5 Humanist Ethics

In this chapter we investigate how Kant’s philosophy contributes universalistic arguments in favor of a humanistic ethics. Kant moved the idea of freedom to the center of his philosophy, arguing that from a reflection on the nature of human freedom a self- critical assessment of its morally appropriate use could be gleaned. Therein, that is, in construing his ethics from (subjective) self- reflection rather than from presumed (objective) values, and in construing norms of interpersonal validity from the individual perspective (“bottom- up”) rather than from (“top- down”) references to prearranged ethical or metaphysical orders, lies Kant’s innovation in ethics theory. For Kant, our knowledge of human nature does not precede the search for moral truth but results from our quest for a life of integrity. His is a procedural humanism, a philosophy whose humanistic ethics arises from the ways and procedures by which persons seek the good. Thus Kant steered clear both of the Scylla of moral relativism and of the Charybdis of a “one- size- fitsall” ethics, which threaten all materialistic approaches to ethical theory. Recognizing that context affects content, Kant decided instead in favor of a formal approach to ethics, universalistic in procedures and structures but open to differentiation as to the regional and temporal specificities of its application. This is what makes his ethics relevant beyond the historical settings and confines of his works. After introducing into the context the anthropological basis and methodology of Kant’s ethics (in sections 1–3), we discuss its moral and legal dimensions (4), his theory of politics (5), and the applicability of his ethics to contemporary business (6).