Kant on Human Dignity
Description
Immanuel Kant is often considered to be the source of the contemporary idea of human dignity, but his conception of human dignity and its relation to human value and to the requirement to respect others have not been widely understood. Kant on Human Dignity offers the first in-depth study in English of this subject. Based on a comprehensive analysis of all the passages in which Kant uses the term 'dignity', as well as an analysis of the most prominent arguments for a value of human beings in the Kant literature, the book carefully examines different ways of construing the relationship between dignity, value and respect for others. It takes seriously Kant's Copernican Revolution in moral philosophy: Kant argues that moral imperatives cannot be based on any values without yielding heteronomy. Instead it is imperatives of reason that determine what is valuable. The requirement to respect all human beings is one such imperative. Respect for human beings does not follow from human dignity-for this would violate autonomy-but is an unconditional command of reason. Following this train of thought yields a unified account of Kant's moral philosophy.
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Content
2 - Abbreviations [Seite 11]
3 - Introduction [Seite 13]
4 - Part I Respect for Others [Seite 21]
4.1 - Chapter 1: Kant's Conception of Value [Seite 26]
4.1.1 - Introduction [Seite 26]
4.1.2 - Section 1: Kant on Value as a Property [Seite 26]
4.1.3 - Section 2: Kant's Argument Against Value as a Foundation [Seite 35]
4.1.4 - Section 3: Alternative Conceptions of Value [Seite 39]
4.1.5 - Section 4: Kant's Conception of Absolute Inner Value [Seite 44]
4.1.6 - Section 5: The Appearance of 'Value' in Kant's Works [Seite 51]
4.1.7 - Conclusion [Seite 63]
4.2 - Chapter 2: The Value of Humanity [Seite 65]
4.2.1 - Introduction [Seite 65]
4.2.2 - Section 1: Korsgaard's Regress Argument [Seite 67]
4.2.3 - Section 2: Korsgaard's Modified Argument [Seite 81]
4.2.4 - Section 3: Allen Wood's Modified Regress Argument [Seite 87]
4.2.5 - Section 4: Guyer on the Value of Freedom [Seite 91]
4.2.6 - Section 5: The Value of a Morally Good Will [Seite 99]
4.2.7 - Results of this Chapter [Seite 107]
4.3 - Chapter 3: Kant's Formula of Humanity [Seite 108]
4.3.1 - Introduction [Seite 108]
4.3.2 - Section 1: The Formula of Humanity Passage (GMS 4:427-9) [Seite 109]
4.3.3 - Section 2: The Justification for Respect [Seite 125]
4.3.4 - Section 3: The Application of the Formula of Humanity [Seite 130]
4.3.5 - Section 4: The Emptiness Objection [Seite 147]
4.3.6 - Conclusion [Seite 152]
5 - Part II Kant's Conception of Dignity [Seite 153]
5.1 - Chapter 4: Three Paradigms of Dignity [Seite 158]
5.1.1 - Introduction [Seite 158]
5.1.2 - Section 1: The Contemporary Paradigm of Dignity [Seite 159]
5.1.3 - Section 2: The Traditional Paradigm of Dignity [Seite 164]
5.1.4 - Section 3: The Differences Between the Two Conceptions [Seite 173]
5.1.5 - Section 4: Kant and the Traditional Paradigm [Seite 176]
5.1.6 - Concluding Remarks [Seite 185]
5.2 - Chapter 5: Kant's Conception of Human Dignity [Seite 186]
5.2.1 - Introduction [Seite 186]
5.2.2 - Section 1: The Appearance of 'Dignity' in Kant's Works [Seite 189]
5.2.3 - Section 2: Dignity in the Groundwork [Seite 192]
5.2.4 - Section 3: Dignity in the Doctrine of Virtue [Seite 203]
5.2.5 - Section 4: The Relevance of Kant's Conception of Dignity [Seite 214]
5.2.6 - Concluding Remarks [Seite 223]
6 - Conclusion [Seite 225]
7 - References [Seite 227]
8 - Author Index [Seite 237]
9 - Subject Index [Seite 241]
