Ethics and Judgment in Camus and Kant

By Alex Donovan Cole

The ideas of Albert Camus and Immanuel Kant are not often thought of as sharing

pronounced similarities. However, both thinkers are deeply concerned with role of

aesthetics in moral, and subsequently, political life. According to each, taste is a faculty

whereby one is able to develop the "moral insight" needed for the flourishing of a robust,

thoughtful, ethical individual. Yet, both Camus and Kant utilize highly divergent

methodologies in going about this. Camus prefers the artistic form and poetic language

offered by the novel and Kant prefers the logical rigor of critical philosophical

arguments.

This thesis hopes to reveal that this methodological chasm allows one thinker to

express what the other cannot. Camus is able to artistically and beautifully express the

absurdity of moral life in such a way that is ripe with personal resonance and meaning;

while Kant is able to philosophically ground Camus' concerns in a logically thorough

manner. Utilizing the novels of Camus and the works of Kant, this thesis posits that

Camus and Kant are complimentary thinkers, each in need of one another in order to

express a more nuanced conception of politics in which judgment and aesthetic taste play

a key role. Such a project also hopes to demonstrate the importance of aesthetics and

artistic expression in the maintenance of a just political order.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1835205526
• ISBN13: 9781835205525
• Release Date: August 2023
• Publisher: Awasthihb
• Length: 72 Pages
• Weight: 0.24 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.1" x 6.0" x 9.0"