Immanuel Kant

Thomas Kingsmill Abbott

The second of Kant’s three critiques, Critique of Practical Reason forms the center of Kantian philosophy. Kant establishes his role as a vindicator of the truth of Christianity in this work, published in 1788, and he approaches his proof by presenting positive affirmations of the immortality of the soul and the existence of God. The philosopher offers an argument concerning the summum bonum of life: people should not simply search after happiness, but follow the moral law and seek to become worthy of the happiness that God can bestow. This seminal text in the history of moral philosophy offers the most complete statement of Kant’s theory of free will and a full development of his practical metaphysics.

Critique of Practical Reason

What is morally permissible, and what is morally obligatory? These questions form the core of a vast amount of philosophical reasoning. In his Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysics of Morals, Immanuel Kant developed a basis for the answers. In this landmark work, the German philosopher asks what sort of maxim might function as a guide to appropriate action under a given set of circumstances. By universalizing such a maxim, would morally permissible behavior not become clear? Suppose that everyone were to behave in accordance with this maxim. If everyone followed the maxim in the same way without harm to civilized culture, then the behavior would be morally permissible. But what if no one followed the maxim? Would civilization thereby be at risk? In such a case, the behavior would be morally obligatory. Kant's test, known as the Categorical Imperative, is a logical proof of the Golden Rule and the centerpiece of this work. It constitutes his best-known contribution to ethical discussion, and a familiarity with his reasoning in this book is essential to students of philosophy, religion, and history.

Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysics of Morals

The Elements of Logic

Bishop Berkeley and Professor Fraser

A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Epistles to the Ephesians and to the Colossians

Trinity College (Dublin, Ireland). Library

Catalogue of Fifteenth Century Books in the Library of Trinity College, Dublin & in Marsh's Library, Dublin with a Few from Other Collections

Essays Chiefly on the Original Texts of the Old and New Testaments

Thomas Kingsmill Abbott

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