DOCSLIB.ORG

Studies on Collingwood, History and Civilization

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Studies on Collingwood, History and Civilization Studies on Collingwood, History and Civilization Jan van der Dussen Studies on Collingwood, History and Civilization Jan van der Dussen Heerlen , The Netherlands ISBN 978-3-319-20671-4 ISBN 978-3-319-20672-1 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-20672-1 Library of Congress Control Number: 2015951386 Springer Cham Heidelberg New York Dordrecht London © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifi cally the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfi lms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specifi c statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. Printed on acid-free paper Springer International Publishing AG Switzerland is part of Springer Science+Business Media (www. springer.com) Acknowledgements The following four essays are reproduced from their original publication. I would like to express my gratitude to the publishers for reprinting them here. ‘Introduction to Collingwood’s Philosophy of History’, with the title ‘The Case for Historical Imagination: Defending the Human Factor and Narrative’, in Nancy Partner and Sarah Foot eds., The Sage Handbook of Historical Theory (Los Angeles/ London/New Delhi/Singapore/Washington DC, 2013: Sage), 41–66 ‘Collingwood’s Philosophy of History in the Year of his An Autobiography ’, in David Boucher and Teresa Smith eds., R.G. Collingwood : An Autobiography and Other Writings. With essays on Collingwood ’ s life and work (Oxford, 2013: Oxford University Press), 305–333 ‘Collingwood on the Ideas of Process, Progress, and Civilization’, in David Boucher, James Connelly and Tariq Modood eds., Philosophy , History and Civilization. Interdisciplinary Perspectives on R.G. Collingwood (Cardiff, 1995: University of Wales Press), 246–268 (with minor revisions) ‘Collingwood’s Claim that History is a Science’, Collingwood and British Idealism Studies 13, nr. 2 (2007), 5–30 The following three essays are revised versions of articles that were originally published as follows: ‘Collingwood’s “Lost” Manuscript of The Principles of History ’, History and Theory 36 (1997), 32–62 ‘The Philosophical Context of Collingwood’s Re-enactment Theory’, International Studies in Philosophy 27, nr. 2 (1995), 81–99 ‘The Historian and his Evidence’, in W.J. van der Dussen and Lionel Rubinoff eds., Objectivity , Method and Point of View. Essays in the Philosophy of History (Leiden, 1991: E.J. Brill), 154–169 The following essays are revised versions of articles that originally appeared in Dutch, in Jan van der Dussen, Geschiedenis en Beschaving. Kritische Opstellen over Verleden , Heden en Toekomst (Hilversum, 2005: Verloren): ‘Herodotus as Pater Historiae ’, ‘Toynbee and his Critics’, ‘Time in Perspective. In Search of Orientation in History’, ‘Sense of Crisis in Historical Perspective’, ‘Responsibility for Future Generations’, and ‘The Lasting Debate on Human Rights’. v vi Acknowledgements Parts of ‘A Quest for the Real Past. Ankersmit on Historiography and (Sublime) Historical Experience’ are a revised version of ‘Frank Ankersmit over de sublieme historische ervaring’, Civis Mundi 47 (2008) 172–188. ‘The West and the Rest’ is a revised version of ‘Tekenen des Tijds’, valedictory speech at the Open University of the Netherlands (Heerlen, 2005). Contents Part I Collingwood’s Philosophy of History 1 Introduction to Collingwood’s Philosophy of History ......................... 3 1.1 Introduction .................................................................................. 3 1.2 Complexities in Interpreting Collingwood’s Philosophy of History .......................................... 4 1.3 The Concept of History and Its Philosophy ................................. 6 1.4 The Historian and His/Her Object................................................ 8 1.5 Re-enactment of the Past: Collingwood’s Exposition .................. 10 1.6 History as the History of Thought ................................................ 11 1.7 The Reception of the Re-enactment Doctrine .............................. 15 1.8 The Philosophical Dimension of the Re-enactment Doctrine ...................................................... 16 1.9 Historical Methodology ............................................................... 20 1.10 The Logic of Question and Answer ............................................. 20 1.11 Historical Method: The Importance of Evidence ......................... 22 1.12 Empirical and Pure Methodology ................................................ 23 1.13 The Relevance of Archaeology for History .................................. 25 1.14 The Interpretation of Evidence in The Principles of History ......................................................... 26 1.15 History: From Scissors-and-Paste to Critical History .................. 27 1.16 Constructive History and Imagination ......................................... 29 1.17 The Historical Narrative ............................................................... 30 1.18 Conclusion.................................................................................... 33 2 Collingwood’s ‘Lost’ Manuscript of The Principles of History ........... 37 2.1 Introduction .................................................................................. 