[Avodah] Categorical imperative

[Yitzhak Grossman]

On Tue, 14 Jul 2009 15:03:33 -0400
Micha Berger <micha at aishdas.org> wrote:

...

> Kant's logic is that the moral is that which is the right thing to do
> regardless of your desired goal. The hypothetical imperative is to match
> a hypothetical goal (if you want to be rested, get some sleep) and the
> categorical imperative is that which you would do regardless of your
> particular goal. Thus, you would want anyone to do it, regardless of
> what they're trying to accomplish.
> 
> I don't think that definition of morality is compatible with the Torah.
> We see rishonim expound Divine Command theory (whatever Hashem commands
> is by definition moral), we have Hillel proposing negative symmetry, the

Which Rishonim expound Divine command theory?

> Ramban discusses moral in terms of qedushah (even beyond Divine
> Command), etc... But as a moral theory, I don't think Kant's fits the
> mesorah.

It is apparently not entirely clear that Kant himself wasn't a Divine
command theorist:

"Nuyen, R. T. 1998. “Is Kant a Divine Command Theorist?” History of
Philosophy Quarterly 15: 441-453."

http://www.iep.utm.edu/d/divine-c.htm

Incidentally, while googling for 'Rishonim "command theory"', I
encountered this interesting footnote in a Tamar Ross paper:

"The claim has already been made regarding Kant's categorical
imperative that this is simply a replica of divine command theory with
the name of God deleted. Indeed Kant's concept of "the holy will" comes
very close to Hasid me-uleh of Maimonides who still retains some
element of subservience to a higher force or to R. Kook's idealization
of the ratzon penimi elyon in which our natural desires and the sense
of command are one and the same. Although feminist ethics are more
typified by a consequentialist view of morality, Kantians are not
totally absent from their ranks."

http://www.lookstein.org/articles/response_to_frimer.pdf

[p. 4 fn. 7]

Yitzhak
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