Kantian Ethics Almost Without Apology - by Marcia W Baron (Hardcover)

About the Book

A reappraisal on the emphasis on duty in Immanuel Kant's ethics is long overdue. Marcia W. Baron evaluates and for the most part defends Kantian ethics against two frequent criticisms: that duty plays too large a role, leaving no room for the supererogatory; and that Kant places too much value on acting from duty.

Book Synopsis

A reappraisal on the emphasis on duty in Immanuel Kant's ethics is long overdue. Marcia W. Baron evaluates and for the most part defends Kantian ethics against two frequent criticisms: that duty plays too large a role, leaving no room for the supererogatory; and that Kant places too much value on acting from duty.

The author first argues that Kant's distinction between perfect and imperfect duties provides a plausible and intriguing alternative to contemporary approaches to charity, self-sacrifice, heroism, and saintliness. She probes the differences between the supererogationist and the Kantian, exploring the motivation between the former's position and bringing to light sharply divided views on the nature of moral constraint and excellence.

Baron then confronts problems associated with Kant's account of moral motivation, she argues that the value that Kant attaches to acting from duty attaches primarily to governing ones conduct by a commitment to doing what morality asks. Thus understood, Kant's ethics steers clear of the most serious criticism. Of special interest is her discussion of overdetermination.

Clearly written and cogently argued, Kantian Ethics Almost without Apology takes on the most philosophically intriguing challenges to Kantian ethics and subjects them to a rigorous yet sympathetic assessment. Readers will find here original contributions to the debate over impartial morality.

From the Back Cover

The emphasis on duly in Kant's ethics is widely held to constitute a defect. Marcia W. Baron develops and assesses the criticism, which she sees as comprising two objections: that duty plays too large a role, leaving no room for the supererogatory, and that Kant places too much value on acting from duty. Clearly written and cogently argued, Kantian Ethics Almost without Apology takes on the most philosophically intriguing objections to Kant's ethics and subjects them to a rigorous yet sympathetic assessment.

Review Quotes

Baron has written a careful, diligent defense of Kant's deontological conception of ethics.... The book combines exemplary scholarship, philosophical sophistication, and sensitivity to moral concerns. Highly recommended.

-- "Choice"

Baron's book marks an important contribution to the burgeoning field of Kantian ethics... and may be recommended to non-specialists.

-- "Times Literary Supplement"

Carefully argued and persuasive.... Baron's mode of faithful restoration rather than apologetic adaptation makes a refreshing change from much of the recent writing by friends of Kant's ethics.... Her book offers valuable reflections about two supposed problems with Kant's ethics: that it leaves no room for supererogatory actions and that it overemphasizes the value of acting from duty.... Baron's forthright defenses of Kant are each carried out with admirable thoroughness and fair-minded attention to the ample secondary literature.

-- "Ethics"

This book is clearly an important addition to contemporary discussions of Kant's ethics.

-- "Philosophical Review"

This work will be of particular interest to readers who have been following recent philosophical discussions of issues such as impartiality and partiality in ethics or the apparent tension between acting from friendship (or love) and acting on principle. It also quite nicely exemplifies some significant developments which have taken place in the interpretation of Kant's ethics, most notably an increased recognition that Kant 'is far more concerned with character and conduct over a long period of time than with the moral worth or lack thereof of isolated actions.'

-- "Theological Studies"

About the Author

Marcia W. Baron is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.