Paper Abstract
In this presentation I consider the context for Kant's discussion of the highest good in the Dialectic of the second Critique. I begin by showing how his original account of the highest good in the Canon of the first Critique addresses deficiencies in ancient accounts, particularly in the Stoic identification of virtue and happiness. I then consider the defense of the Stoic conception in Christian Garve's influential translation and commentary on Cicero's De officiis in 1783. It is, I contend, this account, which engages with Kant's discussion in the Canon at a number of junctures, that spurs Kant's decision to feature the idea of the highest good in the Dialectic of Pure Practical Reason, and specifically to identify a deceptive illusion lying behind the Stoic conception.
Start Date
3-10-2020 10:00 AM
Time Zone
Eastern Daylight Time
End Date
3-10-2020 11:00 AM
Included in
Oct 3rd, 10:00 AM
Oct 3rd, 11:00 AM
Kant, Cicero, and the Stoic Doctrine of the Highest Good
In this presentation I consider the context for Kant's discussion of the highest good in the Dialectic of the second Critique. I begin by showing how his original account of the highest good in the Canon of the first Critique addresses deficiencies in ancient accounts, particularly in the Stoic identification of virtue and happiness. I then consider the defense of the Stoic conception in Christian Garve's influential translation and commentary on Cicero's De officiis in 1783. It is, I contend, this account, which engages with Kant's discussion in the Canon at a number of junctures, that spurs Kant's decision to feature the idea of the highest good in the Dialectic of Pure Practical Reason, and specifically to identify a deceptive illusion lying behind the Stoic conception.