Kant's Doctrine of Virtue

303 Pages·2021·1.814 MB·English

by  Mark Timmons

Kant’s Doctrine of Virtue
OXFORD GUIDES TO PHILOSOPHY
Series Editors
Rebecca Copenhaver, Lewis and Clark College
Christopher Shields, University of Notre Dame
Mark Timmons, University of Arizona
Advisory Board
Michael Beaney, Ursula Coope, Karen Detlefsen, Lisa Downing,
Tom Hurka, Pauline Kleingeld, Robert Pasnau, Dominik Perler,
Houston Smit, Allen Wood
Oxford Guides to Philosophy presents concise introductions to the most
important primary texts in the history of philosophy. Written by top
scholars, the volumes in the series are designed to present up-to-date
scholarship in an accessible manner, in order to guide readers through
these challenging texts.
Anscombe’s Intention: A Guide
John Schwenkler
Kant’s Doctrine of Virtue: A Guide
Mark Timmons
Kant’s Doctrine
of Virtue
A Guide
MARK TIMMONS
1
3
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Library of Congress Cataloging-i n- Publication Data
Names: Timmons, Mark, 1951– author.
Title: Kant’s Doctrine of virtue : a guide / Mark Timmons.
Description: New York, NY : Oxford University Press, [2021] |
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2020052410 (print) | LCCN 2020052411 (ebook) |
ISBN 9780190939229 (hardback) | ISBN 9780190939236 (paperback) |
ISBN 9780190939250 (epub)
Subjects: LCSH: Kant, Immanuel, 1724–1804. Metaphysische Anfangsgründe der
Tugendlehre. | Kant, Immanuel, 1724–1804—Criticism and interpretation. |
Virtue. | Ethics. | Metaphysics.
Classification: LCC B2785.5.Z7 T56 2021 (print) |
LCC B2785.5.Z7 (ebook) | DDC 170—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020052410
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020052411
DOI: 10.1093/ oso/ 9780190939229.001.0001
1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2
Paperback printed by Marquis, Canada
Hardback printed by Bridgeport National Bindery, Inc., United States of America
For Betsy
Preface
This book, included in the Oxford Guides series, is a concise guide to
Kant’s last publication in ethics, Part II of the 1797 The Metaphysics of
Morals, The Doctrine of Virtue. The Metaphysics of Morals comes after
the two foundational works, the 1785 Groundwork of the Metaphysics
of Morals and the 1788 Critique of Practical Reason and represents
Kant’s exposition and defense of his normative doctrine of morals.
Part I, The Doctrine of Right, contains Kant’s legal and political philos-
ophy, while Part II is his ethical theory. The Doctrine of Virtue is rela-
tively short, only 116 pages as it appears in volume VI of the Academy
edition of Kant’s works. Because it is short and yet intended to cover
the science of ethics (on Kant’s understanding of “science”), it moves
rapidly over much ground, challenging any reader’s understanding
of it. The Metaphysics of Morals includes a general introduction that
is crucial for understanding the entire book. In it, Kant explains what
a metaphysics of morals is, relates the idea of moral law to the faculties
of the human mind, reviews core concepts that figure in such a meta-
physics, and explains the basis of the division between its two parts.
Given, then, its importance for understanding The Doctrine of Virtue,
this guide also includes chapters devoted to it.
I have written the guide to be read alongside Kant’s text. My hope
is that it will help readers navigate the complexity of Kant’s thought,
due in part to his rich philosophical vocabulary expressing concepts
he needed to employ to articulate his thought. To help readers with
this vocabulary, I have included a Guide to Terminology. Throughout
I make occasional contact with some of the ever-e xpanding secondary
literature on Kant’s ethics. However, given the aim of the series, I have
largely refrained from explicitly engaging this literature. I do, though,
point readers to select secondary works in the Further Reading
sections at the end of each chapter. In the book’s conclusion I review
elements of Kant’s doctrine of virtue, calling attention to its features
that distinguish it from others and briefly indicate its continuing influ-
ence on normative ethics.
Acknowledgments
Thanks to the following students who read an early draft of this book
