Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-2plfb Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-22T07:12:04.800Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Chapter 10 - Kant’s religious constructivism

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 May 2014

Gordon Michalson
Affiliation:
New College, Florida
Get access

Summary

This chapter starts by presenting side by side the conflicting views of two contemporary philosophers, Richard Rorty and Nicholas Wolterstorff. Their opposing claims on the role of religion in politics give rise to a situation comparable to a Kantian antinomy. The dispute between defenders and resisters of religious privatization hinges on whether the so-called "Jeffersonian compromise", i.e., the conception of politics as a strictly secular enterprise, is sufficient to overcome the disruptive effects our selfish tendencies have on the political, the same effects and tendencies which make politics necessary in the first place. Religion, in Immanuel Kant's mind, thus became increasingly important to transforming, from the ground up, the comparing and competitive tendencies that count on self-love to secure a lasting peace. The contribution of religion is best understood by distinguishing between two different levels of moral analysis.
Type
Chapter
Information
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2014

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×