37 2.2 The Fate of the Manuscript of The Principles of History ............ 38 2.3 The Principles of History, Chapter 1: ‘Evidence’ ........................ 43 vii viii Contents 2.4 The Principles of History, Chapter 2: ‘Action’ ............................ 46 2.4.1 History a parte subjecti and a parte objecti ................... 46 2.4.2 Actions ........................................................................... 47 2.4.3 Evidence and Language.................................................. 49 2.4.4 ‘Action and Event’, and ‘Nature has no History’ ........... 53 2.4.5 Thought and Emotions ................................................... 55 2.4.6 Biography ....................................................................... 58 2.5 The Principles of History, Chapter 3: ‘Nature and Action’ .......... 59 2.5.1 Introduction: The ‘Absence’ of the Re-enactment Doctrine......................................... 59 2.5.2 Historical Naturalism ..................................................... 62 2.5.3 ‘The Science of Human Nature’, and ‘Nature as Environment’ .......................................... 63 2.5.4 Freedom .......................................................................... 66 2.5.5 Marx and Hegel .............................................................. 67 2.6 Conclusion.................................................................................... 70 3 Collingwood’s Philosophy of History in the Year of his An Autobiography .......................................................................... 73 3.1 Introduction .................................................................................. 73 3.2 Collingwood as a Philosopher, Archaeologist, and Historian ...... 74 3.3 The Logic of Question and Answer ............................................. 76 3.4 The Haverfi eld-Mommsen Link ................................................... 77 3.5 The Nature of Collingwood’s Laboratory of Knowledge ............ 79 3.6 Collingwood’s Elaboration of His Laboratory of Knowledge as a Theory of Inquiry and Historical Understanding ....................................................... 82 3.7 The Re-enactment Doctrine ......................................................... 84 3.8 The Principles of History ............................................................. 86 3.8.1 Outline of The Principles of History .............................. 87 3.9 The Absence of the Re-enactment Doctrine in The Principles of History ......................................................... 90 3.10 The Presence of the Re-enactment Doctrine in The Principles of History ......................................................... 92 4 The Philosophical Context of Collingwood’s Re-enactment Theory ............................................................................. 97 4.1 Introduction .................................................................................. 97 4.2 Gadamer on Collingwood ............................................................ 98 4.3 Popper on Objective Mind and Collingwood ............................... 100 4.4 The Relevance of Frege’s Theories for the Re-enactment Doctrine ........................................................................................ 104 4.4.1 Frege on Sense, Reference, and Indirect Speech ............ 104 4.4.2 Frege and Collingwood on the Nature of Thought and Knowledge of It ......................................................
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Paleography and Codicology
    Paleography and Codicology: A Seminar on Medieval Manuscript Studies Instructor: Timothy C. Graham June 4-28, 2018 Institute for Medieval Studies University of New Mexico Albuquerque, NM 87131 Course content Providing a comprehensive orientation to the field of medieval manuscript studies, this seminar is targeted at graduate students and will also be of in- terest to junior faculty who wish to improve their background in the field. Over the four weeks of the seminar, participants will learn to recognize and read a broad range of medieval scripts and will receive a detailed in- troduction to the entire process of manuscript production, from the prepa- ration of parchment or paper through the stages of writing, decorating, correcting, and glossing the text to the binding and storage of the com- pleted codex. Medieval conventions of punctuation and abbreviation will receive special attention, as will specific genres of manuscripts, including Bibles, Books of Hours, maps, calendars, and rolls and scrolls. Partici- pants will also learn how to recognize and interpret the types of evidence that can help to establish a manuscript’s origin and provenance; they will receive a grounding in the conventions of manuscript cataloguing and an introduction to the science of textual editing. The seminar will focus on manuscripts written in Latin; a basic knowledge of Latin is therefore a prerequisite. Format The seminar will meet for formal sessions on four mornings of each week, Monday through Thursday, 9:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. During the afternoons, the instructor will make himself available for consultation; he will also hold occasional workshops on specific topics and anticipates that partici- pants may wish to meet regularly for guided group transcription sessions.
