The author challenges the prevailing view that Kant’s ethic is ateleological and shows how Kant defines the goals human beings ought to pursue. Professor Auxter begins by discussing the subtlety of the critical solution to the classical problem of reconciling natural and moral teleologies. He systematically explores the teleological dimension of Kant’s practical philosophy—explaining how goals are derived, how they fit together into a comprehensive moral order, and how the elaboration of this ideal affects the selection of a right action.
The book argues for a new understanding of the relationship between virtue and right action, and concludes with a Kantian theory of moral commitment.
Students of moral theory in general, and of Kant in particular, will find that Auxter’s fresh and penetrating approach—an explanation of how Kant’s critical approach to teleology, stressing the practical aspects of teleological order, enables him to avoid the dilemmas inherent in the classical formulation—provides a needed foundation for understanding Kant’s Moral Teleology.
Thomas Auxter is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida.