Kant on the Human Animal: Anthropology, Ethics, Race

Kant on the Human Animal explores Kant's understanding of the human animal, highlighting the role of animality in his conception of the human being. It argues that while reason grants humans access to a practical realm, their status as animal beings cannot be negated. Human animality provides the physiological basis for humanity's development and the achievement of proper humanhood.

Format: Hardback
Length: 176 pages
Publication date: 30 June 2023
Publisher: Northwestern University Press

Kant on the Human Animal delves into Kant's profound exploration of the human animal, drawing from a wide array of published works and lecture transcripts spanning the 1770s to the 1790s. With a focused examination of texts related to anthropology, ethics, and human nature, the book sheds light on Kant's understanding of the human creature. It is contended that a narrow emphasis on Kant's perspective on the moral distinctions between humans and other animals overlooks the significant role played by animality in his conception of the human being. While the possession of reason grants humans access to a practical realm beyond the reach of other animals, establishing a fundamental tension between humanity and animality, this unique access does not and cannot diminish the human status as an animal being. Indeed, as a thorough analysis of Kant's anthropology and theory of human nature reveals, human animality serves as the essential physiological foundation for humanity's development in the world, whether individually or historically. To attain proper humanhood, as Kant himself suggests, must be understood as the achievement of a singular animal—the "rational animal," which is the human being.

In Kant on the Human Animal, the author meticulously examines a diverse range of published works and lecture transcripts from the 1770s to the 1790s, with a particular focus on texts that delve into anthropology, ethics, and human nature. Through this comprehensive analysis, the book offers a profound insight into Kant's understanding of the human animal. It is argued that a narrow emphasis on Kant's perspective on the moral distinctions between humans and other animals overlooks the significant role played by animality in his conception of the human being. While the possession of reason grants humans access to a practical realm beyond the reach of other animals, establishing a fundamental tension between humanity and animality, this unique access does not and cannot diminish the human status as an animal being. Indeed, as a thorough analysis of Kant's anthropology and theory of human nature reveals, human animality serves as the essential physiological foundation for humanity's development in the world, whether individually or historically. To attain proper humanhood, as Kant himself suggests, must be understood as the achievement of a singular animal—the "rational animal," which is the human being.

Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780810144682