    [Show full text]
  • Perception Is Truth
    Perception is Truth... WHEN IT COMES TO LEASING AND SHOPPING REPORTS What is the truth? This age old question has some very deep implications that go way beyond the point of this training tip. Yet, the question reminds us that two people can experience the same incident and walk away with completely different perceptions of what actually happened. Sometimes, just like beauty, "truth” is in the eye of the beholder. It is a matter of perception. Shopping report information is a vivid example of the fact that perception is reality. Occasionally, an EPMS shopper remembers a specific leasing presentation somewhat differently than the on-site professional who was shopped and later evaluated in a written format. The shopper reports that the leasing consultant was a bit distracted and indifferent, not very friendly, or “didn’t seem interested in meeting my needs”. Yet, that individual’s supervisor cannot believe that this very friendly and warm staff member could ever come across in any way but delightful, enthusiastic and professional! “Everyone loves her!” the supervisor explains. Sometimes the gap between what the leasing professional believes about her presentation and what the shopper describes comes down to perception. Regardless of what really (or not really!) happened, the perception of the shopper – and that of the typical rental prospect – is the only “truth” that really matters! Leasing is all about perception, isn’t it? Fellow onsite associates may say, “He is the friendliest guy you’ll ever meet! We love him!” But if this “friendliest guy” is perceived as unfriendly, to that prospect he is unfriendly! “You know, Sara is really nice once you get to know her!” This may be “true”; but the reality is the prospect is unlikely to spend enough time “getting to know” Sara to override their initial impression.
    [Show full text]
  • The Role of Archival and Manuscript Research in the Investigation of Translator Decision-Making
    This is a repository copy of The role of archival and manuscript research in the investigation of translator decision-making. White Rose Research Online URL for this paper: http://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/84758/ Version: Accepted Version Article: Munday, J (2013) The role of archival and manuscript research in the investigation of translator decision-making. Target, 25 (1). 125 - 139. ISSN 0924-1884 https://doi.org/10.1075/target.25.1.10mun Reuse Unless indicated otherwise, fulltext items are protected by copyright with all rights reserved. The copyright exception in section 29 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 allows the making of a single copy solely for the purpose of non-commercial research or private study within the limits of fair dealing. The publisher or other rights-holder may allow further reproduction and re-use of this version - refer to the White Rose Research Online record for this item. Where records identify the publisher as the copyright holder, users can verify any specific terms of use on the publisher’s website. Takedown If you consider content in White Rose Research Online to be in breach of UK law, please notify us by emailing [email protected] including the URL of the record and the reason for the withdrawal request. [email protected] https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/ The role of archival and manuscript research in the investigation of translator decision-making Jeremy Munday, University of Leeds, UK Abstract This paper discusses the application of research methodologies from history and literary studies to the analysis of the translation process.
    [Show full text]
  • Theory and Method in Historical Sociology Soc 6401H
    THEORY AND METHOD IN HISTORICAL SOCIOLOGY SOC 6401H Instructor: Joseph M. Bryant Time: Thursdays, 4-6, Room 240 Email: [email protected] Office: Department of Sociology, 725 Spadina, Rm. 346 Phone: 946-5901 We know only a single science, the science of history. One can look at history from two sides and divide it into the history of nature and the history of men. The two sides are, however, inseparable; the history of nature and the history of men are dependent on each other so long as men exist. Marx & Engels (1845) Every social science—or better, every well-considered social study—requires an historical scope of conception and a full use of historical materials. C. Wright Mills (1959) SYNOPSIS: Can the major constraining dichotomies and polarities that have skewed the history of the social sciences over the past two centuries—voluntarism/determinism, agency/structure, nominalism/realism, micro/macro, objectivism/subjectivism, nomothetic/idiographic, maximizing rationality/cultural specificity—be resolved and transcended through use of a contextual-sequential logic of explanation, as offered in Historical Sociology? In an effort to answer that question, we will examine the central ontological and epistemological issues and controversies raised by recent efforts to develop a fully historical social science, a fully sociological historiography. We will open with a review of the celebrated Methodenstreite that shaped the formation of the social science disciplines in the late 19th and early 20th centuries—disputes that turned heavily on disagreements regarding the proper relationship between historical inquiry and sociological theorizing. The program of positivism—to model social science after the nomological natural sciences—gained institutional ascendancy, and history was driven to an “external” and largely “auxiliary” status within disciplines such as sociology and economics.
