Pessimism in Kant's Ethics and Rational Religion
eBook - PDF

Pessimism in Kant's Ethics and Rational Religion

  1. 247 pages
  2. English
  3. PDF
  4. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - PDF

Pessimism in Kant's Ethics and Rational Religion

About this book

The historical period of the Enlightenment is usually thought of as the high point of philosophical optimism. By breaking the chains of traditional heteronomous morality, the tutelage of dogmatic religion and the oppression of authoritarian politics, the Enlightenment created the space for a new, self-critical and autonomous frame of reference for human effort. Immanuel Kant is undoubtedly the greatest philosopher in the German Enlightenment. And Kant was a pessimist? In this book, the author explores Kant's moral and religious philosophy and shows that a pessimistic undercurrent pervades these. This provides a new vantage point not only to assess comprehensively Kantian philosophy but also to provide much needed context and reading assistance to the general premises of Kant's philosophy of autonomy and rationality. For Kant, to be autonomous and rational is not something human nature naturally pursues; instead, reason but must reframe, rethink and reshape human nature. Human nature is a problem, autonomy and rationality are the solution. Kant's subsequent attempts to establish a rational religion can be explained in extension of this problem. Since human beings are not naturally prone to act autonomously, they have to be educated through historical institutions that are reformed appropriately so as to provide the incentives for human beings to become autonomous. This is where Kant believed religion could play an important pedagogical function.

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Yes, you can access Pessimism in Kant's Ethics and Rational Religion by Dennis Vanden Auweele in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Philosophy & Philosophers. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Information

Year
2018
eBook ISBN
9798216272915
Edition
1
Subtopic
Philosophers

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Pessimism in Kant’sEthics and RationalReligion
  3. Pessimism in Kant’s Ethics and Rational Religion
  4. Copyright page
  5. Contents
  6. List of Abbreviations
  7. Acknowledgments
  8. Introduction
  9. Chapter 1
  10. Pessimism, Theodicy, and the Protestant Factor
  11. Chapter 2
  12. Grounding Morality in Duty and Autonomy
  13. Chapter 3
  14. Motivating Morality by Respect
  15. Chapter 4
  16. Natural (In)Aptitude for Morality
  17. Interlude
  18. Chapter 5
  19. Religious Assistance through Moral Education
  20. Chapter 6
  21. Kantian Christianity, Sincerity, and Pessimism
  22. Conclusion
  23. Bibliography
  24. Index
  25. About the Author