Creating the Kingdom of Ends

by Christine M. Korsgaard

Christine Korsgaard has become one of the leading interpreters of Kant's moral philosophy. She is identified with a small group of philosophers who are intent on producing a version of Kant's moral philosophy that is at once sensitive to its historical roots while revealing its particular relevance to contemporary problems. This collection contains some of the finest work being done on Kant's ethics and will command the attention of all those involved in teaching and studying moral theory.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction

464 pages, Paperback

First published July 28, 1996

About the author

Christine M. Korsgaard is an American philosopher whose main academic interests are in moral philosophy and its history; the relation of issues in moral philosophy to issues in metaphysics, the philosophy of mind, and the theory of personal identity; the theory of personal relationships; and in normativity in general. She has taught at Yale, the University of California at Santa Barbara, and the University of Chicago; since 1991 she has been a professor at Harvard University.

Korsgaard received a B.A. from the University of Illinois and a Ph.D from Harvard where she was a student of John Rawls.

Reviews

[Trapper King]

The section wherein Korsgaard synthesizes Kant and Aristotle by way of Rawls into a cohesive concept of ethics is fantastic, and needs to be more widely read.

It is probably the closest thing Ive read to what I consider moral truth.

[Zelai Xu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Deep and thought provoking.

[Lucas · Rating 5 out of 5]

This should be required reading for any course on the history of moral philosophy, and is definitely a must-read for anyone learning about Kant's ethics. The book is split into two - the first half focuses on Kant's ethics (this is what I read) and the second half is a variety of essays on other topics relating to morality (I did not read these, but I plan to later).

While Kant is notoriously obscure and difficult to penetrate, Korsgaard renders his arguments vivid and full of life. She does an outstanding job of making Kant make sense and making his arguments hard to reject by defending them where they require more defense or elucidation. Like my review of the Groundwork previously, it is hard to comment on any intricacies of the book. However, it may be helpful to say that as I read Kant himself, I was a bit apprehensive about accepting some of his positions. However, by reading Korsgaard subsequently, she did an outstanding job of convincing me where Kant had failed.

Even if one's sympathies lie outside of Kant, this book presents, as far as I have seen, the most compelling interpretation and defense of Kant's view and should be read by anyone taking moral philosophy seriously - whether sympathetic with Kant or not.

[Álvaro · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolute must to gain a deep understanding about the system of Kantian ethics, as well as to know about some of the critiques it may be subjected to. Korsgaard's erudition and ingenuity shine in her solving some of the questions that rise from the work of Immanuel Kant.

[Kramer Thompson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite a good series of essays interpreting and defending Kant's ethics. I think Korsgaard's perspectives on many of the topics she considered are much more plausible than those of others. That said, I am still not fully convinced by the Kantian point of view (although appreciate its merits). I also found Korsgaard's writing in this volume to be quite difficult to follow. Often I found this due to my attention drifting half way through a paragraph or section, and I am not sure if the problem was due to me or the writing itself. Still, a good set of essays on Kant's ethics.

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Korsgaard's wonderful interpretation and elaboration of Kant's ethical philosophy, accompanied by several other critical essays. Kant's ethical thought has suffered under a widespread perception of coldness and inhumanity, compounded by his own obtuse writing style. In Korsgaard's hands, Kant's philosophy is revealed as deeply concerned with human values and goodness.

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant book of essays from a preeminent voice on Kantian ethics.