Kant - Perpetual Peace and Deontology

Professor Kozlowski tackles the preeminent philosopher of Enlightenment philosophy: Immanuel Kant. In this lecture, we'll discuss the basic principles underlying Deontological Ethics (including an explanation of the Categorical Imperative), before moving on to appreciate the wry dark humor and cutting insights of his political essay "Perpetual Peace."

Our readings include excerpts from the Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysics of Morals (Or "Groundwork...") and the complete essay "Perpetual Peace."

Additional readings this week include a healthy portion of sturm und drang: Goethe's Faust and Schiller's The Robbers, as well as the behemoth of Romantic Political Philosophy: Hegel's The Philosophy of Right. (Proceed with caution - Hegel is not for the faint of heart...) As for today's video game recommendation, we're going with the Gamecube-era JRPG: Tales of Symphonia for its unflinching deontological morality. Take that, Final Fantasy X!

If you're interested in Professor Kozlowski's other online projects, check out his website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠professorkozlowski.wordpress.com