The Importance of Personal Relationships in Kantian Moral Theory: A Reply to Care Ethics

Care ethicists have long insisted that Kantian moral theory fails to capture the partiality that ought to be present in our personal relationships. In her most recent book, Virginia Held claims that, unlike impartial moral theories, care ethics guides us in how we should act toward friends and family. Because these actions are performed out of care, they have moral value for a care ethicist. The same actions, Held claims, would not have moral worth for a Kantian because of the requirement of impartiality. Although Kantian moral theory is an impartial theory, I argue that the categorical imperative in the Formulation of Humanity as an End and the duty of respect require that we give special treatment to friends and family because of their relationships with us. Therefore, this treatment does have moral value for a Kantian

Minnesota Philosophical Society Fall 2014 Conference (2014-10-04)

Whether you're an expert or simply an enthusiast, you are welcome to attend the following Minnesota Philosophical Society events, including a talk by Dr. William Lycan, noted philosopher. William Lycan teaches at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he is the William Rand Kenan, Jr. Distinguished Professor. He is the author of eight books and over 150 articles.Keynote Speech:"The Intentionality of Smell" Argues against opponents that smell does represent. Then defends my 1996 view of what smell represents, viz., miasmas in the air, against more recent competitors put forward by Clare Batty and Ben Young. Concludes by considering a "layering" thesis: that smell represents commonsensical distal objects and kinds by representing miasmas.UMD Philosophy Department, The CLA Dean’s Excellence Fund, and the Minnesota Philosophical Societ