Kant's moderate cynicism and the harmony between virtue and worldly happiness

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1-1-2016

Publication Title

Journal of the History of Philosophy

Volume

54

Issue

1

First page number:

75

Last page number:

109

Abstract

For Kant, any authentic moral demands are wholly distinct from the demands of prudence. This has led critics to complain that Kantian moral demands are incompatible with our human nature as happiness-seekers. To address this worry, Kant would need to show us that aiming at morality does not require us to abandon our hope for happiness in this life. This paper argues that Kant-building on insights from Rousseau that Kant identifies with Cynicism-offers an account of a harmony between virtue and worldly happiness that can sustain such a hope.

Keywords

Cynicism; Eudaimonism; Happiness; Kant; Rousseau; Self-mastery; Self-sufficiency; Stoicism; Sustine et obstine; Virtue

Language

English


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