Kant’s Rechtfertigung and the Epistemic Character of Practical Justification

Baiasu, Sorin

Abstract

Although an examination of Kant's justification of various (especially practical) norms is under way in the literature and most of the Kantians have something to say about this topic, yet not much has been written on Kant's view of justification [Rechtfertigung]. Moreover, what has been written on Kant's Rechtfertigung suggests that it is a non-epistemic notion and, hence, a notion that cannot be placed within an account of Kant's moral or practical epistemology. Furthermore, Kant makes use of the notion of Rechtfertigung in many ways and many contexts, so much so that it sometimes looks like we are dealing with more than one concept under the same name. This chapter argues that Kant's view of practical justification is unitary and coherent, that it is significant for practical epistemology and that it overlaps with the contemporary notion of justification in a way which makes it relevant for the numerous current debates.

Citation

Baiasu, S. (2013). Kant’s Rechtfertigung and the Epistemic Character of Practical Justification. In Kant on Practical Justification: Interpretive Essays (22-41). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof%3Aoso/9780195395686.003.0002

• Publication Date: Apr 9, 2013
• Deposit Date: Jun 6, 2023
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Pages: 22-41
• Book Title: Kant on Practical Justification: Interpretive Essays
• Chapter Number: 1
• ISBN: 9780195395686
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof%3Aoso/9780195395686.003.0002
• Keywords: Kant, Rechtfertigung, justification, moral epistemology, practical postulates, practical reason