Immanuel Kant and Utilitarian Ethics

225 Pages·2022·4.332 MB·English

by  Samuel Hollander

Immanuel Kant and
Utilitarian Ethics
Adopting a view of utilitarian ethics in which motivation in the public inter-
est takes on greater weight than is generally appreciated, this book explores
the extent to which the philosophy of Immanuel Kant is consistent with this
nuanced version of utilitarianism.
Kant’s requirement that full ethical merit needs an agent to act purely
‘from duty’ to forward ‘the universal end of happiness’ rather than from a
personal inclination to achieve that end clearly distinguishes his position from
the version of utilitarian ethics adopted here. But this book also demon-
strates, by reference to his formal ethical works and his lectures on ethics and
anthropology, Kant’s approval of a secondary category of conduct – conduct
‘in conformity with’ duty – entailing other-regarding or ‘sympathetic’ mo-
tivation to advance general happiness, differing from the utilitarian position
only in its meriting a qualified degree of ethical credit. After comparing
Kant with eighteenth-century utilitarian writers from Locke to Smith, and
also with Bentham and Malthus, the book evaluates reactions to Kant by J.S.
Mill and Karl Marx and proposes Michel de Montaigne (1533–1592) as a
‘precursor’ for maintaining a ‘Kantian’ doctrine of conduct ‘from duty’ and
for other shared features. In terms of public policy, the work demonstrates
Kant’s justification of poor relief and reduced inequality, his proposal for a
state education plan and his opposition to paternalism.
This book provides essential reading for academic specialists and students
concerned with the interface of political economy and ethics, as well as the
history of economic thought, history of political thought and intellectual
history.
Samuel Hollander is University Professor Emeritus at the University of
Toronto, Canada, and an Officer in the Order of Canada.
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Immanuel Kant and Utilitarian Ethics
Samuel Hollander
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Immanuel Kant and
Utilitarian Ethics
Samuel Hollander
First published 2022
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© 2022 Samuel Hollander
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British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Hollander, Samuel, author.
Title: Immanuel Kant and utilitarian ethics / Samuel Hollander.
Description: 1 Edition. | New York, NY : Routledge, 2022. |
Series: Routledge studies in the history of economics |
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2021056267 (print) | LCCN 2021056268
(ebook) | ISBN 9781032198156 (hardback) | ISBN 9781032198170
(paperback) | ISBN 9781003260981 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Kant, Immanuel, 1724-1804. | Economics—Moral
and ethical aspects. | Utilitarianism. | Equality. | Paternalism.
Classification: LCC HB72 .H6575 2022 (print) |
LCC HB72 (ebook) | DDC174—dc23/eng/20220114
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021056267
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021056268
ISBN: 978-1-032-19815-6 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-032-19817-0 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-26098-1 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9781003260981
Typeset in Bembo
by codeMantra
Dedicated to the memory of
my sister SALLY z”l
1934–2018,
and my cousin
SAMUEL BARSAM z”l
1935–2021
and 80 years of friendship.

Contents
Preface xi
Introduction and Plan of Work 1
Notes 10
References 11
1 Kant on Virtue 12
1.1 Principles of Ethical Conduct 12
1.2 Conduct ‘From Duty’: On ‘Beneficence’ (and Other Examples) 18
1.3 Conduct ‘In Conformity with Duty’: On Motivation by
‘Sympathy’ (‘Benevolence’) 22
1.4 On the Practical Relevance of Morality 25
1.5 Moral Progress and the Role of Education 28
1.6 On Prudence 33
1.7 The Principle of Right 34
1.8 The ‘Rightful’ State 35
1.9 The Role of the State 39
1.10 Morality in ‘Cosmopolitan’ Context 43
Notes 46
References 48
2 Kant’s Königsberg Lectures on Ethics 50
2.1 The Categorical Imperative: ‘How possible?’ 50
2.2 The Requirements for Conduct from Duty 56
2.3 On Self-Regarding Interest, Duty to Self and the State’s Right
to Coerce 60
2.4 Duties of Virtue and Duties of Right: Classifications 64
2.5 Duties of Virtue and Duties of Right: An Application to
Distributive Justice (‘Fairness’) 73
2.6 On Consequences in Ethical Evaluation: A Utilitarian Perspective 77
viii Contents
2.7 Some Theological Issues 79
2.8 Significant Features of the Lectures on Ethics: A Résumé 81
Notes 83
References 84
3 Kant’s Königsberg Lectures on Anthropology 85
3.1 From ‘Morality’ to ‘Ethics’ and the Tasks of Anthropology 85
3.2 The Role of Education in Advancing Ethical Progress 87
3.3 Ethical Progress as a ‘Natural’ Process: The Invisible Hand 91
3.4 A Return to Conduct ‘from’ and Conduct ‘in Conformity with’ Duty 94
3.5 The ‘Cosmopolitan’ Dimension to Ethical Progress 96
Notes 99
References 100
4 Kant in Eighteenth-Century (Utilitarian) Context 102
4.1 Kant and Locke 103
4.2 Kant and Shaftesbury 109
4.3 Kant and Mandeville 115
4.4 Kant and Hutcheson 119
4.5 Kant and Hume 123
4.6 Kant and Smith 128
4.7 An Overview 135
Notes 137
References 137
5 Kant and Some Later Intellectual Relations 140
5.1 On Bentham’s Utilitarianism 141
5.2 Kant and Bentham 146
5.3 On Mill’s ‘Utilitarian’ Reading of Kant 149
5.4 Kant and Malthus 152
5.5 On Marx’s Charge of Social Irrelevance 157
Notes 159
References 160
6 Michel de Montaigne (1533–1592):
An Early Precursor of Kant? 162
6.1 Montaigne’s Ethical Categories 163
6.2 Enlightenment Issues: Kant’s Motto 168
6.3 Enlightenment Issues: Montaigne on Faith vs. Reason 170
6.4 On Kant’s Neglect of Montaigne: A Summary 179
6.5 Comments on an Alternative View of the Kant-Montaigne Relation 181
Contents ix
Notes 186
References 187
7 Kant and Utilitarian Ethics: A General Overview 189
7.1 Personal Ethics 189
7.2 Public Policy 196
Notes 203
References 204
Index 207