Kant and the Supposed Right to Lie
Published on 28. August 2025
Book
Hardback
240 pages
978-1-108-83421-6 (ISBN)
Description
In his 1797 essay 'On a Supposed Right to Lie from Love of Humanity', Kant argues that when only a confident lie might save a friend, one must, if asked, reply truthfully and thus betray his hiding-place to the person who wants to kill him. This is the first monograph to explore Kant's essay in detail. Jens Timmermann examines the background of the piece (Kant was provoked by Benjamin Constant and his translator, Carl Friedrich Cramer); the history of the example (which was also discussed by, amongst others, Augustine, Fichte and Johann David Michaelis); the peculiarities of Constant's version of the case; and Kant's core argument against Constant: lying, or a right to lie, would undermine contractual rights and spell disaster for all humanity. This rich, interpretative resource, which includes a facing-page translation of Kant's essay, will be of wide interest to Kant scholars and moral philosophers.
Reviews / Votes
'Timmerman confronts the mysteries of Kant's notorious little essay with philosophic rigour, historical insight, and a relentless commitment to illuminate Kant's ideas on their own terms. This book is a remarkable achievement.' Jacob Weinrib, Queen's UniversityMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge
United Kingdom
Target group
College/higher education
Illustrations
Worked examples or Exercises
Dimensions
Height: 235 mm
Width: 157 mm
Thickness: 18 mm
Weight
504 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-108-83421-6 (9781108834216)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Jens Timmermann is the Professor of Moral Philosophy in the University of St Andrews. He is the author of Kant's Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals: A Commentary (Cambridge, 2007) and Kant's Will at the Crossroads (2022) and the editor of the German-English edition of Kant's Groundwork (Cambridge, 2011).
Content
1. Introduction; 2. Kant's Duties of Truthfulness; 3. The Story of Kant's Essay; 4. Theoretical Foundations, Supposed Solutions; 5. The Intricacies of Constant's Example; 6. A Right to the Truth in Another?; 7. Form and Matter; 8. Kant's Argument against Constant; 9. Luck and the Imputation of Harm; 10. What Kant Should Have Said.