Kant, Ought Implies Can, the Principle of Alternate Possibilities, and Happiness

Kant, Ought Implies Can, the Principle of Alternate Possibilities, and Happiness
Author: Samuel Kahn
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 281
Release: 2018-12-31
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1498519628

Throughout his corpus, Kant repeatedly and resolutely denies that there is a duty to promote one’s own happiness, and most present-day Kantians seem to agree with him. In Kant, Ought Implies Can, the Principle of Alternate Possibilities, and Happiness, Samuel Kahn argues that this denial rests on two main ideas: (1) a conception of duty that makes the principle of ought implies can (OIC) and the principle of alternate possibilities (PAP) analytic, and (2) the claim that humans necessarily promote their own happiness. This book defends OIC and PAP but nonetheless attacks the second idea, and it supplements this attack with two additional arguments—an interpersonal one and an intrapersonal one—for the claim that a modern day Kantian ethics should affirm a duty to promote one’s own happiness.

Understanding Kant's Ethics

Understanding Kant's Ethics
Author: Michael Cholbi
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 247
Release: 2016-11-17
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1107163463

A systematic guide to Kant's ethical work and the debates surrounding it, accessible to students and specialists alike.

Kant's Theory of Conscience

Kant's Theory of Conscience
Author: Samuel Kahn
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 126
Release: 2021-05-06
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1108682073

The main body of this Element, about Kant's theory of conscience, is divided into two sections. The first focuses on exegesis of Kant's ethics. One of the overarching theses of this section of the Element is that, although many of Kant's claims about conscience are prima facie inconsistent, a close examination of context generally can dissolve apparent contradictions. The second section of the Element focuses on philosophical issues in Kantian ethics. One of the overarching theses of this section of the Element is that many positions traditionally associated with Kantian ethics, including the denial of moral luck, the nonaccidental rightness condition, and the guise of the objectively good, are at variance with Kant's ethics.

Kant and Religion

Kant and Religion
Author: Allen W. Wood
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 273
Release: 2020-05-28
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1108422349

Explores Kant's philosophy of religion and morality through his Religion within the Boundaries of Mere Reason.

Problem-Based Ethics

Problem-Based Ethics
Author: Samuel Kahn
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 347
Release: 2024-12-03
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1538195313

As a broad critique and invitation to reframe the study of ethics, Problem-Based Ethics welcomes scholars and students across disciplines to engage with ethics as a way to explore pervasive questions of our society and human existence. Stepping back from the intricacies of theory and from heated political debates, Samuel Kahn’s synthesis of the study of ethics asks readers to consider even the most contentious of topics like abortion, capital punishment, and euthanasia from their most basic questions. This approach reveals opportunities for more nuanced and evolving ethical positions. It also promotes a culture of civility too often destroyed in politicized debates in scholarly and popular forums. The book covers standard issues in metaethics, normative ethics, and applied ethics, such as the objectivism/subjectivism debate, the consequentialism/deontology/virtue ethics/ethics of care debate, and the abortion debate. It also introduces more advanced issues such as distributive justice and environmental ethics, as well as less standard questions often of interest to laypeople and students, such as whether crime can be eliminated.

Saved by Grace through Faith or Saved by Decree?

Saved by Grace through Faith or Saved by Decree?
Author: Geoffrey D. Robinson
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
Total Pages: 524
Release: 2022-04-07
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1666728896

This work addresses a topic of interest to many people who are seeking to better understand the Christian doctrine of salvation (soteriology). It is written to provide a systematic biblical and theological critique of a particularly popular perspective of this doctrine that has seen something of a resurgence in recent years, namely Calvinism. The book is structured around the so-called five points of Calvinism, commonly referred to by the acronym TULIP: Total depravity, Unconditional election, Limited atonement, Irresistible grace, and Perseverance of the saints. Following an initial chapter outlining the historical development of the doctrine, each of the five points are examined in subsequent chapters. Each point is described in the words of prominent Calvinist scholars, key biblical texts purporting to support the doctrine carefully evaluated, and a series of theological issues related to the point are raised and discussed.

The Dynamics of Intersubjectivity

The Dynamics of Intersubjectivity
Author: Faten Haouioui
Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
Total Pages: 220
Release: 2021-10-11
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 1527575993

This collection revises subjectivity in the light of postmodern theories of the subject. The contributors gathered here present and discuss a number of different, but interrelated, subjectivities. As such, they reconceptualize the theory of subjectivity according to various texts and contexts, such as the subjectivity of discourses, the subject under subjugation, and the intersubjective construction of the other. It introduces a dynamic subjectivity to minority literature, colonial/postcolonial texts, and travel literature, to name but a few. The dynamics of intersubjectivity provide a space for subjectivities to negotiate and interrelate. Moreover, this collection shows that intersubjectivity is hybrid, yet flexible, by nature.

Kant's Philosophy of the Unconscious

Kant's Philosophy of the Unconscious
Author: Piero Giordanetti
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter
Total Pages: 336
Release: 2012-04-26
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 3110265400

The unconscious raises relevant problems in the theory of knowledge as regards non-conceptual contents and obscure representations. In the philosophy of mind, it bears on the topic of the unity of consciousness and the notion of the transcendental Self. It is a key-topic of logic with respect to the distinction between determinate-indeterminate judgments and prejudices, and in aesthetics it appears in connection with the problems of reflective judgments and of the genius. Finally, it is a relevant issue also in moral philosophy in defining the irrational aspects of the human being. The purpose of the present volume is to fill a substantial gap in Kant research while offering a comprehensive survey of the topic in different areas of research, such as history of philosophy, philosophy of mind, aesthetics, moral philosophy, and anthropology.

The Cambridge Kant Lexicon

The Cambridge Kant Lexicon
Author: Julian Wuerth
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 2289
Release: 2021-02-25
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1009038192

Immanuel Kant is widely recognized as one of the most important Western philosophers since Aristotle. His thought has had, and continues to have, a profound effect on every branch of philosophy, including ethics, metaphysics, epistemology, aesthetics, political philosophy, and philosophy of religion. This Lexicon contains detailed and original entries by 130 leading Kant scholars, covering Kant's most important concepts as well as each of his writings. Part I covers Kant's notoriously difficult philosophical concepts, providing entries on these individual 'trees' of Kant's philosophical system. Part II, by contrast, provides an overview of the 'forest' of Kant's philosophy, with entries on each of his published works and on each of his sets of lectures and personal reflections. This part is arranged chronologically, revealing not only the broad sweep of Kant's thought but also its development over time. Professors, graduate students, and undergraduates will value this landmark volume.