Rescuing Autonomy from Kant: A Marxist Critique of Kant's Ethics

351 Pages·2023·1.343 MB·English

by  James Furner

RescuingAutonomyfromKant
Historical Materialism
Book Series
EditorialBoard
LorenBalhorn(Berlin)
DavidBroder(Rome)
SebastianBudgen(Paris)
SteveEdwards(London)
JuanGrigera(London)
MarcelvanderLinden(Amsterdam)
PeterThomas(London)
volume 271
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Contents
Acknowledgements ix
ReferencesandAbbreviations x
Introduction 1
part i
ThreeViewsof Marxism’sRelationtoKant’sEthics
IntroductiontoParti 7
1 AgainsttheIrrelevanceView 9
1 TheInstrumentalReasonsArgument 9
2 TheFalseClaimsArgument 12
3 TheIdeologyArgument 14
4 TheClassInterestsArgument 17
5 Summary 24
2 AgainsttheComplementarityView,Part1:SocialistStrategy 25
1 TheComplementarityView:Stammler,Staudinger,Vorländer 26
2 AnObjectiontotheComplementarityView 30
3 TheDeficientSelf-UnderstandingClaim:ACritique 39
3 AgainsttheComplementarityView,Part2:CanKant’sFormulaofthe
EndinItselfCondemnCapitalism? 48
1 fei-BasedArgumentsagainstCapitalism 51
2 Kant’sNeverMerelyasaMeansPrinciple 58
3 Applyingfei:SomeGeneralConsiderations 62
4 ApplyingfeibeyondKant 65
5 EvaluationoftheArguments 66
6 feiandGeneralInjustice 77
7 Conclusion 91
4 AgainsttheIncompatibilityView 93
1 TwoComponentsofHumanFreedom 95
2 MarxonHumanFreedom 96
3 TheTrueRealmofFreedomandtheRealmofNecessity 100
vi contents
4 TheLinktoAutonomy 106
5 MarxontheAutonomyofaHumanCommunity 107
6 Marx’sCommitmenttoaCritiqueofKant’sEthics 112
7 Summary 116
part ii
ACritiqueof Kant’sEthics
IntroductiontoPartii 121
5 Kant’sContradictioninConceptionTest 136
1 TheBasicFeaturesoftheCausal-TeleologicalVersionoflci 137
2 FurtherFeaturesofaCausal-TeleologicalVersionoflci 143
3 TheSuicideMaxim 146
4 TheFalsePromisingMaxim 151
5 Summary 154
6 Kant’sContradictionintheWillTest 156
1 AssessmentCriteria 157
2 AssessingtheExistingInterpretations 160
3 TheExtravagantImperfectNatureInterpretation 164
4 FormulatingtheGroundwork’sTwoMaxims 166
5 TheMaximofNeglectingNaturalGifts 168
6 TheMaximofRefusingtoHelp 170
7 Summary 172
7 ThePrincipleofSuitabilityInterpretationofKant’sFormulaofthe
LawofNature 173
1 TheContradictioninConceptionTest 176
2 TheContradictionintheWillTest 179
8 Kant’sArgumentfortheFormulaoftheEndinItself 183
1 TheStructureofKant’sArgumentforfei 185
2 Steps1–3 186
3 Step4:theLogicalPluralismVersionofKant’sRegressive
Argument 190
4 AdvantagesoftheLogicalPluralismVersionofKant’sRegressive
Argument 198
5 Humanity,PersonalityandaBeliefintheExistenceofGod 203
contents vii
9 Kant’sArgumentsforaBeliefintheExistenceofGod 209
1 Kant’sConceptoftheHighestGood 213
2 TheArgumentfromtheHighestGood 220
3 Wood’sVersionoftheArgumentfromtheHighestGood 224
4 TheObjectionfromMoralHappiness 233
5 ThePhysicoteleologicalArgument 242
6 Conclusion 250
part iii
FoundingaPost-KantianEthics
IntroductiontoPartiii 255
10 AMarxistArgumentforAutonomy 257
1 RelativisingPracticalReason 259
2 AnArgumentativeStrategy 262
3 TheNeedforaDutytotheWhole 264
4 TheGeneralFeaturesofaFoundationalArgument 268
5 ALessonfromMill’s‘Proof’ 273
6 TheDistinctiveFeaturesofaMarxistFoundational
Argument 277
7 ASimpleAccountofCapitalism’sBasicStructure 281
8 ExplainingthePremises 282
9 TheRights-Antinomy 287
10 ResolvingtheRights-Antinomy 292
11 TheSystemUniversalisabilityPrincipleofJustice 297
12 TheAutonomyofaHumanCommunity 304
13 Summary 308
14 TheJustificationofSocialistStrategy 310
15 Conclusion 318
Bibliography 325
Index 336

