Thinking with Kleist
Michael Kohlhaas and Moral Luck
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 20656990 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Henry W Pickford (University of Colorado Boulder, corresponding author), Henry Pickford (University of Colorado Boulder) |
| Year | 2013 |
| Volume | 86 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 381-403 |
| Publication date | 2013-10-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The German Quarterly (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0016-8831 • E-ISSN: 1756-1183 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/gequ.10188 |
| OpenAlex | W2113351028 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 11 |
The concept of moral luck comprises four aspects of acts of the Kantian will that are beyond the control of the agent and yet, paradoxically, can affect her moral appraisal. The challenge posed to Kantian moral theory by moral luck was identified by Schleiermacher in his critical review of Kant's Anthropologie in pragmatischer Hinsicht , and evidence suggests that Kleist was familiar with Kant's relevant writings while composing Michael Kohlhaas , a novella in which the various kinds of moral luck play a significant role. I extend the concept of moral luck by discussing two further versions of it in the novella, which I call interpretive moral luck and—drawing on Max Weber— proxy moral luck . In tracing these categories, I show how Kleist dramatized paradoxical consequences of Kant's theory that Kant himself acknowledged. Lastly, I interpret the secondary narrative of the gypsy woman and her prophecy as a further critique of Kantian morality
Epistemology · Literature · Luck · Moral psychology · Morality · Narrative · Novella · Free Will and Agency · Philosophical Ethics and Theory · Philosophy · War, Ethics, and Justification
| Highly cited | No |
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