Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

God’s Existence and the Kantian Formula of Humanity

  • Published:
Sophia Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Immanuel Kant’s categorical imperative can be expressed as the formula of humanity. This states that rational beings ought always to treat humanity, whether in our own persons or in others, as ends in themselves and never as mere means. In this essay, I argue that if God exists, then the Kantian formula of humanity is false. The basic idea behind my argument is that if God exists, then he has knowingly created a world with all kinds of naturally occurring threats, such as disease, flood, drought, etc. and he has knowingly placed human beings in such a world without their consent, knowing that many innocent human beings will be led to suffer, and he allows this suffering to occur. I argue that even if this is somehow for their own good or the good of others or contributes to the goodness of the world as a whole, God treats these innocent human beings as mere means when he places humans in such a world without their consent and allows this suffering to occur.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. See Kant (1981) [1785], p.36. For some discussions of Kant’s ethics and the formula of humanity, see Baron (1995), Herman (1993), O’Neill (1989, esp. Ch.7), Schneewind (1992, pp. 309–341), and Wood (2006, pp. 291–307; 2008, pp. 85–105).

  2. In support of my contention that there are likely many Kantian theists, I would note that I have had many students and friends who believe that God exists and who accept the Kantian formula of humanity. Also, one way of understanding the second great commandment, ‘Love thy neighbor as thyself,’ is to treat it as an assertion that we should respect the dignity and autonomy of others, as we want our own dignity and autonomy to be respected.

    Furthermore, I would direct the reader’s attention to the work of Robert Kraynak (2001), who argues that many twentieth century theists have embraced the Kantian formula of humanity; he finds evidence in the works of Jacques Maritain, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Pope John XXIII, Cardinal Karol Wojtyla (Pope John Paul II), Reinhold Niebuhr, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Martin Buber. See esp. Kraynak (2001), pp.148-164.

  3. A referee for this journal drew my attention to this issue concerning the flawed nature of such relations and directed my attention to Bishop and Perszyk (2011) in which they appeal to this flawed aspect of our relation with God to build what they call a ‘normatively relativized logical argument from evil,’ which suggests that the existence of an all-good, omnipotent God is inconsistent with certain sorts of moral beliefs that a number of theists are likely to hold.

  4. Nagel (1997, p.130).

  5. See Kahane (2011). For a critique of Kahane’s arguments for anti-theism, see Kraay and Dragos (2013).

References

  • Baron, M. (1995). Kantian ethics almost without apology. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bishop, J., & Perszyk, K. (2011). The normatively relativized logical argument from evil. International Journal for Philosophy of Religion, 70, 109–126.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Herman, B. (1993). The practice of moral judgment. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kahane, G. (2011). Should we want God to exist? Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, 82, 674–696.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kant, I. (1785/1981) The grounding of the metaphysics of morals, trans. James W. Ellington, Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Publishing.

  • Kraay, K., & Dragos, C. (2013). On preferring God’s non-existence. The Canadian Journal of Philosophy, 43, 157–178.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kraynak, R. (2001). Christian faith and modern democracy. South Bend: University of Notre Dame Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nagel, T. (1997). The last word. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • O’Neill, O. (1989). Constructions of reason: explorations of Kant’s practical philosophy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schneewind, J. (1992). Autonomy, obligation, and virtue: on overview of Kant’s moral philosophy. In P. Guyer (Ed.), The Cambridge companion to Kant. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wood, A. (2006). Kant’s formulations of the moral law. In G. Bird (Ed.), A companion to Kant. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wood, A. (2008). Kantian ethics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Philosophy and Religion, Coe College, 1220 1st Ave. NE, Cedar Rapis, IA, 52402, USA

    John Lemos

Authors
  1. John Lemos
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to John Lemos.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Lemos, J. God’s Existence and the Kantian Formula of Humanity. SOPHIA 56, 265–278 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11841-016-0511-7

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11841-016-0511-7

Keywords

Search

Navigation