Kant's Search for the Supreme Principle of Morality

At the core of Kant's ethics lies the claim that if there is a supreme principle of morality, then it is not a utilitarian or Aristotelian perfectionist principle, or even a principle resembling the Ten Commandments. The only viable candidate for the supreme principle of morality is the Categorial Imperative. This book is the most detailed investigation of thie claim. It constructs a new, criterial reading of Kant's derivation of one version of the Categorial Imperative: The Formula of Universal Law. This reading shows this derivation to be far more compelling than contemporary philosophers tend to believe. It also reveals a novel approach to deriving another version of the Categorial Imperative, the Formula of Humanity, a principle widely considered to be the most attractive Kantian candidate for the supreme principle of morality. Lucidly written and dealing with a foundational topic in the history of ethics, this book will be important not just for Kant scholars but for a broad swath of students of philosophy. Samuel Kerstein is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Maryland, College Park

At the core of Kant's ethics lies the claim that if there is a supreme principle of morality then it cannot be a principle based on utilitarianism or Aristotelian perfectionism or the Ten Commandments. The only viable candidate for such a principle is the categorical imperative. This book is the most detailed investigation of this claim. It constructs a new, criterial reading of Kant's derivation of one version of the categorical imperative: the Formula of Universal Law. This reading shows this derivation to be far more compelling than contemporary philosophers tend to believe. It also reveals a novel approach to deriving another version of the categorical imperative, the Formula of Humanity, a principle widely considered to be the most attractive Kantian candidate for the supreme principle of morality. This book will be important not just for Kant scholars but for a broad swathe of students of philosophy.

Acknowledgments; Key to abbreviations and translations; Introduction: derivation, deduction, and the supreme principle of morality; 1. Fundamental concepts in Kant's theory of agency; 2. Transcendental freedom and the derivation of the formula of universal law; 3. The derivation of the formula of humanity; 4. The derivation of the formula of universal law: a criterial reading; 5. Criteria for the supreme principle of morality; 6. Duty and moral worth; 7. Eliminating rivals to the categorical imperative; 8. Conclusions: Kant's candidates for the supreme principle of morality; Notes; Index.

This book investigates the claim that there can only be one principle of morality, the categorical imperative. It constructs a criterial reading of Kant's derivation of one version of that imperative, the Formula of Universal Law, and reveals a novel approach to deriving another version, the Formula of Humanity.