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From Self‐Respect to Respect for Others
Author(s) -
Cureton Adam
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
pacific philosophical quarterly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.914
H-Index - 32
eISSN - 1468-0114
pISSN - 0279-0750
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-0114.2012.01450.x
Subject(s) - contractualism , humanity , interpretation (philosophy) , value (mathematics) , epistemology , sociology , social psychology , philosophy , psychology , law , political science , mathematics , linguistics , statistics
The leading accounts of respect for others usually assume that persons have a rational nature, which is a marvelous thing, so they should be respected like other objects of ‘awesome’ value. K ant's views about the ‘value’ of humanity, which have inspired contemporary discussions of respect, have been interpreted in this way. I propose an alternative interpretation in which K ant proceeds from our own rational self‐regard, through our willingness to reciprocate with others, to duties of respect for others . This strategy, which shares some similarities with moral contractualism, offers a way to justify other‐regarding moral requirements from self‐regarding rational dispositions.