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Freedom and ethical necessity

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posted on 2023-06-09, 16:07 authored by Katerina Deligiorgi
The paper examines critical arguments presented by Johann August Heinrich Ulrich in his 1788 book Eleutheriology or On Freedom and Necessity against Kant’s conception of transcendental freedom and the categorical nature of moral imperatives. Historically, Ulrich's criticism of transcendental freedom is of interest partly for its novel interpretation of the principle of sufficient reason and partly for the use he makes of it in presenting an early version of the so-called problem of luck, which features centrally in the contemporary discussion of libertarian accounts of freedom. Structurally, Ulrich’s criticisms cleverly target the delicate balance Kant seeks to establish between transcendental freedom and the moral “ought” and help bring into view the relations between practical and theoretical claims in Kant’s defense of transcendental freedom. I argue that a Kantian response to Ulrich’s criticism of transcendental freedom is possible and that the basis for Ulrich’s rejection of Kantian categoricity – a naturalistic conception of ethical necessity – is flawed. By the same token, however, I show the importance of Ulrich’s book when it comes to engaging with Kant’s philosophy.

History

Publication status

  • Published

File Version

  • Accepted version

Publisher

Cambridge University Press

Page range

28-44

Pages

290.0

Book title

Practical philosophy from Kant and Hegel: freedom, right, and revolution

ISBN

9781108497725

Department affiliated with

  • Philosophy Publications

Full text available

  • No

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Editors

Gabriel Gottlieb, James A Clarke

Legacy Posted Date

2018-12-03

First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date

2018-11-30

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