Abstract

A common criticism of Kant’s ethics is that the abstractness and purity of the categorical imperative make any meaningful use of it impossible. This book aims to show that, while the charge of formalistic puritanism traditionally leveled against Kant is not without foundation, a charitable reinterpretation which corrects Kant on certain points and expands his thinking on others can yield a systematic and coherent ethics which meets the criticism that Kant’s is an empty and otherworldly ethics. While not claiming that Kant in fact offers a finished and adequate ethics, Auxter argues that its foundations are to be found in Kant, and Kant’s Moral Teleology is presented as the first step toward a critical reinterpretation which will bring to clear articulation the substantive ethical theory only implicit in Kant’s writings.