Kant’s Theodicy and its Role in the Development of Radical Evil
Archiv für Geschichte der Philosophie 100 (1):46-75 (2018)
Abstract
In the Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals and the Critique of Practical Reason, Kant claims that rational beings should want to have no inclinations. But in Religion within the Bounds of Bare Reason, he asserts that the inclinations are good in themselves. While many commentators hold that Kant simply wrote hyperbolically in the Groundwork and the second Critique, I argue Kant was sincere, and changed his mind about the worth of the inclinations between the second Critique and the Religion. This is because he changed his mind about the source of immorality: whereas in the Groundwork and Critique of Practical Reason Kant took our inclinations to be tempters, starting in “Miscarriage of All Philosophical Trials in Theodicy” and concluding in the Religion, he posited a self-imposed propensity to evil as the source of immorality. Kant’s reason for changing his mind about the source of immorality was partly theological: if our inclinations were to blame for immorality, then God would also be to blame for creating us with them. The only way God could not be to blame is if our immorality were self-imposed. But Kant also concluded that looking for theoretical explanations of our immorality – whether theological or naturalistic – was itself problematic: such explanations ended up exonerating us for our immorality. Because they had this effect, I contend that Kant saw the offering of such exculpating theoretical explanations as itself motivated by immorality. This understanding of Kant makes sense of the approaches he takes in both “Miscarriage” and Religion.Author's Profile
DOI
10.1515/agph-2018-0003
My notes
Similar books and articles
Kant on Radical Evil and the Origin of Moral Responsibility.Irene McMullin - 2013 - Kantian Review 18 (1):49-72.
Radical evil and the invisibility of moral worth in Kant's die religion.Carlos Manrique - 2007 - Ideas Y Valores 56 (135):3-27.
Moral Evil, Freedom and the Goodness of God: Why Kant Abandoned Theodicy.Sam Duncan - 2012 - British Journal for the History of Philosophy 20 (5):973-991.
Radical Evil As A Regulative Idea.Markus Kohl - 2017 - Journal of the History of Philosophy 55 (4):641-673.
Terrorisme, verantwoordelijkheid en het radicale kwaad: Kants Religionsschrift herlezen.C. Jedan - 2007 - Nederlands Theologisch Tijdschrift 61 (1):17-29.
The reading of radical evil in Kant proposed by Italo Mancini.Andrea Ciceri - 2011 - Rivista di Filosofia Neo-Scolastica 103 (4):691-705.
Between banality and radicality: Arendt and Kant on evil and responsibility.Javier Burdman - 2016 - European Journal of Political Theory 18 (2):147488511664072.
Is radical evil banal? Is banal evil radical?Paul Formosa - 2007 - Philosophy and Social Criticism 33 (6):717-735.
Is Kant’s conception of radical evil radical enough.Marinko Lolic - 2011 - Filozofija I Društvo 22 (4):23-36.
On the alleged Vacuity of Kant's Concept of Evil.Pablo F. Muchnik - 2006 - Kant Studien 97 (4):430-451.
Analytics
Added to PP
2018-03-22
Downloads
29 (#404,765)
6 months
1 (#449,844)
2018-03-22
Downloads
29 (#404,765)
6 months
1 (#449,844)
Historical graph of downloads
Author's Profile
Citations of this work
Divine Gütigkeit, Divine Güte: Kant on an Ancient Query.Amit Kravitz - 2021 - Sophia 60 (2):349-363.
References found in this work
Self-Constitution: Agency, Identity, and Integrity.Christine Korsgaard - 2009 - Oxford University Press.