Throughout his writings, and particularly in Religion within the Boundaries of Mere Reason, Kant alludes to the idea that evil is connected to self-deceit, and while numerous commentators regard this as a highly attractive thesis, none have seriously explored it. Laura Papish's Kant on Evil, Self-Deception, and Moral Reform addresses this crucial element of Kant's ethical theory. Working with both Kant's core texts on ethics and materials less often cited within scholarship on Kant's practical philosophy (such as Kant's logic lectures), Papish explores the cognitive dimensions of Kant's accounts of evil and moral reform while engaging the most influential -- and often scathing -- of Kant's critics. Her book asks what self-deception is for Kant, why and how it is connected to evil, and how we achieve the self-knowledge that should take the place of self-deceit. She offers novel defenses of Kant's widely dismissed claims that evil is motivated by self-love and that an evil is rooted universally in human nature, and she develops original arguments concerning how social institutions and interpersonal relationships facilitate, for Kant, the self-knowledge that is essential to moral reform. In developing and defending Kant's understanding of evil, moral reform, and their cognitive underpinnings, Papish not only makes an important contribution to Kant scholarship. Kant on Evil, Self-Deception, and Moral Reform also reveals how much contemporary moral philosophers, philosophers of religion, and general readers interested in the phenomenon of evil stand to gain by taking seriously Kant's views.

About the Author
Laura Papish is an assistant professor of philosophy at The George Washington University, having received her Ph.D. from Northwestern University in 2011. Her main research areas are Kant's moral theory, the history of ethics, and contemporary ethics. Her articles have appeared in (among others) Kantian Review, Social Theory and Practice, Idealistic Studies, and Ethical Theory and Moral Practice.

Reviews
There is much to recommend in Papish's book. It is exciting and rewarding to read, philosophically deep and humane, and exhibits deep knowledge and appreciation of Kant's corpus. * Francey Russell, Journal of the History of Philosophy *
The book offers a wealth of arguments, engagements with secondary literature, responses, and rejoinders to those responses, and I cannot even begin to do justice to all the points she makes in the book. * Patrick R. Frierson, Mind *
This book offers an insightful perspective on Kant's controversial doctrine of radical evil and its relation to phenomena such as self-deception and dissimulation. The author's clear argumentation, which is apologetic in an admirably critical manner, is distinguished by a detailed analysis of many remarkably subtle psychological complexities in Kant's account. Its accessible style and significant topic make the work a worthwhile read for anyone interested in Kant's practical philosophy, and specialists will surely benefit from its challenging evaluations of numerous recent discussions. * Karl Ameriks, McMahon-Hank Professor of Philosophy, University of Notre Dame *
Much has been written about Kant's views on evil in recent years. Laura Papish's Kant on Evil, Self-Deception, and Moral Reform is the most detailed and sophisticated study of the cognitive aspects of his mature account of this vitally important topic with which I am familiar. * Robert Louden, University of Southern Maine *



Book Information
ISBN 9780190692100
Author Laura Papish
Format Hardback
Page Count 280
Imprint Oxford University Press Inc
Publisher Oxford University Press Inc
Weight(grams) 499g
Dimensions(mm) 160mm * 254mm * 28mm