Kant is commonly regarded as a deontologist, and duty, rather than the good, is placed at the center of his ethics. By a comprehensive examination of Kant’s views of the good, freedom and the will, this book aims to dispel this common misconception of Kant’s ethics and to replace it with a richer understanding that gives proper emphasis to the central importance of the good, restoring the balanced relationship Kant intended between duty and the good. The Enlightenment, by undermining the religious foundations of morality, prompted Kant to offer a new foundation for ethics based not on religion but on reason. This book is highly relevant to the contemporary discussion of Kant. Its emphasis on the importance of the concept of the good in Kant’s ethics represents an important alternative to most interpretations advanced today.
Editorial Reviews
Review
“Kant’s Ethics: The Good, Freedom, and the Will is sui generis. Most scholars take the Grundlegung as the foundation of Kant’s ethics. But Silber locates the foundation in the second Critique. He clearly articulates Kant’s conception of the good and the moral will as the two principles of his ethics and organizes all Kant’s ethical writings on the basis of these two principles. This magnificent systematization is destined to stand for a long time as the most reliable guide for students of Kant’s ethics.” Thomas K. Seung, Professor, University of Texas at Austin “In this landmark study of Kant’s moral philosophy, Silber presents a uniquely coherent reconstruction of all important and sometimes seemingly disparate aspects of Kant’s ethical thought. … Rarely, if ever, have the complexity as well as the unity of Kant’s moral theory been presented in such a lucid manner. In sum, Silber’s book is a scholarly and intellectual achievement of the first order and a true apologiaof Kant’s moral ethos.” Klaus Brinkmann, Professor Emeritus, Boston University
Review
“Kant’s Ethics: The Good, Freedom, and the Will is sui generis. Most scholars take the Grundlegung as the foundation of Kant’s ethics. But Silber locates the foundation in the second Critique. He clearly articulates Kant’s conception of the good and the moral will as the two principles of his ethics and organizes all Kant’s ethical writings on the basis of these two principles. This magnificent systematization is destined to stand for a long time as the most reliable guide for students of Kant’s ethics.”
Thomas K. Seung, Professor, University of Texas at Austin
“In this landmark study of Kant’s moral philosophy, Silber presents a uniquely coherent reconstruction of all important and sometimes seemingly disparate aspects of Kant’s ethical thought. … Rarely, if ever, have the complexity as well as the unity of Kant’s moral theory been presented in such a lucid manner. In sum, Silber’s book is a scholarly and intellectual achievement of the first order and a true apologiaof Kant’s moral ethos.”
Klaus Brinkmann, Professor Emeritus, Boston University
From the Back Cover
Kant is commonly regarded as a deontologist, and duty, rather than the good, is placed at the center of his ethics. By a comprehensive examination of Kant’s views of the good, freedom and the will, this book aims to dispel this common misconception of Kant’s ethics and to replace it with a richer understanding that gives proper emphasis to the central importance of the good, restoring the balanced relationship Kant intended between duty and the good. The Enlightenment, by undermining the religious foundations of morality, prompted Kant to offer a new foundation for ethics based not on religion but on reason. This book will be a useful resource for students, professors and anyone interested in ethics.
About the Author
John Silber, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
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