Kant on Universality and Accommodating Differences: Religious, Racial, Sexual, Gendered

This paper shows how Kant’s theory of freedom sets a moral framework within which importantly non-moralizable, contingent concerns of human nature can be accommodated. This enables us to appreciate ways in which Kant sees both unreflective and reflective normative elements as working together as an integrated whole in emotionally healthy, morally good human beings, historical cultures, and legal-political institutional systems. Contrary to what many critics believe, all these concerns lie at the heart of Kant’s practical philosophy, and they constitute one main reason why the continuous engagement with and development of Kant’s philosophy is not necessarily to perpetuate a serious philosophical mistake, but to develop some of the best, most exciting ideas our philosophical tradition has given us.