Organon F
Volume 31, November 2024, Issue 4, Pages 338–366
ISSN 2585-7150 (online) ISSN 1335-0668 (print)
Research Article
Kant on Moral Autocracy, Moral Faith and Happiness
Neşe Aksoy
Kant’s account of moral autocracy as the strength of will to impose inner self-constraint is usually interpreted as being strengthened and promoted by the pursuit of the obligatory ends of perfection and holiness. In this context, moral autocracy is seen as something that can be achieved through one’s self-activity guided and encouraged by the ideals of perfection and holiness. In this paper, I argue that, in addition to the moral ends of perfection and holiness, moral autocracy also requires moral belief or faith as a guide to achieve a lifestyle that is peculiar to the highest good, i.e. a life conduct that is well-pleasing to God. In view of this, I argue that moral autocracy in conjunction with moral belief or faith leads to a morally pure and refined way of living directed towards the purity of the moral law. Finally, I conclude that the morally refined and elevated form of lifestyle achieved by morally autocratic activity opens the ground for happiness that does not only refer to the satisfaction of one’s needs and desires but is also inclusive of the elements of enduring contentment, well-being, and bliss, which leads me to interpret Kant’s account of happiness as encapsulating a eudaimonistic dimension in it.
Moral autocracy; moral faith; perfection; happiness; holiness.
Author
Neşe Aksoy
Affiliation
Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
Address
The Institute of Philosophy and Sociology Bulgarian, Academy of Sciences, 13A Moskovska Str., 1000 Sofia, Bulgaria
Received
20 May 2024
Accepted
2 August 2024
Publishers
Institute of Philosophy of the Slovak Academy of Sciences
Institute of Philosophy of the Czech Academy of Sciences
APA
Aksoy, N. (2024). Kant on Moral Autocracy, Moral Faith and Happiness. Organon F, 31(4), 338–366. https://doi.org/10.31577/orgf.2024.31401
Chicago
Aksoy, Neşe. 2024. "Kant on Moral Autocracy, Moral Faith and Happiness." Organon F 31 (4): 338–366. https://doi.org/10.31577/orgf.2024.31401
Harvard
Aksoy, N. (2024). Kant on Moral Autocracy, Moral Faith and Happiness. Organon F, 31(4), pp. 338–366. https://doi.org/10.31577/orgf.2024.31401
© Neşe Aksoy
https://www.sav.sk/?lang=sk&doc=journal-list&part=article_response_page&journal_article_no=36117
The above URL is linked to the article's response page. The response page is a permanent location associated with the article's DOI number.
