Abstract for the Kant in Asia
International Conference
at Hong Kong Baptist
University
20-23 May 2009
Mohsen Javadi,
“The Autonomy of Moral Agent in Kant's Ethics and Its Rejection in Contemporary Islamic Literature”
Kant maintained that, the autonomy of the will is a necessary condition for being a moral agent. According to his explanation of the idea, a moral agent must not be influenced by external factors like God, tradition or even instinct. Muslim scholars rejected this conception of autonomy on the grounds that it contradicts the idea of divine rewards and punishments which, from a religious perspective, is a good motive for doing moral action. The reasons which they have put forward for their claims are various but ultimately they conclude that the autonomy of will doesn't contradict doing a moral action from a religious motive like the love of God or the fear of his punishment.
This paper after a brief introduction of the autonomy of moral agent in Kant's ethics will study the reasons of Muslim scholars for the rejection of Kantian conception of the autonomy.