A Kantian Theory of Moral Character
Author(s): Julia Peters (Author)
- Publisher: Cambridge University Press
- Publication Date: May 7, 2026
- Language: English
- Print length: 210 pages
- ISBN-10: 1009620312
- ISBN-13: 9781009620314
Book Description
What is moral character, and how does it unfold over time? This book offers a fresh Kantian alternative to the dominant Aristotelian paradigm, which defines character as a stable set of virtues and vices. Drawing on Kant’s moral philosophy, A Kantian Theory of Moral Character reframes character as a first-person commitment to moral principles – not a fixed trait, but a freely chosen, evolving practical orientation that shapes and is shaped by an agent’s life as a whole. Central to this view is Kant’s notion of Gesinnung: a person’s fundamental moral disposition, constituted through free choice and the continuous reaffirmation of moral commitment. Bridging contemporary debates in ethics with historical insights from Kant, this study offers a compelling account of how freedom, moral commitment, temporality, and moral identity intertwine. It will interest scholars and students of philosophy, ethics, and moral psychology seeking a deeper understanding of character and moral agency.
Editorial Reviews
Review
‘A Kantian Theory of Moral Character is a major contribution to the literature on Kantian accounts of virtue and character. Julia Peters masterfully engages with Kant’s texts and recent scholarship and highlights the demand of the unconditional moral law and Kant’s focus on ‘the moral disposition in conflict.’ She presents a strong case for a distinctive and original Kantian theory of moral character as a regulative idea for action, a guide which we can never fully embody.’ Patrick Kain, Purdue University
Book Description
Reframing moral character: a Kantian view of virtue as an ongoing, freely chosen first-person commitment, not a fixed behavioral trait.
About the Author
Julia Peters is Professor of Philosophy at Heidelberg University. She is the author of Hegel on Beauty (2015) and numerous articles in journals including Journal of the History of Philosophy, European Journal of Philosophy, Archiv für Geschichte der Philosophie, and British Journal for the History of Philosophy.
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