Kant's Moral Religion

by Wood, Allen W.

• ISBN13: 9780801475528
• ISBN10: 080147552X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-08-15
• Publisher: Cornell Univ Pr

Summary

In Kant's Moral Religion, Allen W. Wood argues that Kant's doctrine of religious belief is consistent with his best critical thinking and, in fact, that the "moral arguments"-along with the faith they justify-are an integral part of Kant's critical philosophy. Wood shows that Kant's sensitive religious outlook on the world deserves to be counted among the greatest of his philosophical contributions.

Author Biography

Allen W. Wood is Professor of Philosophy at Indiana University. He is the author of many books, including Hegel's Ethical Thought, Kant's Ethical Thought and Kantian Ethics and coeditor and cotranslator of Immanuel Kant's Lectures on Philosophical Theology, also from Cornell.

Table of Contents

Abbreviations	p. xi
Introduction	p. 1
Kant's Moral Arguments	p. 10
Knowledge and Belief	p. 13
Pragmatic Belief	p. 17
The Absurdum Practicum	p. 25
The Moral Argument for Freedom	p. 34
Finite Rational Volition	p. 38
Motives, Ends, and Maxims	p. 40
Maxims and Autonomy	p. 45
"Happiness" and Rational Volition	p. 52
The Unconditioned Good	p. 60
The Highest Good	p. 69
The Moral Good	p. 71
The Natural Good	p. 78
The Idea of an Unconditioned Object of Pure Practical Reason	p. 90
The Practical Postulates	p. 100
The First Antinomy of Practical Reason	p. 105
The Postulate of Immortality	p. 116
The Second Antinomy of Practical Reason	p. 124
The Postulate of God's Existence	p. 129
The Postulates and Their Practical Function	p. 145
Moral Faith and Rational Religion	p. 153
Moral Despair	p. 155
Moral Faith in God	p. 160
Moral Faith in Immortality	p. 176
Moral Faith and Illusion	p. 182
Religion and the Church	p. 187
Religious Experience and Revelation	p. 201
Radical Evil and Divine Grace	p. 208
The Concept of Radical Evil	p. 210
The Critique of Man's Moral Nature	p. 219
Moral Progress and Perfection	p. 226
The Postulate of Divine Grace	p. 232
Conclusion	p. 249
Notes	p. 255
Bibliography	p. 273
Index	p. 281
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Excerpts

In Kant's Moral Religion, Allen W. Wood argues that Kant's doctrine of religious belief if consistent with his best critical thinking and, in fact, that the "moral arguments"-along with the faith they justify-are an integral part of Kant's critical philosophy. Wood shows that Kant's sensitive religious outlook on the world deserves to be counted among the greatest of his philosophical contributions. In setting forth his interpretation of Kant, Wood provides a clear statement of what the philosopher reveals in his reasoning for belief in God and immortality. He reexamines Kant's conception of moral volition and defends his doctrine of the "highest good." He discusses Kant's use of moral faith as a rational criterion for religion in relation to ecclesiastically faith, religious experience, and claims to divine revelation. Finally, he discusses the philosopher's idea of radical evil in man's nature, and develops Kant's theory of divine grace as it is foreshadowed in his 1793 book Religion Within the Limits of Reason Alone. Kant's thoughts about religion, Wood maintains, are a great philosopher's solution to difficult problems that must be confronted by every man and can serve as a guide in any effort to deal rationally with questions of religion.