The Emergence of Autonomy in Kant's Moral Philosophy

Description

Autonomy is one of the central concepts of contemporary moral thought, and Kant is often credited with being the inventor of individual moral autonomy. But how and why did Kant develop this notion? The Emergence of Autonomy in Kant's Moral Philosophy is the first essay collection exclusively devoted to this topic. It traces the emergence of autonomy from Kant's earliest writings to the changes that he made to the concept in his mature works. The essays offer a close historical and philosophical analysis of what prompted Kant to develop his conception of autonomy, charting the historical background which prompted his search, and thoroughly analysing different stages of his writings in order to see which element of autonomy was introduced at which point. The resulting volume will be of interest to both scholars and students of Kantian moral philosophy, as well as to anyone interested in the subject of autonomy.

Stefano Bacin is Senior Assistant Professor of History of Philosophy at the University of Milan. He is the author of Il senso dell'etica. Kant e la costruzione di una teoria morale (2006) and Fichte in Schulpforta (1774-1780) (2008) and is co-editor, with Marcus Willaschek, Georg Mohr and Jurgen Stolzenberg, of the Kant-Lexikon (2015). Oliver Sensen is Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Studies in Philosophy at Tulane University, Louisiana. He is the Vice President of the North American Kant Society, and the author of Human Dignity (Cambridge, forthcoming), Kant on Human Dignity (2011), as well as the editor of Kant on Moral Autonomy (Cambridge, 2012).

'For those interested in the details of how Kant came to develop his view of autonomy, and the various precursor views he developed and engaged with on the way there, this book is an excellent and welcome addition to the literature.' Notre Dame Philosophical