The aim of this paper is to resolve the tension between Kant’s doctrine of the highest
good and his entire philosophical system. The concept of the highest good is
the first major ambiguity of the doctrine. There are three pairs of ambiguities:
immanent-transcendent; justice-perfection; and individual-community. They are
able to form eight combinations. Corresponding to the various combinations and
conceptions of the highest good, interpreters also conceive different reasons for
the necessity of…
Read moreThe aim of this paper is to resolve the tension between Kant’s doctrine of the highest
good and his entire philosophical system. The concept of the highest good is
the first major ambiguity of the doctrine. There are three pairs of ambiguities:
immanent-transcendent; justice-perfection; and individual-community. They are
able to form eight combinations. Corresponding to the various combinations and
conceptions of the highest good, interpreters also conceive different reasons for
the necessity of the doctrine as well as various conditions of its applicability. For
example, some emphasize its religious dimension, whereas others understand it in
the political sense. In this paper, I adopt a different approach in understanding the
highest good’s systematic meaning as the moral confirmation, and suggest that only
a transcendent, perfect and communal concept of the highest good can provide the
most consistent doctrine. Additionally, it explains the importance of the different
branches (such as philosophies of religion and of politics) of Kant’s system.