Discourse On Kant’s Respect

Some critics often accuse that Kantian moral laws exclude human emotions,happiness and utilitarian, detached from real life, therefore they are empty andformalistic; however, this kind of accusations is due to a misunderstanding of Kantianmoral philosophy. In fact, Kant takes into account how to realize these abstract moralrules, i.e. through respect for moral laws and derived interest during this process. Kantshows us the inclusiveness of his moral philosophy by incorporating all rationalfactors of traditional ethics, whether they are rationalism or empiricism, into his ownsystem.On the whole, Kantian moral philosophy is devoid of all human emotions exceptone, i.e. respect for moral laws. People usually treat moral emotions on the level ofsensibility, taking them as parts of intrinsic senses. However, Kant make a completelydifferent interpret. For him, moral emotions are not parts of specific senses; they aresolely based upon reason. They have no use in judging human activity, nor do theyplay a role in formulating objective moral laws themselves, they merely serve asmoral motives; there is nothing but moral laws that could be ordained as the guidanceof human conduct. Kantian respect is both negative and positive. On the negative side,it is a kind of humility, attempting to exclude and reject any feelings; on the positiveside, it is a driving force in the realization of moral laws, that is, serves as a motive toobserve moral laws. However, the most fundamental is not this kind of motive, butrational rules behind it. Therefore, Kantian moral emotions are different from anypathological ones, and are a kind of pure moral feelings caused by rationality.Respect is all about moral laws. As for individuals, there is one more thingneeded for arousing respect, and that is personality. Kantian personality notion istwofold: On the one hand, it is perceptual, referring to the worldly and empirical life;on the other hand, it is rational, associated with the pursuit of the order in the otherworld. This duality enables personality to function as a linchpin for human’s sublimityand a bond between the worldly cosmos and the other world. The combination ofpersonality and respect is a key for us to understand Kantian moral philosophy.In Kant’s view, human beings should possess some moral ideals belonging to theother world. If all of the human moral ideals are secular and none of them belongs tothe other world, people will be lost once they realize their ideals. And this is thesignificance and value of Kantian moral philosophy.