Metaphysics of Morals

The Metaphysics of Morals (Die Metaphysik der Sitten, 1797) is a major work of moral and political philosophy by Immanuel Kant. It was not as well known or as widely read as his earlier works, Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals and the Critique of Practical Reason, but it experienced a renaissance in the English-speaking world through the pioneering work of Mary J. Gregor in her Laws of Freedom of 1963.

The work is divided into two main parts. The first part, Science of Right, is grounded in republican interpretation of origins of political community as civil society and establishment of positive law. Published separately in 1797, Science of Right is one of the last examples of classical republicanism in political philosophy.^[1] The Science of Right contains the most mature of Kant's statements on the peace project and a system of law to ensure individual rights. The second part, Science of Virtue touches issues of moral development of human entity.

The alternative translation Doctrine of Right and Doctrine of Virtue is also used. This is the case in Kantian Ethics by Marcia Baron and the Blackwell Reference Online. Though they also use the alternative translation, Friedrich Heubel and Nikola Biller-Andorno state in the concluding remarks of Kant and Medical Ethics: "Kant regards his moral philosophy as science in the sense of methodological consciousness, strictness and systemic completeness."

References

1. ^ Manfred Riedel Between Tradition and Revolution: The Hegelian Transformation of Political Philosophy, Cambridge 1984

Further reading

• The Metaphysics of Morals. Trans. Mary J. Gregor. Cambridge University Press, 1996. ISBN 0-521-56673-8.

External links

• The Science of Right mv.helsinki.fi, full text
• Virtue (Kant) [1]