Kant and Applied Ethics

MATTHEW C. ALTMAN The author is an assistant professor of philosophy and director of the William O. Douglas Honors College at Central Washington University. He is the author of A Companion to Kant's "Critique of Pure Reason" (2008) as well as many articles in ethics, applied ethics, social/political philosophy, and the history of philosophy.

Preface vi

Note on Sources and Key to Abbreviations viii

Introduction: Why Kant Now 1

Part I. Applying Kant’s Ethics 11

1. Animal Suffering and Moral Character 13

2. Kant’s Strategic Importance for Environmental Ethics 45

3. Moral and Legal Arguments for Universal Health Care 71

4. The Scope of Patient Autonomy 90

Part II. Kantian Arguments against Kant’s Conclusions 115

5. Subjecting Ourselves to Capital Punishment 117

6. Same-Sex Marriage as a Means to Mutual Respect 139

Part III. Limitations of Kant’s Theory 165

7. Consent, Mail-Order Brides, and the Marriage Contract 167

8. Individual Maxims and Social Justice 194

9. The Decomposition of the Corporate Body 217

10. Becoming a Person 241

Conclusion: Emerging from Kant’s Long Shadow 283

Bibliography 289

Index 311