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Making the Ideal Real: Publicity and Morality in Kant

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 June 2016

Melissa Zinkin
Melissa Zinkin*
Affiliation:
Binghamton University
*
Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

This article discusses the concept of publicity in Kant’s moral philosophy. Insofar as the concepts of ‘public’ and ‘private’ can describe our relations with others, they can be considered to be moral concepts. I argue that we can find in Kant a moral duty not to keep our maxims of action private, or secret. Whereas Korsgaard argues that sometimes in the face of evil it is permissible to sidestep the moral law, I argue that it is rather through publicity that we can deal with evil in the non-ideal world. Moreover, by being open with our maxims, moral progress is possible.

Keywords

Kantpublicpublicityprivacykingdom of ends
Type
Articles
Information
Kantian Review , Volume 21 , Issue 2 , July 2016 , pp. 237 - 259
Copyright
© Kantian Review 2016 

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