that I used along with teaching The Doctrine of Virtue in my fall 2018
graduate seminar on Kant’s ethics: Gavriel Aryah, Josh Cangelosi,
Cristos Chuffe, Max Kramer, Robert Lazo, Andrew Lichter, Shuai Liu,
Xihe Ouyang, Susan Puls, Will Schumacher, Jacquelyn Sideris, Robert
Wallace, Justin Westbrook, and Ke Zhang. A special thanks to Santiago
(“Santi”) de Jesus Sanchez Borboa, who contributed substantially to
the seminar and for the many helpful conversations we’ve had about
parts of this book.
I made many improvements throughout the book thanks to Adam
Cureton’s thoughtful comments and suggestions on the book’s penul-
timate draft, saving me from some mistakes and encouraging me to
elaborate certain themes and arguments.
Robert Audi read and commented on the penultimate manuscript
and offered many helpful suggestions for improving the book’s content.
Over the years I have greatly benefitted from discussions with my
colleague Houston Smit on many of the topics covered in this book.
Thanks finally to Peter Ohlin, editor at Oxford University Press, and
to my co-e ditors of this series, Becko Copenhaver and Chris Shields,
for their help and encouragement.
Abbreviations for Kant’s Works
All references to Kant’s work include the volume number (in roman
numerals) followed by the page number of the German Academy edi-
tion of Kant’s works: Immanuel Kants gesmmelte Schriften, edited by the
Königlich Preußischen Akademie der Wissenschaften (Berlin: Walter
de Gruyter, 1900–) .
The Academy edition page numbers are included in the margins of
most English language translations, including the Cambridge Edition
series of the Works of Immanuel Kant listed here. The following
abbreviations are used throughout.
Anth Anthropology from a Pragmatic Point of View, trans. R. B.
Louden (2006)
CJ Critique of the Power of Judgment, trans. P. Guyer and
E. Matthews (2000)
Col Moral Philosophy from the Lectures of Professor Kant, Winter
Semester 1784– 85, Georg Ludwig Collins, ed., included in
Lectures on Ethics, trans. P. Heath (1997)
CprR Critique of Practical Reason, trans. M. J. Gregor (1996)
CpuR Critique of Pure Reason, trans. P. Guyer and A. Wood (1998)
DR Doctrine of Right, part I of the Metaphysics of Morals, trans. M. J.
Gregor (1996)
DrMM Drafts for the Metaphysics of Morals, trans. K. R. Westphal
in F. Rauscher, ed., Lectures and Drafts on Practical
Philosophy (2016)
DV Doctrine of Virtue, Part II of the Metaphysics of Morals, trans.
J. Timmermann and J. Grenberg (forthcoming).
EMH Essay on the Maladies of the Head, trans. R. B. Louden (2007)
G Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals, trans. M. J. Gregor
and J. Timmermann (2011)
JL Jäsche Logic, trans. J. M. Young (1992)
LA Lectures on Anthropology, trans. R. B. Clewis, R. B. Louden, C. F.
Munzel, and A. W. Wood (2012)
xiv Abbreviations for Kant’s Works
LM Lectures on Metaphysics, trans. K. Ameriks and
S. Naragon (1997)
MFNS Metaphysical Foundations of Natural Science, trans.
M. Friedman (2004)
MM Introduction to The Metaphysics of Morals, trans. M. J.
Gregor (1996)
MPT “On the Miscarriage of All Philosophical Trials,” trans. A. W.
Wood (1996)
NF Notes and Fragments, trans. C. Bowman, P. Guyer, and
F. Rauscher (2005)
Ped Lectures on Pedagogy, trans. R. B. Louden (2006)
R Religion within the Boundaries of Mere Reason, trans. G. di
Giovanni (revised edition, 2018)
TP “On the Common Saying: That May Be Correct in Theory, But
It Is of No Use in Practice,” trans. M. J. Gregor (1996)
Vig Notes on the Lectures of Mr. Kant on the Metaphysics of Morals,
begun October 14, 1793, Johann Friedrich Vigilantius, ed.,
included in Lectures on Ethics, trans. P. Heath (1997)
Note on Translations
For The Doctrine of Virtue (DV), I am using the new English trans-
lation by Jens Timmermann and Jeanine Grenberg that includes the
German and English side by side.
James W. Ellington’s Ethical Philosophy by Hackett Publishing Co.,
besides his translation of DV, also includes translation of the general
introduction to The Metaphysics of Morals, which I cover in Part II of
this guide. (This book also includes translations of Kant’s Groundwork
and the essay “On a Supposed Right to Lie.”)