Abstract

Most contemporary theorists, whether or not they agree with Kant's position, understand his philosophy as formalist and grounded in an analysis of autonomy. Many, moreover, believe that the critical choice facing contemporary theory is whether to pursue a neo-Kantian analysis of autonomy or develop a more historically and communally oriented Aristotelean/Hegelian perspective. This thesis seeks to challenge this initial understanding of Kant's philosophy so that we might envision ethical perspectives beyond those inspired by Kant, Aristotle and Hegel. ;The thesis pursues this goal in two parts. The first part explores the main texts of Kant's critical philosophy, as well as several less famous works, to challenge the understanding of Kant's philosophy as formalist and grounded by the principle of autonomy. In particular, it argues that Kant's philosophy might be understood to be oriented by a particular image of morality, that it employs a logic of 'common sense recognition' to ground its moral claims and that it ultimately relies on experimental 'arts of cultivation' to train common sense recognition and obedience to the moral law. The thesis terms these elements of Kant's thinking the 'Kantian Imperative' and argues that it is as central to Kant's philosophy as the better known aspects of formality and autonomy. ;The second part seeks to understand the influence the Kantian Imperative has had on a contemporary theory. By showing that two figures generally understood to be on opposite sides of the neo-Kantian vs. Aristotelian/Hegelian debate both embody important elements of the Kantian Imperative, it argues that the Kantian Imperative plays a key role orienting a wide swath of contemporary political and ethical theory. ;Throughout the examination of Kant, Habermas and Taylor, the thesis seeks to understand and evaluate the value and tradeoffs inherent to the Kantian Imperative. It finds that while its strategies are insightful and often effective, that many of them are both philosophically inconclusive and ethically suspect. It therefore concludes with a call for contemporary theory to acknowledge the influence of the Kantian Imperative and challenge its most problematic elements