Kantian Ethics and Environmental Philosophy
Pursuing the Good in an Age of Crisis
The most sustained analysis of Kant’s thinking on obligations and desires, connecting his readings of ancient philosophy with pressing questions in contemporary environmental philosophy
- Critically reviews attempts in moral philosophy to deny the reality of conflicts between moral obligation and material desire
- Analyses these conflicts from a Kantian perspective
- Highlights the relevance of these conflicts in the context of environmental crisis
Abbreviations for Primary Sources
Introduction: Conscience, the Good and Philosophical Consolations
1. Optimism, Epicureanism and the Lisbon Earthquake
2. Kant’s Commonsense Critique of Stoic and Epicurean Ethics
3. The Problem of the Highest good
4. Radical Hope
Conclusion: The Limits of Hopeful Pessimism
Bibliography
Through a meticulous engagement with Kant’s writings on hope and the highest good, Heneghan develops a notion of radical hope through which philosophy becomes more than a consolation for the existence of suffering, but also an ethical approach to contemporary moral crises with seemingly impossible solutions, such as looming environmental catastrophe.
Heneghan develops a novel approach to addressing the threats posed by climate change through a masterful application of Kant’s analysis of the highest good. As such, he makes a significant contribution to both Kant scholarship and environmental philosophy in view of one of the most pressing issues of our time.
