All Outputs (15)

Kant and Overdemandingness I: The Demandingness of Imperfect Duties (2024)
Journal Article
Saunders, J., Slater, J., & Sticker, M. (2024). Kant and Overdemandingness I: The Demandingness of Imperfect Duties. Philosophy Compass, 19(6), Article e12998. https://doi.org/10.1111/phc3.12998

The Overdemandingness Objection maintains that an ethical theory or principle that demands too much should be rejected, or at least moderated. Traditionally, overdemandingness is considered primarily a problem for consequentialist ethical theories. R... Read More about Kant and Overdemandingness I: The Demandingness of Imperfect Duties.

The Individual as an Object of Love: The Property View of Love Meets the Hegelian View of Properties (2023)
Journal Article
Saunders, J., & Stern, R. (2023). The Individual as an Object of Love: The Property View of Love Meets the Hegelian View of Properties. ERGO, 10(12), 341-371. https://doi.org/10.3998/ergo.4642

In this paper, we do two things: first, we offer a metaphysical account of what it is to be an individual person through Hegel’s understanding of the concrete universal; and second, we show how this account of an individual can help in thinking about... Read More about The Individual as an Object of Love: The Property View of Love Meets the Hegelian View of Properties.

Irrational Love: Taking Romeo and Juliet Seriously (2022)
Journal Article
McKeever, N., & Saunders, J. (2022). Irrational Love: Taking Romeo and Juliet Seriously. International Journal of Philosophical Studies, 30(3), 254-275. https://doi.org/10.1080/09672559.2022.2121895

This paper argues that there are important irrational elements to love. In the philosophical literature, we typically find that love is either thought of as rational or arational and that any irrational elements are thought to be defective, or extran... Read More about Irrational Love: Taking Romeo and Juliet Seriously.

Timeless Freedom in Kant: Transcendental Freedom and Things-in-Themselves (2022)
Journal Article
Saunders, J. (2022). Timeless Freedom in Kant: Transcendental Freedom and Things-in-Themselves. History of Philosophy Quarterly, 39(3), 275-292. https://doi.org/10.5406/21521026.39.3.05

This paper draws attention to two problems with Kant's claim that transcendental freedom is timeless. The problems are that this causes conceptual difficulties and fails to vindicate important parts of our moral practices. I then put forward three wa... Read More about Timeless Freedom in Kant: Transcendental Freedom and Things-in-Themselves.

Why we go wrong: beyond Kant’s dichotomy between duty and self-love (2022)
Journal Article
Sticker, M., & Saunders, J. (online). Why we go wrong: beyond Kant’s dichotomy between duty and self-love. Inquiry, https://doi.org/10.1080/0020174x.2022.2075457

Kant holds that whenever we fail to act from duty, we are driven by self-love. In this paper, we argue that there are a variety of different ways in which people go wrong, and we show why it is unsatisfying to reduce all of these to self-love. In doi... Read More about Why we go wrong: beyond Kant’s dichotomy between duty and self-love.

Some Hope for Kant’s Groundwork III (2021)
Journal Article
Saunders, J. (2021). Some Hope for Kant’s Groundwork III. Inquiry, https://doi.org/10.1080/0020174x.2021.1997798

Kant worries that if we are not free, morality will be nothing more than a phantasm for us. In the final section of the Groundwork, he attempts secure our freedom, and with it, morality. Here is a simplified version of his argument: 1. A rational wil... Read More about Some Hope for Kant’s Groundwork III.

Moral Education and Transcendental Idealism (2020)
Journal Article
Saunders, J., & Sticker, M. (2020). Moral Education and Transcendental Idealism. Archiv für Geschichte der Philosophie, 102(4), 646-673. https://doi.org/10.1515/agph-2020-1010

In this paper, we draw attention to several important tensions between Kant’s account of moral education and his commitment to transcendental idealism. Our main claim is that, in locating freedom outside of space and time, transcendental idealism mak... Read More about Moral Education and Transcendental Idealism.

