Kant and Applied Ethics

Matthew C. Altman is an associate professor of philosophy and chair of the Philosophy & Religious Studies Department at Central Washington University. In addition to articles in ethics, applied ethics, and the history of philosophy, he is the author of A Companion to Kant's "Critique of Pure Reason" (2008), co-author of The Fractured Self in Freud and German Philosophy (2013), and editor of The Palgrave Handbook of German Idealism (2014).

• Preface viNote on Sources and Key to Abbreviations viiiIntroduction: Why Kant Now 1Part I. Applying Kant’s Ethics 111. Animal Suffering and Moral Character 132. Kant’s Strategic Importance for Environmental Ethics 453. Moral and Legal Arguments for Universal Health Care 714. The Scope of Patient Autonomy 90Part II. Kantian Arguments against Kant’s Conclusions 1155. Subjecting Ourselves to Capital Punishment 1176. Same-Sex Marriage as a Means to Mutual Respect 139Part III. Limitations of Kant’s Theory 1657. Consent, Mail-Order Brides, and the Marriage Contract 1678. Individual Maxims and Social Justice 1949. The Decomposition of the Corporate Body 21710. Becoming a Person 241Conclusion: Emerging from Kant’s Long Shadow 283Bibliography 289Index 311