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Can Kant’s Theory of Radical Evil Be Saved?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 August 2017

Zachary J. Goldberg
Zachary J. Goldberg*
Affiliation:
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich
*
Email: zachary.goldberg@lmu.de
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Abstract

In this article, I assess three contemporary criticisms levelled at Kant’s theory of evil in order to evaluate whether his theory can be saved. Critics argue that Kant does not adequately distinguish between evil and mundane wrongdoing, making his use of the term ‘evil’ emotional hyperbole; by defining evil as the subordination of the moral law to self-love his analysis is seemingly overly simplistic and empirically false; and by focusing solely on the moral character of the perpetrator of evil, Kant’s theory apparently ignores the most salient aspect of evil – the suffering of victims. While I will not claim that Kant provides us with a fully adequate theory of evil, I respond to each of these criticisms and conclude that Kant’s theory can still provide significant insight into both the nature of evil and the moral psychology of perpetrators of evil.

Keywords

radical evilmundane wrongdoingroot of evilempirical harmmoral character
Type
Articles
Information
Kantian Review , Volume 22 , Issue 3 , September 2017 , pp. 395 - 419
Copyright
© Kantian Review 2017 

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