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Can Positive Duties be Derived from Kant's Formula of Universal Law?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 January 2014

Samuel Kahn
Samuel Kahn*
Affiliation:
Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

According to the standard reading of Kant's formula of universal law (FUL), positive duties can be derived from FUL. In this article, I argue that the standard reading does not work. In the first section, I articulate FUL and what I mean by a positive duty. In the second section, I set out an intuitive version of the standard reading of FUL and argue that it does not work. In the third section, I set out a more rigorous version of the standard reading of FUL and argue that even this more rigorous version does not work.

Keywords

KantKantian ethicsKantian practical philosophyuniversalizability testsuniversalizabilityformula of universal lawobligations
Type
Articles
Information
Kantian Review , Volume 19 , Issue 1 , March 2014 , pp. 93 - 108
Copyright
Copyright © Kantian Review 2014 

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