Creating the Kingdom of Ends [Paperback]

Christine M. Korsgaard (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0521499623 | ISBN-13: 978-0521499620 | Publication Date: July 28, 1996

Christine Korsgaard has become one of the leading interpreters of Kant's moral philosophy. She is identified with a small group of philosophers who are intent on producing a version of Kant's moral philosophy that is at once sensitive to its historical roots while revealing its particular relevance to contemporary problems. This collection contains some of the finest work being done on Kant's ethics and will command the attention of all those involved in teaching and studying moral theory.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This collection is essential for any student or teacher of Kantian ethics....She is excellent at conveying 'the big picture', at showing what makes Kant's approach distinctive and compelling." Lara Denis, Philosophy in Review

"...this richly suggestive and ingeniously argued group of essays is a welcome addition to algrowing body literature that means to take Kant seriously without checking at the door common notions of decency and prudence." Susan Meld Shell, Review of Metaphysics

"She writes with painstaking care, great intelligence and a powerful philosophical imagination. Her sights are often fruitfully turned against utilitarianism and what she sees as much modern ethics' `misguided emulation of science'.(pxii) Those who agree, as I do, with her rejection of these things can find in Kant's ethical writings an inexhaustible resource that her reading of them does much to illuminate. Those who do not would be foolish to ignore this impressive collection." James Lenman, Ethical Theory and Moral Practice

"The papers in this book contain...the heart of Korsgaard's work: a variety of fresh and illuminating insights into Kant's moral theory and its relation to contemporary ethical theory which have helped to reshape the image of Kant's ethics and to refocus the issues dealt with in current moral philosophy." Allen W. Wood, The Philosophical Review

"Clearly worth reprinting, Korsgaard's writing sparkles with original explanations and interpretations of Kant." International Studies in Philosophy, Sidney Axinn

Book Description

Christine Korsgaard has become one of the leading interpreters of Kant's moral philosophy. This collection contains some of the finest work on Kant's ethics and will command the attention of all involved in teaching and studying moral theory.

Product Details

• Paperback: 464 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (July 28, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521499623
• ISBN-13: 978-0521499620
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #772,443 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

For more about Christine M. Korsgaard, please see her web page at:
http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~korsgaar/

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

121 of 124 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fine volume of Kantian moral philosophy., May 7, 2000

By 

John S. Ryan "Scott Ryan" (Cuyahoga Falls, OH) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Creating the Kingdom of Ends (Paperback)

Christine Korsgaard's _Creating the Kingdom of Ends_ is a fine exposition and elaboration of the ethics of Immanuel Kant.

Consisting of thirteen essays published over the course of a decade or so, the volume is divided into two parts: seven essays mainly dedicated to expounding (and occasionally tweezing) Kantian ethics itself, and six essays comparing/contrasting Kant's moral philosophy with those of Aristotle, Henry Sidgwick, G.E. Moore, David Hume, Bernard Williams, Thomas Nagel, and Derek Parfit.

There's plenty of good stuff in here. First of all, Korsgaard's exposition of Kant will be of interest to anyone who has ever tried to read Kant himself and wants to know what his moral philosophy is really all about. Second, her critiques of other moral philosophers are sharp and trenchant. For example, her destined-to-be-a-classic essay, "The reasons we can share: An attack on the distinction between agent-relative and agent-neutral values," is a close and critical reading of Thomas Nagel's _The Possibility of Altruism_ and _The View from Nowhere_. All in all, this is contemporary moral philosophy at its finest.

The entire volume is also, by the way, a nice cure for the misrepresentations of pseudophilosopher Ayn Rand, who tried her darnedest to give Kant a bad name in order to make room for a more-or-less-Nietzschean ethical subjectivism she called (chuckle) "Objectivism."

(I mention that because somebody is going through all my reviews and clicking "Not helpful" on any in which I say anything negative about Rand. Click away, you rational Objectivist, you!)

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Readability--An Underrated Feature Among Kant Scholars, July 6, 2005

By 

Categorically Impaired - See all my reviews

This review is from: Creating the Kingdom of Ends (Paperback)

While I do not agree with a great deal of what Professor Korsgaard has to say in this text, I willingly admit that it is, by far, the most accessible and easily read sophisticated commentary on Kant's ethical theory.

By easily read, I want to make clear that I do not find her work here simplistic. Indeed, her study of the Groundwork of the Metatphysics of Morals is just as insightful and complex as that of Roger Sullivan or Allen Wood.

What makes Professor Korsgaard's work stand apart is that it can be not only read but actually understood by someone who is familiar with the primary texts. She uses plain, concise language to get her points across. She is to be praised for this.

I recommend this book to anyone with a desire to dig deeper into Kant's moral philosophy. The work should be especially appealing to undergraduates, who are in dire need of more intelligent and intelligible books like this.

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent collection of essays and support to "The Sources of Normativity", August 13, 2008

By 

S. Morgan (Rochester, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Creating the Kingdom of Ends (Paperback)

Published in the same year as "The Sources of Normativity", "Creating the Kingdom of Ends" is a collection of essays by Christine Korsgaard, a leading Kant scholar and insightful ethicist. I have not read the entire work, only a few of the essays (especially chapters 10 and 13 on intersubjective reasons and personal identity), but I can tell this is an excellent volume.

One suggestion, this is a work that is best read by those who are familiar with the general philosophic debates involved. It is probably most useful as supporting material and explanation of a number of points discussed in "The Sources of Normativity" - as the other work is intended as a stand alone, but is not long enough to provide a full treatment of the issues discussed in this volume.