Free Downloads Kant: Groundwork Of The Metaphysics Of Morals (Cambridge Texts In The History Of Philosophy)
Published in 1785, Immanuel Kant's Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals ranks alongside Plato's Republic and Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics as one of the most profound and influential works in moral philosophy ever written. In Kant's own words, its aim is to identify and corroborate the supreme principle of morality, the categorical imperative. He argues that human beings are ends in themselves, never to be used by anyone merely as a means, and that universal and unconditional obligations must be understood as an expression of the human capacity for autonomy and self-governance. As such, they are laws of freedom. This volume contains Mary Gregor's acclaimed translation of the work, sympathetically revised by Jens Timmermann, and an accessible, updated introduction by Christine Korsgaard.
Series: Cambridge Texts in the History of Philosophy
Paperback: 130 pages
Publisher: Cambridge University Press; 2 edition (May 21, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1107401062
ISBN-13: 978-1107401068
Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.3 x 9 inches
Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #12,925 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #2 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Philosophy > Reference #4 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Philosophy > Movements > Rationalism #4 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Philosophy > Aesthetics
Kant's Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals is probably the single most influential work of philosophical ethics since Aristotle's Nichomachean Ethics. While Kant himself considered this a sort of introduction to ethical thinking, it's come to be his most influential and widely read work on ethics. Despite its length--it's less than a hundred pages--this is a work of remarkable depth and intellectual insight.This isn't an easy work, however. It needs to be read and re-read (and, I suppose, re-read) to be fully understood and appreciated. I've never found Kant as difficult and obscure as his reputation would suggest, but as a writer of philosophical prose he's certainly not the caliber of, say, Hume or Descartes. As many have noted, Kant is the first great philosopher of the modern era to have been an academic, and it shows. He writes long, meandering sentences, and the organization of his works leaves quite a bit to be desired. Furthermore, his penchant for arcane terminology and architechtonic can make his work seem more forbidding than it is. Still, Kant's ideas in the Groundwork, while subtle and sometimes elusive, are profound and original, and this book is a must-read for anyone interested in philosophical ethics. I should also note that the importance of this book isn't solely historical since there has been a recent resurgence of Kantian moral thinking in the English-speaking world.Kant's aim in the Groundwork is to discover the fundamental principle of morality. In the first section he attempts to derive this fundamental principle from ordinary moral thought. In particular, he attempts to derive this principle from considerations concerning what is unconditionally good. Kant claims that the only thing that is unconditionally good is a good will.
Kant: Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals (Cambridge Texts in the History of Philosophy) Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysics of Morals (Great Books in Philosophy) The Cambridge Companion to Renaissance Philosophy (Cambridge Companions to Philosophy) Critique of Pure Reason (The Cambridge Edition of the Works of Immanuel Kant) Critique of the Power of Judgment (The Cambridge Edition of the Works of Immanuel Kant) Condillac: Essay on the Origin of Human Knowledge (Cambridge Texts in the History of Philosophy) Kierkegaard: Fear and Trembling (Cambridge Texts in the History of Philosophy) The Cambridge Companion to Montaigne (Cambridge Companions to Philosophy) Philosophy 101: From Plato and Socrates to Ethics and Metaphysics, an Essential Primer on the History of Thought (Adams 101) Prolegomena to Any Future Metaphysics: with two early reviews of the Critique of Reason (Oxford Philosophical Texts) An Introduction to the Philosophy of Art (Cambridge Introductions to Philosophy) Metaphysics: Contemporary Readings: 2nd Edition (Routledge Contemporary Readings in Philosophy) Metaphysics: The Fundamentals (Fundamentals of Philosophy) Sex for Guys (Groundwork Guides) Genocide (Groundwork Guides) The Original Six: How the Canadiens, Bruins, Rangers, Blackhawks, Maple Leafs, and Red Wings Laid the Groundwork for Today’s National Hockey League The Early Political Writings of the German Romantics (Cambridge Texts in the History of Political Thought) More: Utopia (Cambridge Texts in the History of Political Thought) Proudhon: What is Property? (Cambridge Texts in the History of Political Thought) Machiavelli: The Prince (Cambridge Texts in the History of Political Thought)
