#050 Moral By Design With Immanuel Kant and Kathleen Wallace
Professor Kathleen Wallace and Monica McCarthy at The Happier Hour / Photo by Liz Magee
“Act only according to that maxim whereby you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law.”
Is it possible to design a universal moral code? Is it ever acceptable to lie? Hear what the philosopher Immanuel Kant had to say about ethics and his influence in philosophy today. You’ll hear from Hofstra philosophy professor Kathleen A. Wallace about Kant’s Categorical Imperative, and whether or not it can help life suck less. #thehappierhour
IN THIS EPISODE:
Episode #049 Designing Your Life With Debbie Millman and Jacques Derrida
Kant believed philosophy attempts to answer three questions:
What can I know?
What should I do?
What may I hope?
Categorical Imperative: Only act on maxims that are universalizable→ Ask yourself: what if everyone did that?
Good Samaritan parable
Critique of Pure Reason by Immanuel Kant
The Network Self: Relation, Process, and Personal Identity (Routledge Studies in American Philosophy) by Kathleen Wallace
“Who are the people that make up your network self and how do they help you design your moral code?”
ABOUT KATHLEEN WALLACE
Kathleen Wallace is Professor of Philosophy at Hofstra University, USA. She has worked in American Philosophy, Metaphysics of Personal Identity, Hume, and Feminism. She has also published articles on anonymity and has a forthcoming work on Kant, Responsibility and Sustainability. Her book, The Network Self: Relation, Process, and Personal Identity (Routledge), is due out this spring. Wallace is also co-editor of a special issue of the journal Metaphilosophy on "Philosophy as a Way of Life" scheduled for January 2020.