Discussing the concept of duty in Groundwork 1, Kant refers to a ‘second proposition’ and a ‘third proposition’, the latter being a ‘Folgerung aus beiden vorigen’. However, Kant does not identify what the ‘first proposition’ is. In this paper, I will argue that the first proposition is this: An action from duty is an action from respect for the moral law. I defend this claim against a critique put forward by Allison according to which ‘respect’ is a concept that is (...) not, and could not be, introduced in paragraphs 9–13 of Groundwork 1. Further, I will argue that the first proposition as I understand it can also be reconstructed as the conclusion (‘Folgerung’) of a deductive argument proper; however, I will also discuss the option that ‘Folgerung’ could be understood as a corollary rather than a conclusion. Finally, Allison's own interpretation will be criticized. (shrink)

By focusing on human virtues rather than the general morality of rational beings, Kant’s virtue theory presents systematic arguments from the perspectives of reason and experiential emotion, norms and disposition, spirituality and humanity, etc., which is of great significance to an overall understanding of Kantian ethics, thus clarifying misunderstandings from the past decades.

The volume Applied Ethics. Perspectives from Romania is the first contribution that aims at showing to the Japanese reader a sample of contemporary philosophy in Romania. At the same time a volume of contemporary Japanese philosophy is translated into Romanian and will be published by the University of Bucharest Press. -/- Applied Ethics. Perspectives from Romania includes several original articles in applied ethics and theoretical moral philosophy. It is representative of the variety of research and the growing interest in applied (...) ethics in the last few years in Romania. The philosophy practised here is at the same time an international activity, but also a kind of research deeply involved in Romanian realities. The contributors to the volume are Romanian philosophers from the most important Universities in the country, including members of the Romanian Academy, but also junior researchers. -/- This volume was made possible thanks to the relationship established between the Applied Ethics Centres of the University of Bucharest, Romania, and Hokkaido University, Japan. (shrink)

Immanuel Kant (1724–1804) argued that moral requirements are based on a standard of rationality he dubbed the “Categorical Imperative” (CI). Immorality thus involves a violation of the CI and is thereby irrational. Other philosophers, such as Locke and Hobbes, had also argued that moral requirements are based on standards of rationality. However, these standards were either desirebased instrumental principles of rationality or based on sui generis rational intuitions. Kant agreed with many of his predecessors that an analysis of practical reason (...) will reveal only the requirement that rational agents must conform to instrumental principles. Yet he argued that conformity to the CI (a non-instrumental principle) and hence to moral requirements themselves, can nevertheless be shown to be essential to rational agency. This argument was based on his striking doctrine that a rational will must be regarded as autonomous, or free in the sense of being the author of the law that binds it. The fundamental principle of morality — the CI — is none other than the law of an autonomous will. Thus, at the heart of Kant's moral philosophy is a conception of reason whose reach in practical affairs goes well beyond that of a Humean ‘slave’ to the passions. Moreover, it is the presence of this self-governing reason in each person that Kant thought offered decisive grounds for viewing each as possessed of equal worth and deserving of equal respect. (shrink)

Hukukun başlıca sorunları olan genellik ve geçerlilik Immanuel Kant’ın evrensel yasa arayışını incelemeyi gerektirmektedir. Kant evrensel ilkeleri ararken hukuka dair belirlemeler yapmaktadır. Bu çalışmada hak ve hukuk kavramları Kant’ın kapsayıcı ve bütünleştirici sisteminde tahlil edilmektedir. Ahlak Metafiziği’nin Temellendirilmesi eserinde temeller görülürken Ahlak Metafiziği eserinde hakka ve yasal düzenlere dair bir doktrin kurulmaktadır. Kant’ın ideal sisteminde yasal mevzuat değil yasaların temellendiği ilkelerin belirlenmesi esastır. Bu belirleme aynen ahlak yasasında olduğu gibi sonuçlarla ilgilenmez. Bir eylemin sonucunun iyi olup olmaması sorun teşkil etmez. (...) Eylemin dayandığı ilkenin iyi olması, dolayısıyla hukuki açıdan da eylemin dayandığı yasanın iyi olması gerekir. Böyle bir yasanın olanağı da Kantçı metinlerin çözümlenmesi ile izah edilebilir. (shrink)

El presente artículo expone algunos elementos comparativos entre Kant y Marx que permitan identificar un tránsito desde la noción de sujeto trascendental a la de sujeto revolucionario. Los aspectos que se comparan en sus respectivos programas emancipatorios son su consideración sobre lo humano, la primacía de la praxis, la libertad, la dignidad y cómo estos les permiten atribuirle un papel medular a las masas como ejecutoras de la acción revolucionaria y el progreso histórico-moral.