Hegel, Norms and Ontology (2019)
Journal Article
Saunders, J. (2019). Hegel, Norms and Ontology. History of Philosophy Quarterly, 36(3), 279-297

This paper lays out two recent accounts of Hegel's practical philosophy in order to present a challenge. According to Robert Stern and Mark Alznauer, Hegel attempts to ground our ethical practices in ontological norms. I argue that we cannot ground o... Read More about Hegel, Norms and Ontology.

Transcendental Freedom and its Discontents (2018)
Journal Article
Saunders, J. (2018). Transcendental Freedom and its Discontents. Con-Textos Kantianos: International Journal of Philosophy, 1(8), 319-322. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.2383864

This introduction briefly lays out the basics of Kant’s concept, transcendental freedom, and some of its discontents. It also provides an overview of the dossier itself, introducing Katerina Deligiorgi’s discussion of ought-implies-can, Patrick Frier... Read More about Transcendental Freedom and its Discontents.

Practical grounds for belief: Kant and James on religion (2018)
Journal Article
Williams, N. W., & Saunders, J. (2018). Practical grounds for belief: Kant and James on religion. European Journal of Philosophy, 26(4), 1269-1282. https://doi.org/10.1111/ejop.12319

Both Kant and James claim to limit the role of knowledge in order to make room for faith. In this paper, we argue that despite some similarities, their attempts to do this come apart. Our main claim is that, although both Kant and James justify our a... Read More about Practical grounds for belief: Kant and James on religion.

Kant and Degrees of Responsibility (2018)
Journal Article
Saunders, J. (2019). Kant and Degrees of Responsibility. Journal of Applied Philosophy, 36(1), 137-154. https://doi.org/10.1111/japp.12293

Kant views every human action as either entirely determined by natural necessity or entirely free. In viewing human action this way, it is unclear how he can account for degrees of responsibility. In this article, I consider three recent attempts to... Read More about Kant and Degrees of Responsibility.

Taking love seriously: McTaggart, absolute reality and chemistry (2017)
Journal Article
Saunders, J. (2018). Taking love seriously: McTaggart, absolute reality and chemistry. British Journal for the History of Philosophy, 26(4), 719-737. https://doi.org/10.1080/09608788.2017.1393617

McTaggart takes love seriously. He rejects rival accounts that look to reduce love to pleasure, moral approbation or a fitting response to someone’s qualities. In addition, he thinks that love reveals something about the structure of the universe, an... Read More about Taking love seriously: McTaggart, absolute reality and chemistry.

The Value of Practical Knowledge: Against Engstrom’s Constructivism (2016)
Journal Article
Saunders, J. (2016). The Value of Practical Knowledge: Against Engstrom’s Constructivism. Hegel Bulletin, 37(01), 117-136. https://doi.org/10.1017/hgl.2016.6

Stephen Engstrom has recently offered an excellent account of morality as practical cognition. He emphasizes the formal conditions of practical knowledge, which he finds in Kant. Engstrom also aligns his account with constructivism, claiming that val... Read More about The Value of Practical Knowledge: Against Engstrom’s Constructivism.

Kant and the Problem of Recognition: Freedom, Transcendental Idealism, and the Third-Person (2016)
Journal Article
Saunders, J. (2016). Kant and the Problem of Recognition: Freedom, Transcendental Idealism, and the Third-Person. International Journal of Philosophical Studies, 24(2), 164-182. https://doi.org/10.1080/09672559.2016.1152286

Kant wants to show that freedom is possible in the face of natural necessity. Transcendental idealism is his solution, which locates freedom outside of nature. I accept that this makes freedom possible, but object that it precludes the recognition of... Read More about Kant and the Problem of Recognition: Freedom, Transcendental Idealism, and the Third-Person.

Kant, Rational Psychology and Practical Reason (2014)
Journal Article
Saunders, J. (2014). Kant, Rational Psychology and Practical Reason. Kant Yearbook, 6(1), 115-136. https://doi.org/10.1515/kantyb-2014-0107

In his pre-critical lectures on rational psychology, Kant employs an argument from the I to the transcendental freedom of the soul. In the (A-edition of the) first Critique, he distances himself from rational psychology, and instead offers four paral... Read More about Kant, Rational Psychology and Practical Reason.