A Kantian Theory of Evil

Garcia, Ernesto V.

doi:10.5840/monist200285218

Cited by 10 publications

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“…It is meant to refer to disagreeable, yet entirely accidental untoward and unfortunate circumstances. In contrast, to refer to something as evil in the sense of (a) is to call an action morally wrong, ‘resulting not from natural contingency but from the direct action of an agent’s will – when she wrongly subordinates the principle of morality to the principle of self-love’ (Garcia 2002: 195).…”

Section: Criticisms and Replies: Can Kant’s Theory Of Evil Be Saved?mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It is possible to answer this question affirmatively. Although Kant left the conceptually possible distinction between evil and mundane wrongdoing unexplored, Ernesto Garcia argues that one can reasonably modify the Kantian ethical theory in order to locate ‘a fundamental qualitative difference between evil and more ordinary immoral actions … in which … a “material” (as opposed to purely “formal”) difference exists between the respective maxims of the immoral and the evil agent’ (Garcia 2002: 194). It is a hallmark of Kantian ethics that the form of the maxim and not its matter determines the moral worth of an action ( G , 4: 399–400).…”

Section: Criticisms and Replies: Can Kant’s Theory Of Evil Be Saved?mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…According to Garcia, evil actions distinguish themselves from merely immoral ones by emanating from a specific kind of material end. Immoral actions are characterized by using the humanity of others merely as a means to some contingent end, but ‘in evil actions we seek out to directly violate the humanity of another person itself’ (Garcia 2002: 201). Whereas the moral law commands us to regard humanity as the necessary formal end of moral action, in evil action ‘the object of our willing just consists in the mistreatment of the humanity of another person qua human’; evil action has as its material end ‘the violation of humanity itself’ (ibid.).…”

Section: Criticisms and Replies: Can Kant’s Theory Of Evil Be Saved?mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Can Kant’s Theory of Radical Evil Be Saved?

Goldberg

2017

Kantian rev.

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In this article, I assess three contemporary criticisms levelled at Kant’s theory of evil in order to evaluate whether his theory can be saved. Critics argue that Kant does not adequately distinguish between evil and mundane wrongdoing, making his use of the term ‘evil’ emotional hyperbole; by defining evil as the subordination of the moral law to self-love his analysis is seemingly overly simplistic and empirically false; and by focusing solely on the moral character of the perpetrator of evil, Kant’s theory apparently ignores the most salient aspect of evil – the suffering of victims. While I will not claim that Kant provides us with a fully adequate theory of evil, I respond to each of these criticisms and conclude that Kant’s theory can still provide significant insight into both the nature of evil and the moral psychology of perpetrators of evil.

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Section: Criticisms and Replies: Can Kant’s Theory Of Evil Be Saved?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Criticisms and Replies: Can Kant’s Theory Of Evil Be Saved?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Criticisms and Replies: Can Kant’s Theory Of Evil Be Saved?mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Can Kant’s Theory of Radical Evil Be Saved?

Goldberg

2017

Kantian rev.

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“…Desde la colonia se dio el sometimiento, unas veces al amparo de la ley y en otras ocasiones al margen de ella. 55 Los castigos corporales tampoco eran una innovación porfiriana, pues se remontan a la época colonial; nada se innovó salvo el recrudecimiento de todo lo preexistente. 56 Entre la ciudad meridana y el campo yucateco parecía abrirse una brecha, esto hizo que los espacios lucieran diferentes al igual que sus respectivos dilemas.…”

Section: El Suicidio Y La Vida En El Campounclassified

La muerte voluntaria en Yucatán durante el porfiriato

Valdes

Roberto²

2013

Secuencia

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Este artículo se aboca al estudio del suicidio enYucatán durante el porfiriato; su objetivo radicaen entender las preconcepciones que se teníanacerca de los suicidas. El aporte de este trabajoconsiste en interpretar la forma en la que eranpercibidos y descritos estos personajes a partirde las notas de la prensa decimonónica y en lasactas judiciales, pero analizados en relación conel auge industrializador de la época. En comúnhabía un sentimiento de lástima que despertabanlos suicidas, pero antes de sentir tal pesartrataban de buscar alguna causa que hicieraentendible el porqué se habían suicidado. Eneste sentido se analizan los casos de muertevoluntaria con una previa ambientación delefecto modernizador de tal tiempo, todo ellocon el objeto de entender mejor cómo se gestabaneste tipo de eventos.Fecha de recepción:octubre de 2010Fecha de aceptación:febrero de 2011Palabras clave:

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“…As Mackenzie (1929: 250) notes, an advantage in the use of value is that ‘it enables us, without any difficulty, to recognize degrees ’. In this case, though it is difficult to differentiate between different degrees of evil, since ‘what we regard as evil are just those actions that, to some greater extent, more seriously offend our deeply‐held moral sentiments or that produce much more harmful consequences’ (Garcia, 2002: 194). Evil in this regard already is the higher intensity value of something not good or bad.…”

Section: Religious Metaphors: Evilmentioning

confidence: 99%

Religious metaphor in the discourse of illusion: George W. Bush and Osama bin Laden¹

Bhatia

2007

World Englishes

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Using a combination of models, including the discourse-historical approach, metaphor analysis, and membership categorization analysis, this paper explores a series of speeches given by George W. Bush and Osama bin Laden. It demonstrates how similar rhetorical and linguistic tools are manipulated by people in a position to influence society, as they attempt to depict their individual representations of reality as true and objective. Analysis of the data reveals how both individuals make use of almost identical rhetorical tools in order to objectify two completely subjective and contrasting conceptualizations of reality, whereby each plays the role of 'self' and 'other'. This makes apparent the discourse of illusion which highlights the existence of contested versions of social reality. There is evidence within the data of a conflict between the two versions of reality, originating from their particular subjective and ideological conceptual systems, which generate social categories that depict the 'self' as being constituted by all positive values, and the 'other' as comprising all negative values. The use of religious metaphors in particular serves the purpose of categorizing the 'other' as morally devoid, and the 'self' as being in a position to pass moral judgement. Religious metaphors exploiting constructs such as evil, light and darkness, heaven and hell, barbarism, and moral justice also serve to legitimize the actions of both George W. Bush and Osama bin Laden, interpreting sociopolitical issues as religious events. Consequently, in pursuit of supportive alliances and collective agreement, both endorse Moral Absolutism in the War on Terror, resorting to the 'emotionalization of facts' (Menz, 1989: 237).

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A Kantian Theory of Evil

Cited by 10 publications

References 0 publications

Can Kant’s Theory of Radical Evil Be Saved?

Can Kant’s Theory of Radical Evil Be Saved?

La muerte voluntaria en Yucatán durante el porfiriato

Religious metaphor in the discourse of illusion: George W. Bush and Osama bin Laden¹

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A Kantian Theory of Evil

Cited by 10 publications

References 0 publications

Can Kant’s Theory of Radical Evil Be Saved?

Can Kant’s Theory of Radical Evil Be Saved?

La muerte voluntaria en Yucatán durante el porfiriato

Religious metaphor in the discourse of illusion: George W. Bush and Osama bin Laden1

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Religious metaphor in the discourse of illusion: George W. Bush and Osama bin Laden¹