Acknowledgements
Iwouldliketoacknowledgethesa-ukBilateralChairinPoliticalTheory,based
intheSchoolof Sciences,Universityof theWitwatersrand,heldbyProfessor
LawrenceHamilton,fortheresearchfellowshipduringwhichtimethemain
draftofthebookwaswritten.
I would also like to thank: Komnas Poriazis, for many discussions of the
issues;ThadMetz,forhelpfulcommentsonChapters5and6;ananonymous
reviewerfortheHistoricalMaterialismBookSeries;andthereviewersandedit-
orialboardswhoseadviceandeditingguidedthejournalarticleslistedbelow
topublication.
In the chapters indicated, the book reproduces, revises or expands argu-
mentsfirstpresentedin:
3: “CanKant’sFormulaoftheEndinItselfCondemnCapitalism?”Kantian
Review,24(1),1–25.©KantianReview,2019.
5: “Kant’sContradictioninConceptionTest.”Theoria,64(152),1–23.©Berg-
hahnJournals,2017.
6: “Kant’s Contradiction in theWillTest.”The Philosophical Forum, 48 (3),
307–23.©Wiley,2017.
7: “ThePrincipleofSuitabilityInterpretationofKant’sFormulaoftheLaw
ofNature.”Theoria,66(160).©BerghahnJournals,2019.
8: “Kant’sArgumentfortheFormulaoftheEndinItself:ALogicalPluralism
Interpretation.”IdealisticStudies,47(3),171–89.©PhilosophyDocument-
ationCenter,2019.
References and Abbreviations
ReferencestoworksoriginallywritteninGermanorFrencharefirsttoanoriginallan-
guageeditionandthen,ifavailable,toapublishedtranslation;forexample,
Bernstein1899,p.177;Bernstein1993,p.199.
ExceptforKant’sLecturesonPhilosophicalTheology,whichiscitedbyauthor:date,and
CritiqueofPureReason,whichiscitedbyA/Bpagination,Kant’swritingsarereferenced
usingthefollowingabbreviations,followedbythevolumeandpagenumberinKants
gesammelteSchriften,Berlin:deGruyter,orAkademie(Ak.)edition:
Anth AnthropologieinpragmatischerHinsicht(1798)
AnthropologyfromaPragmaticPointofView
gms GrundlegungzurMetaphysikderSitten(1785)
GroundworkoftheMetaphysicsofMorals
IaG IdeezueinerallgemeinenGeschichteinweltbürgerlicherAbsicht(1784)
IdeaforaUniversalHistorywithaCosmopolitanPurpose
KpV KritikderpraktischenVernunft(1788)
CritiqueofPracticalReason
ku KritikderUrtheilskraft(1790)
CritiqueofJudgment
Log Logik(1800)
LecturesonLogic
ms MetaphysikderSitten(1797)
TheMetaphysicsofMorals
P ProlegomenazueinerjedenkünftigenMetaphysik(1783)
ProlegomenatoAnyFutureMetaphysics
rgv DieReligioninnerhalbderGrenzenderbloßenVernunft(1793)
ReligionWithintheBoundsofBareReason
tp ÜberdenGemeinspruch:DasmaginderTheorierichtigsein,taugtaber
nichtfürdiePraxis(1793)
OntheCommonSaying:ThatMayBeCorrectinTheory,Butitisof No
UseinPractice
ügtp ÜberdenGebrauchteleologischerPrincipieninderPhilosophie(1788)
OntheUseofTeleologicalPrinciplesinPhilosophy
V-Mo/Collins MoralphilosophieCollins
MoralPhilosophy:Collins’sLectureNotes
wa BeantwortungderFrage:WasistAufklärung(1784)
AnAnswertotheQuestion:WhatisEnlightenment?