Chapter 10 - Kant’s religious constructivism

Summary

This chapter starts by presenting side by side the conflicting views of two contemporary philosophers, Richard Rorty and Nicholas Wolterstorff. Their opposing claims on the role of religion in politics give rise to a situation comparable to a Kantian antinomy. The dispute between defenders and resisters of religious privatization hinges on whether the so-called "Jeffersonian compromise", i.e., the conception of politics as a strictly secular enterprise, is sufficient to overcome the disruptive effects our selfish tendencies have on the political, the same effects and tendencies which make politics necessary in the first place. Religion, in Immanuel Kant's mind, thus became increasingly important to transforming, from the ground up, the comparing and competitive tendencies that count on self-love to secure a lasting peace. The contribution of religion is best understood by distinguishing between two different levels of moral analysis.