Varieties of Philosophical Misanthropy

Journal of Philosophical Research 46:27-44 (2021)
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Abstract

I argue that misanthropy is systematic condemnation of the moral character of humankind as it has come to be. Such condemnation can be expressed affectively and practically in a range of different ways, and the bulk of the paper sketches the four main misanthropic stances evident across the history of philosophy. Two of these, the Enemy and Fugitive stances, were named by Kant, and I call the others the Activist and Quietist. Without exhausting the range of ways of being a philosophical misanthrope, these four suffice to justify my main claim that misanthropy should not be seen specifically in terms of hatred and violence. We should attend to the varieties of philosophical misanthropy, especially since doing so reveals a deeper phenomenon I call the misanthropic predicament.

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Ian James Kidd
Nottingham University

Citations of this work

Misanthropy and Misanthropes.Kathryn J. Norlock - 2021 - Journal of Philosophical Research 46:45–58.

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References found in this work

Critique of Pure Reason.Immanuel Kant - 1929 - Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Edited by J. M. D. Meiklejohn. Translated by Paul Guyer & Allen W. Wood.
Critique of the power of judgment.Immanuel Kant - 2000 - New York: Cambridge University Press. Edited by Paul Guyer.
The Varieties of Religious Experience.William James - 1903 - Philosophical Review 12 (1):62-67.

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