    [Show full text]
  • Freshest Advices on What to Do with the Historical Method in Philosophy When Using It to Study a Little Bit of Philosophy That Has Been Lost to History
    1 Freshest Advices on What To Do With the Historical Method in Philosophy When Using It to Study a Little Bit of Philosophy That Has Been Lost to History Bennett Gilbert Portland Oregon December the 10th, 2011. www.porlockspensum.com The historical method in philosophy is the study of the history of philosophy as a means of thinking about philosophical issues for the sake of the practice of original philosophical work. Formerly it was widely thought that the historical method was indispensable to the practice of philosophy. Those opposed to this view, whom I’ll call “presentists”1 in this paper, hold that, whatever notions the historical method and original philosophical work might have in common as rational rigorous and honest inquiries, the subject matter of the two studies is at heart different, on various accounts, and therefore that the history of philosophy is of little benefit, if not positively harmful, to the 1This use of the word “presentist” is to be rigidly distinguished from “presentism” as a position in the metaphysics of time. 2 practice of philosophical inquiry. Those whom I’ll here call the “traditionalist” view the historical method as indispensable, claiming that philosophical practice that does not include the history of philosophy and its problems misses some things (variously described by various writers) that are of the essence in philosophy. I shall not here directly evaluate these claims as to the critique one makes of the other. My attitude is irenic. I see only harm in arguing that any method is essential to the practice of philosophy in any sense such that work done without it is to be disparaged or dismissed on this sole ground or by any clever reasoning from this ground directly for the exclusion of work made by other methods of philosophical inquiry.
    [Show full text]
  • Introduction 1
    HIS ¤HINKING ABOUT TO|y SA|aH MAZA The University of Chicago Press Chicago and London CONTENTS Introduction 1 1 the history of whom? 10 History from Above: “Great Men” and a Few Women 10 Social History and Quantification 14 E. P. Thompson’s Historical Revolution 23 Resistance and Agency 28 Power and the Private Sphere 34 2 the history of where? 45 How National History Became Unnatural 45 Oceans, Middle Grounds, Borderlands 57 The Rise of Global History 71 Displacing Euro- America 77 3 the history of what? 83 From Ideas to Things 83 The Changing History of Ideas 86 Thomas Kuhn’s Scientific Revolution 91 Science in Historical Context 96 The New History of Things 101 Nature and Other Nonhuman Actors 108 4 how is history produced? 118 From Chroniclers to Academics 118 Popular and Public History 124 Orthodoxy and Revisionism: How Debate Shapes History 137 Do Sources and Archives Make History? 146 5 causes or meanings? 157 Causality and History 157 In Search of Laws and Patterns: Social Science History and Comparison 161 Marxism and the Annales School 166 Multicausal History and the Return of the Event 171 In Search of Meaning: Microhistory 178 Clifford Geertz, Michel Foucault, and the “New Cultural History” 185 6 facts or fictions? 199 The Rise and Fall of Objectivity 199 Postmodernism and History: Radical Skepticism and New Methods 209 Everything Is Constructed 216 Barbarians at the Gate 220 Distortion or Imagination: Where Do We Draw the Line? 225 Conclusion 235 Acknowledgments 239 Index 241 INT|oDUCTION What historians do, while it may seem obvious, proves surprisingly hard to define once you start thinking about it.
    [Show full text]
  • Perception and Law Enforcement
    Perception and Law Enforcement Lt. Norman Hale White County Sheriff Department School of Law Enforcement Supervision Session XXXII Criminal Justice Institute Introduction Since the beginning, perception has been used by everyone. When man first said I am naked, I need clothing. The perception was I am naked. Without understanding why things are the way they appear man was fearful of the world around him. Superstitions overwhelmed man and his thoughts. It was an effort to explain the unexplainable. This is the perception of man and his surroundings. Early man worshiped nature in an attempt to change what was happening. At one time, it was believed that a man lived in the moon. This was based on the face seen on the moon. More resonantly, many believed there was or had been life on Mars, because of a photo taken as a satellite passed Mars showing a face on the surface (face on mars). This raised a large stir among people and the scientific community. It was not until some time later when a new photo was taken by a passing satellite, that the face on Mars proved to be a mountain and the face was formed by shadows cast across the surface of the mountain (face on mars). The attempt to understand how things are perceived goes back before the Egyptians were building pyramids. Modern man has devoted an extensive amount of time to studying perception and how it affects man. As the understanding of perception increases, the mystery that caused many superstitions is solved and man is no longer fearful.
