A new translation of Kant's 1797 The Metaphysics of Morals into modern American English with the original German manuscript in the back for reference. This is Volume XII in the Complete Works of Immanuel Kant published by Newcomb Livraria Press This is not to be confused with his early 1785 work Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals, which is a different book. In keeping with the grounded, practical themes of his later works, the metaphysician of Prussia’s Die Metaphysik der Sitten focuses on law, government regulation and virtue. Law is the inevitable end of Reason, and as such, is rooted in a priori principles native to the soul but not external experience, in other words, metaphysical. The imperative of virtue relies on inner compulsion, while the imperative of legality relies on an external compulsion. In his lifelong rage against the Empiricism of David Hume, Kant here builds a positive framework devoid of polemics. Kant’s “Doctrine of Right” would inspire Hegel’s 1820 Philosophy of Right, where he would develop a more robust legal theory and a more restrictive social contract.

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This careful commentary analyzes the Grundlegung, the metaphysical discussion of morality written during Kant's critical period, between publication of the Critique of Pure Reason and the Critique of Practical Reason.

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