Abstract
Here in Chap. 8 of his Justification of the Moral Good, the late Solov’ëv presents his most detailed critique of Kant’s ethical philosophy. Despite his high esteem for Kant’s endeavors in ethics, for establishing ethics as a science and, in particular, for his recognition that the supreme ethical principle must be universal and necessary, Solov’ëv charges Kant with abstract subjectivism. What is the force compelling us to act morally? Kant’s answer is our own free will acting out of a pure sense of duty manifested in terms of conscience. Solov’ëv’s charge against this is that if a moral agent can consistently hold the universality of the principle behind his heinous action, then for Kant that principle is morally good regardless of the ensuing consequences of the action. This, to Solov’ëv, again demonstrates, if yet another is needed, the error in constructing an ethics without factual knowledge of the circumstances and without knowledge of human nature.
E] As the contents of this chapter reveal, it was written subsequent to many of the other chapters. It is absent from B. §§I—X appeared in Knizhki Nedeli, 1898, #2 with the subtitle “From a newly written additional chapter in the second edition of my ‘Moral Philosophy’, now being printed”.§§XI and XII of this chapter appeared for the first time in the second edition of 1899. For the most part, the entirety of §XIII and §XIV up to the paragraph beginning with the words “The fact that the moral good” appeared as part of an article under the title “The Reality of the Moral Order” in Voprosy filosofii i psikhologii, vol. 31 (1).
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Notes
- 1.
C] psychic] Absent in A.
- 2.
C] The invisible distress of another proves] An invisible distress proves A.
- 3.
E] In English in the original.
- 4.
C] words corresponding to “conscience” were not used in ordinary discourse. Instead, they substituted words] although they could form words corresponding to “conscience,” they were not used and always substituted words A.
- 5.
C] the thought of admittedly violating any moral demand arouses shame.] the thought of violating any demand for pity (and also other moral demands) arouses shame. A.
- 6.
C] Footnote added in A: cf. Justification of the Moral Good, Chap. 1.
- 7.
C] knitted] fused A.
- 8.
C] with you and pull us down … have climbed, but] with you, but A.
- 9.
C] the highest fundamental … in the full sense.] the chief and highest manifestation of natural being, directly shows that we are supernatural and super-animal beings. Therefore, in the feeling of shame the human being becomes a human being. A.
- 10.
C] , to the law of eternal death] Absent in A.
- 11.
C] of holding someone … an actual scoundrel now?] of loving a future scoundrel more than an actual one? A.
- 12.
C] that would lift us … us the completeness], of some higher law that elevates us above nature with its dark and impotent desire, towards the completeness A
- 13.
C] the special moral … is based) depends] the special charm of children depends A.
- 14.
C] e.g., parental, filial, sibling, etc.,] Absent in A.
- 15.
F] Concerning this and more, see my articles “Smysl ljubvi.” E] For an English translation of these originally separate articles, see Solovyov 1985.
- 16.
C] practice] accommodation A.
- 17.
C] personal] individual A.
- 18.
C] result] effect A.
- 19.
C] by our abstinence and] by our abstinence from the path of nature A.
- 20.
E] Romans 8: 5.
- 21.
C] even perish with our succumbing to “things of the flesh.”] even perish by our intemperance. A.
- 22.
C] the desires of the … but also to] the carnal, animal path is set against the formal level of human dignity or of the rational super-animal faculty of infinite understanding and aspiration, but also against A.
- 23.
C] the profound factual division] the profound division A.
- 24.
E] “fear of God”] See, for example, 2 Corinthians 7: 1, but also many other passages in both the Old and New Testaments.
- 25.
C] of a real discrepancy] of our factual inadequacy A.
- 26.
C] fitting] adequate A.
- 27.
C] both from its formal principle … from its real manifestations.] both its real manifestations and its formal principle, or moral law. A.
- 28.
C] of being,] of blind nature A.
- 29.
C] for, as we already pointed out, instead] for instead A.
- 30.
E] “You ought, therefore you can.”] This exact slogan does not stem from Kant but has a long tradition in Kant-interpretation. For example, Schopenhauer writes regarding Kant’s ethics, “Yet in spite of his convictions, freedom is assumed, although only idealiter and as a postulate, through the famous conclusion “You can, for you ought.’” Schopenhauer 1965: 76.
- 31.
F] In the church prayer, the impotence of humanity is placed alongside sins and lawlessness: “O Lord, cleanse our sins. O Master, forgive our transgressions. Visit us, O Holy One, and heal our infirmities.” These infirmities are contrasted in particular here with holiness. E] “O Lord, cleanse … our infirmities.”] [Anon.] 1964: 14. C] This entire footnote absent in A.
- 32.
C] essentially the same … correct this anomaly.] anomaly. A.
- 33.
C] for the necessary … higher, divine-human one.] for the very real and, moreover, perfect divine-human one. A.
- 34.
E] John 1: 13—of the will of the flesh and of the will of man.
- 35.
E] See Psalms 34: 19.
- 36.
C] the path by which he intended to unite] the means by which he established the connection between A.
- 37.
C] leading to this goal.] satisfactory. A.
- 38.
C] philosopher,] thinker, A.
- 39.
C] subjective idealism] subjectivism AB.
- 40.
C] perfect] Absent in A.
- 41.
C] empirical, contingent] external and contingent AB.
- 42.
C] objective. However,] objective. It is an unobjectionably precise expression for the abstract concept of moral truth. However, A.
- 43.
C] this possibility] this very possibility A
- 44.
C] perfect] Absent in A
- 45.
C] very] Absent in A.
- 46.
C] (formally)] Absent in AB.
- 47.
C] “pure” will?] “pure,” or “autonomous,” will? AB.
- 48.
C] H20,] Absent in A.
- 49.
C] Kant’s] our philosopher’s A.
- 50.
E] Schiller 1902: 281.
- 51.
E] “Two things fill the mind with ever new and increasing admiration and reverence, the more often and more steadily one reflects on them: the starry heavens above me and the moral law within me.” Kant 1996a: 269.
- 52.
F] Kant’s chief work in his pre-Critical period.
- 53.
C] simple-minded] naïve AB.
- 54.
C] of its own, that] of its own (is not a substance), that AB.
- 55.
C] by the same] by one and the same AB.
- 56.
C] of psychic appearances] Absent in A.
- 57.
C] given the conditions] within the bounds AB.
- 58.
C] wanted to find] found A.
- 59.
F] We will restrict ourselves here only to these two, since the question of free will lies on another intellectual plane.
- 60.
E] postulates of practical reason] See Kant 1996a: 238–247 E] rational belief] See Kant 1996a: 255–257.
- 61.
C] metaphysical] Absent in A.
- 62.
C] but the direct, constituting forces of moral reality.] but the direct content of moral experience—what is actually given in such experience. A.
- 63.
E] God is alive—My soul is alive.] Derzhavin 2005: 30. This poem dates from 1797.
- 64.
C] The fact that … of existence.] This entire long paragraph absent in AB.
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Nemeth, T. (2015). Chapter 7 The Unity of Moral Foundations. In: Nemeth, T. (eds) Vladimir Solov’ëv's Justification of the Moral Good. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-12775-0_8
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