense of the Nature of the Pleasure One Takes in the Unimpeded Activity of Virtue

A Reluctant Rejection of Elizondo

Pleasure and Freedom

The Felt Pleasure of Negative Freedom

The Impossibility of a Non-SensibleFeeling of Pleasure in Positive Freedom.

A Phenomenological Experience of Ease in the Exercise a Free Aptitude for Virtue

Phenomenological Images of Harmony, Ease, and Alacrity

Pleasure in the Ease of Virtuous Activity

Pleasure in the Ease of Virtuous Activity is an Analog of Happiness

To-may-to,To-mah-to?

Conclusions on Pleasure and Happiness

IV. Caveat #1 to Happiness: Virtually Unimpeded Activity

Aristotle Problems

Humble Vigilance in the Pursuit of Virtue

V. Caveat #2 to Happiness: A Postscript on Suffering in the Life of Virtue

II.iii: Happiness, Empirically Conceived: The Virtuous, Non-Self-Absorbed Pursuit of Desire-Fulfillment

I. Recent Literature on the Relationship of Morality and Happiness, Empirically Conceived

II. An Obligatory End with a Pragmatic Purpose: The Virtuous Pursuit of Happiness

Introduction: Is Moral Reason the Appropriate Tool forPursuing Happiness?

The Moral Pursuit of Happiness: A Marriageof Nature and Freedom

The Increase of Pragmatic and Moral Pleasures

Initial Objections Answered

III. A Picture of the Virtuous Pursuit of Happiness

A. The Complete Marriage of Virtue and Happiness

The Complete Marriage of Virtue and Happiness: An Objection Considered

Another Objection Considered

B. Values and Pleasures

The Intertwining of Pragmatic and Moral Pleasure, and of Relative Non-Moraland Absolute Moral Values

The Virtuous Pursuit of Happiness Is the Non-Self-Absorbed Pursuit of Happiness

C. The Virtuous Pursuit of Happiness

The Subjective Tools of Virtue for Pursuit of Happiness

D. Concluding Thoughts

The Distinction between Happiness and Virtue

The Tools of Virtue Are the Tools of Happiness

Coda on Non-MoralValue

Bibliography

Kant Texts

Secondary Works

Index.

Notes:

This edition also issued in print: 2022.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource; title from home page (viewed on November 2, 2022).

ISBN:

0-19-267949-X

0-19-195492-6

0-19-267948-1