    [Show full text]
  • A Judgement-Based Model of Workplace Learning 63 Volume 44, Number 1, April 2004
    Australian Journal of Adult Learning A judgement-based model of workplace learning 63 Volume 44, Number 1, April 2004 learning as an individual and social process (Illeris 2003). This paper offers a macro-level of analysis for social learning, especially in the context where there is no single, clearly identifi ed, correct response. Its origins lie in a model of workplace learning derived from Hager and Halliday (2002), who fi rst set out a relationship between context, judgement and learning. They saw learning as concerned with judgements that are potentially fallible but also contextually sensitive (Halliday & Hager 2002). Their central theme is a link between judgement and learning: ‘making judgements is a central holistic workplace activity that is the expression of practice-based informal learning from work’ (cited in Hager 2001, p.352). A judgement-based model of workplace learning These workplace-learning conceptions are directly related to all James A Athanasou adult, social learning and were translated into a testable Perceptual- University of Technology, Sydney Judgemental-Reinforcement model (Athanasou 2002) that is depicted in Figure 1. This representation emphasises the fact that learning encompasses judgements and is contextually dependent and The purpose of this paper is to outline a judgement-based model purposive, but the components and processes in the model described of adult learning. This approach is set out as a Perceptual- in this paper vary substantially in detail from the original Hager- Judgemental-Reinforcement approach to social learning under Halliday conceptions (Hager 2001; Hager & Halliday 2002). In this conditions of complexity and where there is no single, clearly paper, learning is defi ned both in its traditional and psychological identifi ed correct response.
    [Show full text]
  • Scales As a Symbol of Metaphysical Judgement – from Misterium Tremendum to Misterium Fascinosum an Analysis of Selected Works of Netherlandish Masters of Painting
    Santander Art and Culture Law Review 2/2015 (1): 259-274 DOI: 10.4467/2450050XSR.15.022.4520 VARIA Karol Dobrzeniecki* [email protected] Faculty of Law and Administration of the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń ul. Władysława Bojarskiego 3 87-100 Toruń, Poland Scales as a Symbol of Metaphysical Judgement – from Misterium Tremendum to Misterium Fascinosum An Analysis of Selected Works of Netherlandish Masters of Painting Abstract: The aim of this article is to analyze the motif of scales in Netherlandish art from the 15th to the 17th century. The motif of scales was present in art from earliest times, but its role and func- tion differed in various historical epochs – antique, the middle ages, and the modern age. The core part of the article is devoted to the symbolic relationship between scales and different aspects of justice. The first painting taken into consideration is Rogier van der Weyden’s Last Judgment (approx. 1445 to 1450), and the last one – Jan Vermeer’s Woman Holding a Balance (approx. 1662-1663). The article attempts to answer some crucial questions. What were the meanings attributed to scales during the two centuries exam- ined? How did these meanings evolve, and was the interpretation of the symbol influenced by the ethos characteristic for particular peri- ods and geographical spaces, as well as transient fashions, religious * Karol Dobrzeniecki, Doctor of Law and art historian, currently serves as an Assistant Professor at the Department of Theory of Law and State, Faculty of Law and Administration of the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Poland.
