Autonomy and Sympathy: A Post-Kantian Moral Image

by Filimon Peonidis

Overview

Individuals who value personal autonomy and sympathize with others can be guided by a set of central obligations that are familiar to those sharing in the Western moral tradition. These obligations may not be applicable to every imaginable situation, but the informed determination to act upon them is necessary for combating serious and easily identifiable moral evils. This overall argument is called a post-Kantian moral image. Here, "moral image" is understood as a comprehensive pattern of ethical thought that retains a high level of generality and imposes some order on our normative considerations. The characterization "post-Kantian" indicates that the proposed moral image is inspired by and draws upon Kant's practical philosophy. At the same time it avoids certain problematic Kantian positions and incorporates others that have been vehemently rejected by Kant— like the key role of emotion— in undertaking and justifying morality.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780761830801
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	03/15/2005
Pages:	98
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.24(d)

About the Author

Filimon Peonidis is Assistant Professor of Moral and Political Philosophy at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. Professor Peonidis holds a Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Crete.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Preface
Chapter 2 Abbreviations
Chapter 3 Acknowledgments
Chapter 4 Basic Themes From Kant's Ethics
Chapter 5 Towards a Post-Kantian Moral Image
Chapter 6 Sympathy as a Moral Emotion
Chapter 7 Autonomic Obligations
Chapter 8 Bibliography
Chapter 9 Index
Chapter 10 About the Author

Editorial Reviews

Peonidis's book was a joy to read in that his views coherently bring together both autonomy and sympathy into a complete post-Kantian account of human behavior that is applicable for individuals today. Peonidis's book will be of special interest to modern ethicists and philosophers who believe that Kant's philosophy can be used to reconcile some of our current social and political difficulties.

Maritain Studies - Irene Switankowsky

Filimon Peonidis's book is a distinguished effort to respond to the hard-to-live-with difficulties of Kant's practical philosophy... the book represents a clear, and carefully crafted argument for the construction of a much-needed duty-based morality, which is neither inhumanly abstract, nor reductively naturalistic. Peonidis manages to show the difficulties and the challenges we face with a reconstruction of Kant's Copernican revolution in morals, and sympathy points towards a way to deal immanently with the "moral deficit" of the world today... this proves to be a highly recommendable study of the challenges of modern moral philosophy for students and scholars alike.

British Journal for the History of Philosophy - Kostas Koukouzelis

Peonidis's book was a joy to read in that his views coherently bring together both autonomy and sympathy into a complete post-Kantian account of human behavior that is applicable for individuals today. Peonidis's book will be of special interest to modern ethicists and philosophers who believe that Kant's philosophy can be used to reconcile some of our current social and political difficulties.--Irene Switankowsky, University of Wales, Lampeter "Maritain Studies "

Filimon Peonidis's book is a distinguished effort to respond to the hard-to-live-with difficulties of Kant's practical philosophy... the book represents a clear, and carefully crafted argument for the construction of a much-needed duty-based morality, which is neither inhumanly abstract, nor reductively naturalistic. Peonidis manages to show the difficulties and the challenges we face with a reconstruction of Kant's Copernican revolution in morals, and sympathy points towards a way to deal immanently with the "moral deficit" of the world today... this proves to be a highly recommendable study of the challenges of modern moral philosophy for students and scholars alike.--Kostas Koukouzelis, University of London "British Journal for the History of Philosophy "

From the Publisher

Filimon Peonidis's book is a distinguished effort to respond to the hard-to-live-with difficulties of Kant's practical philosophy... the book represents a clear, and carefully crafted argument for the construction of a much-needed duty-based morality, which is neither inhumanly abstract, nor reductively naturalistic. Peonidis manages to show the difficulties and the challenges we face with a reconstruction of Kant's Copernican revolution in morals, and sympathy points towards a way to deal immanently with the "moral deficit" of the world today... this proves to be a highly recommendable study of the challenges of modern moral philosophy for students and scholars alike.
— Kostas Koukouzelis, University of London

British Journal For The History Of Philosophy

Peonidis's book was a joy to read in that his views coherently bring together both autonomy and sympathy into a complete post-Kantian account of human behavior that is applicable for individuals today. Peonidis's book will be of special interest to modern ethicists and philosophers who believe that Kant's philosophy can be used to reconcile some of our current social and political difficulties.
— Irene Switankowsky, University of Wales, Lampeter

Maritain Studies