Question

Sometimes Kant is said to have held antiquated or at least weird views (and worse, to be honest) about various subjects, including things like certain sexual activities or perhaps more bizarre activities (bizarre for him to have thought morally relevant, maybe). The casuistical sections of the Doctrine of Virtue are a good source for these pronouncements. Or so I thought for a long time, but for some reason, while I was rereading it a few weeks back, my mind spoke as Kant, but the tone my mind chose was more detached. Kant says what seem to be straightforward declarations of quirky ideas, but follows these up with open-ended inquiries, the solutions to some of which indicate the opposite of the overconfident proclamations of the immediately preceding sections. Moreover, he prefaces the whole casuistical stretch of the text by saying: But ethics, because of the latitude it allows in its imperfect duties, inevitably leads to questions that call upon judgment to decide how a maxim is to be applied in particular cases, and indeed in such a way that judgment provides another (subordinate) maxim (and one can always ask for yet another principle for applying this maxim to cases that may arise). So ethics falls into a casuistry, which has no place in the doctrine of Right. Casuistryis, accordingly, neither asciencenor a part of a science; for in that case it would bedogmatics, and casuistry is not so much a doctrine about howto findsomething as rather a practice in howto seektruth. So it iswoven into ethicsin afragmentary way, not [presented] systematically (as dogmatics would have to be), and is added to ethics only by way of scholia to the system. So, if we take Onona O'Neill's interpretation ofReligion within the Limits of Reason Aloneinto account, I think we have grounds for reading Kant as willing to articulate common moral notions in the sense of acknowledging them in his discourses on ethics, but not as an outright endorser thereby. He does say in either the Groundwork or the second Critique something about how moral knowledge cannot be gained by a new method that no one ever knew of itself before, that moral information is not recognition-transcendent either. So my question is:is this the way Kant is presenting all his infamous statements about sex, for example, as beliefs with some currency in his time, as well as often enough historically, portrayed in as sympathetic light as is possible for Kant, yet then undermined by the very form of his project in the Doctrine of Virtue as such?a) Kant's pronouncements on certain moral subjects, including sexual activities, are expressed with an air of detached inquiry, accompanied by open-ended inquiries and nuanced reflections, suggesting a more exploratory stance rather than absolute endorsement.

b) Kant's approach involves acknowledging common moral notions without explicit endorsement, presenting his infamous statements about sex as beliefs rooted in historical context, yet constantly undermining them through the structure of his ethical project in the Doctrine of Virtue.

c) Kant's writings on moral subjects, including sexual activities, are presented with a tone of detached inquiry, and while he acknowledges prevalent beliefs, he undermines them through open-ended inquiries, reflecting a more exploratory rather than dogmatic approach.

d) Kant's expressions about moral subjects like sexual activities are depicted in a manner that acknowledges prevailing beliefs but are subsequently undermined by his philosophical approach in the Doctrine of Virtue, showcasing a nuanced, exploratory stance rather than outright endorsement.

Answer 1

Immanuel Kant's ethical considerations are characterized by a balance between acknowledging common moral notions and critically examining them through a rational, deontological lens. His discussions of sexuality and other topics reflect this investigatory approach, suggesting an openness to question, rather than an outright endorsement, of the prevailing moral sentiments of his time.

Step-by-step explanation:

Immanuel Kant, a pivotal figure in the Enlightenment and modern moral philosophy, sought to establish a moral system based on reason rather than theological command or utilitarian calculus. In Kant's conceptual framework, he distinguishes between hypothetical imperatives, which are means to an end, and categorical imperatives, which dictate actions that are universally applicable and inherently moral without reliance on any particular ends.

Kant's positions on various moral topics, such as sexual activities, display an exploration rather than an explicit endorsement of his era's conventional morality. He acknowledges these beliefs to facilitate inquiry into their ethical validity, employing a structure that often seems to undermine these precepts through open-ended investigations, aligned with his idea of imperfect duties and the nuanced application of maxims in specific circumstances.

This suggests Kant's intention to engage with contemporary moral sentiments critically, respecting their prevalence but scrutinizing them through the lens of his deontological framework, thus emphasizing an ongoing quest for moral understanding over rigid codification.