Lectures on Ethics

These lively essays, transcribed by Kant's students during his lectures on ethics at Konigsberg in the years 1775-1780, are celebrated not only for their insight into Kant's polished and often witty lecture style but also as a key to understanding the development of his moral thought. As Lewis White Beck points out in the Foreword to this edition, those who know Kant only from his rigorous and abstract intellectual critiques may be surprised by the accessibility of these essays, which "put flesh on the bones of the critical ethics," while revealing Kant as a practical moralist, greatly concerned with the nuances of human conduct and the social effects of his moral teaching. The sharply focused discussions and definitions strengthen an interpretation of Kant's more mature speculative works and remain the riches document we have for understanding the history of the preeminent ethical theory of modern times.

SKU
25838g

Immanuel Kant
Translated by Louis Infield
Foreword by Lewis White Beck

1981 - 269 pp.

Grouped product items
Format ISBN Price Qty
Paper 978-0-915144-26-6
$15.00
Instructor Examination (Review) Copy 978-0-915144-26-6
$4.00

Co-published in the U.K. by Routledge.

These lively essays, transcribed by Kant's students during his lectures on ethics at Konigsberg in the years 1775-1780, are celebrated not only for their insight into Kant's polished and often witty lecture style but also as a key to understanding the development of his moral thought. As Lewis White Beck points out in the Foreword to this edition, those who know Kant only from his rigorous and abstract intellectual critiques may be surprised by the accessibility of these essays, which "put flesh on the bones of the critical ethics," while revealing Kant as a practical moralist, greatly concerned with the nuances of human conduct and the social effects of his moral teaching. The sharply focused discussions and definitions strengthen an interpretation of Kant's more mature speculative works and remain the riches document we have for understanding the history of the preeminent ethical theory of modern times.

 

Contents:

Foreword

Universal Practical Philosophy
  Proem
  The Ethical Systems of the Ancients
  The General Principle of Morality
  De Obligatione Activa et Passiva
  Moral Compulsion
  Practical Necessitation
  Laws
  The Supreme Principle of Morality
  De Littera Legis
  The Lawgiver
  Reward and Punishment
  De Imputatione
  Responsibility for Consequences of Actions
  Grounds of Imputatio Moralis
  Imputatio Facti
  Degrees of Responsibility
 

Ethics
  Introductory Observations
  Natural Religion
  Errors of Religion
  Unbelief
  Trust in God and the Concept of Faith
  Prayer
  De Cultu Externo
  Example and Pattern in Religion
  Stumbling-Blocks
  Devoutness and the Feeling of Shame
  Confession of Faith: Its Limitations and Conditions
  Duties to Oneself
  Proper Self-respect
  Conscience
  Self-love
  Self-mastery
  Duties towards the Body in regard to Life
  Suicide
  Care for One's Life
  Duties towards the Body Itself
  Occupation
  Shortening Time
  Duties towards the Body in Respect of Sexual Impulse
  Crimina Carnis
  Duties towards Ourselves in Respect of external Circumstances
  Wealth
  The Attachment of the Mind to Wealth (Greed and Avarice)
  Thrift
  The Two Impulses of our Nature and their Concomitant Duties
  Duties towards Others
  Friendship
  Enmity
  Duties dictated by Justice
  Equity
  Innocence
  Injury
  Vengeance
  The Slanderer
  Jealousy and its Offspring—Envy and Grudge
  Ethical Duties towards Others: Truthfulness
  Poverty and Charity
  Social Virtues
  Haughtiness
  Scoffing
  Duties towards Animals and Spirits
  Duties towards Inanimate Objects
  Duties towards Particular Classes of Human Beings
  Duties of the Virtuous and the Vicious
  Duties arising from Differences of Age
  The Ultimate Destiny of the Human Race