    [Show full text]
  • Big Data in Computational Social Science and Humanities Computational Social Sciences
    Computational Social Sciences Shu-Heng Chen Editor Big Data in Computational Social Science and Humanities Computational Social Sciences [email protected] Computational Social Sciences A series of authored and edited monographs that utilize quantitative and computational methods to model, analyze and interpret large-scale social phenomena. Titles within the series contain methods and practices that test and develop theories of complex social processes through bottom-up modeling of social interactions. Of particular interest is the study of the co-evolution of modern communication technology and social behavior and norms, in connection with emerging issues such as trust, risk, security and privacy in novel socio-technical environments. Computational Social Sciences is explicitly transdisciplinary: quantitative methods from fields such as dynamical systems, artificial intelligence, network theory, agentbased modeling, and statistical mechanics are invoked and combined with state-of-theart mining and analysis of large data sets to help us understand social agents, their interactions on and offline, and the effect of these interactions at the macro level. Topics include, but are not limited to social networks and media, dynamics of opinions, cultures and conflicts, socio-technical co-evolution and social psychology. Computational Social Sciences will also publish monographs and selected edited contributions from specialized conferences and workshops specifically aimed at communicating new findings to a large transdisciplinary audience. A fundamental goal of the series is to provide a single forum within which commonalities and differences in the workings of this field may be discerned, hence leading to deeper insight and understanding. Series Editors Elisa Bertino Larry S. Liebovitch Purdue University, West Lafayette, Queens College, City University of IN, USA New York, Flushing, NY, USA Claudio Cioffi-Revilla Sorin A.
    [Show full text]
  • Nietzsche's Critique of Morality
    Nietzsche’s Critique of Morality A Resource for AS-Level and A-Level Philosophy This booklet is desiGned to help AS-level and A-level Philosophy teachers and students to develop This work is licensed under the the independent cri4cal arGumentaon required to earn the hiGhest marks. Creave Commons A2ribu4on-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this license, visit h2p://creavecommons.orG/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/. The essays and exercises are desiGned to support work in two units of the curriculum: – Why Should I Be Moral? – Set text: Nietzsche’s Beyond Good and Evil The work can be freely copied and distributed without prior permission, so lonG as it is not altered or used for commercial purposes. We also request that it is not made available throuGh any website The booklet is edited by Jonathan Webber and features work by philosophers at Cardiff University. apart from our own: h2p://bit.ly/cardiffphilosophyalevel Contents References The Disvalue of Morality The primary text discussed in this book is Friedrich Nietzsche’s Beyond Good and Evil. Simon Robertson 3 Quotaons are taken from the Oxford World’s Classics edi4on translated by Marion Faber, as specified in the AQA A-level Philosophy syllabus. References are Given by sec4on Does Nietzsche Think Values Are Merely Expressions of Personal Preference? number (not page number) prefaced by ‘BGE’. Alessandra Tanesini 5 Is Nietzsche Fair To Kant? Occasional reference is made to other works of Nietzsche’s. These are: Jonathan Webber 7 GM On the Genealogy of Morals: A Polemic, translated by DouGlas Smith.
    [Show full text]
  • On Kant's Transcendental Theory of Moral Judgement and Moral Worth
    On Kant’s Transcendental Theory of Moral Judgement and Moral Worth of Character, with Educational Implications* Abstract A longstanding absence from the critical scholarly literature on Kant’s writings on moral education is a comprehensive and systematic articulation of his views on moral education in light of his transcendental theory of moral reasoning and judgement. This theory primarily attempts to set out the a-priori requirements justifiable moral judgement and reasoning must satisfy when assessed by the Categorical Imperative (CI), primarily under its Universal Law formulation (FUL), and it offers an account of moral virtue as a character disposition to act in accordance with duty and from the motive of duty. While I occasionally make reference to other “equivalent” formulations of the CI offered by Kant, I argue that FUL rests at the core of Kant’s moral theory, defining the intrinsic worth of character dispositions for rational moral autonomy, serving as the necessary foundation for the other three equivalent formulations of the CI, and identifying what Kant maintains are our duties to others and ourselves as autonomous persons (ends in themselves). Despite recent appearances of a number of eminent scholarly studies of Kant’s views on moral education, we still lack a comprehensive and systematic account of the distinct nature of moral reasoning as governed by FUL, and the distinct virtue of character (“the good will”) that such reasoning and judgement displays. This paper offers an interpretation of the primary significance of the CI/FUL within Kant’s account of moral justification and moral worth of disposition (character). In articulating and illustrating the testing procedure the CI applies to maxims, I examine Kant’s famous example of the lying promise maxim, in an adapted version, and I explain two forms of validity that maxims in accordance with duty and acted on from duty must satisfy: objective universal validity and subjective universal validity.
    [Show full text]