Summary

Moral judgments seem to claim objective validity. To believe torture is permissible is a mistake. But how should we understand this error? Within Kantian ethics, there is a dispute between constructivists and realists. Constructivists believe this objectivity is the result of a process of "construction": moral principles are rules of action that we legislate as rational beings. Realists believe the objectivity of moral principles derives from a fundamental value, like humanity, that exists independently of human judgment.

Moral ‘cognition’ or ‘knowledge’ plays a key role in these debates. On the one hand, realists regard moral principles as grounded in metaphysical systems or as analogues to scientific theories. Our moral insight is, then, ‘cognition’ or ‘knowledge’ in a way that is comparable to ordinary claims of knowledge. On the other hand, constructivists have appealed to a so-called ‘practical turn’ in ethics. On this view, moral principles are simply rules that rational agents subscribe to or solutions to practical problems. Moral insight is not aimed at truth, and therefore, not at knowledge.

This project dives deeper into Kant’s moral epistemology to provide interpretive input to the debate between constructivists and realists and facilitate a way out of the impasse. The research focuses on Kant’s concept of ‘practical cognition’, a term he often uses to denote our awareness of moral principles or objects, and aims to define the concept's nature, conditions, and use. The project will delve into related notions of Kant’s moral epistemology, like ‘knowledge’, ‘belief’ and ‘science’, the particular cognitive status of moral objects, such as freedom or the moral law, and the theoretical counterparts to these concepts.

In addition to this particular debate, the researchers involved in the project are interested in broader interpretative and systematic debates around Kantian meta-ethics, normative ethics, and epistemology, and aim to contribute to broader research and public discussion on Kant’s philosophy in the Netherlands.

Presentations

Academic:

Tijn Smits, 3rd October 2025. ‘Kant’s Commitment to Knowledge of the Moral Law’, at the OZSW History of Philosophy in the Netherlands Conference, Utrecht University.

Tijn Smits, 1st/2nd September 2025. ‘Freedom’s Unique Form of Practical Cognition’, at the UK Kant Society 2025 Annual Conference, University of Sheffield.

Tijn Smits, 19th May 2025. ‘Mathematical Exactitude in the Doctrine of Right: Kant’s Construction of Right in Analogy with Mathematics and Physics’, at the OZSW 2025 Annual Conference, TU Delft.

Tijn Smits, 8th January 2025. ‘Kant on Practical Cognition: Analogies and Disanalogies with Theoretical Cognition’, at the Kant, Kantianism, Morality research group, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen.

Tijn Smits, 26th November 2024. ‘Kant on Cognition: From Theoretical to Practical’, at Prof. Willaschek’s Kolloquium, Goethe University Frankfurt.

Tijn Smits, 20th November 2024. ‘Kant on Cognition: From Theoretical to Practical’, at the Recht ErKant Workshop, University of St. Gallen.

Tijn Smits, 13th June 2024. ‘Cognition and Knowledge: From Theoretical to Practical’, at the Amsterdam Kant Conference 2024, University of Amsterdam.

Public:

Tijn Smits, 3rd July 2025. ‘Kant and the Public Use of Reason’ at the Defending Critical Education in Authoritarian Times Workshop, University of Amsterdam.

Tijn Smits, 17th June 2024. ‘What Does it Mean to Think for Yourself? On the Enlightenment and Conspiracy Theories’ at the AmFiBi Symposium 2024, University of Amsterdam.

Thomas Nys, 24th April 2024. ‘Freedom Through Limits’, at the Goethe Institute Amsterdam.

Tijn Smits, 20th March 2024. ‘Kant on Enlightenment, Equality, and Racism’, at the Kant Table Talks, Goethe Institute Amsterdam.

Papers

Published:

Tijn Smits. (2024). ‘A Kantian Justification of Fair Shares: Climate Ethics and Imperfect Duties’. Ethics, Policy and Environment, 1-19. https://doi.org/10.1080/21550085.2024.2412484

Planned / in progress:

A paper on Kant’s understanding of practical cognition of moral imperatives.

A paper on Kant’s understanding of the kind of cognition we have of freedom of the will.

A paper on whether we have knowledge, in the Kantian sense, of the moral law.

A paper on the quasi-mathematical method of construction employed in the Doctrine of Right.

A paper on whether Kant’s philosophy leaves room for ‘doxastic wronging’.

Events

Right and Morality in Kant's Practical Philosophy, a panel at the OZSW 2025 Annual Conference. 19th May, at the TU Delft. https://www.ozsw.nl/activity/ozsw-annual-conference/

Amsterdam Kant Conference 2024: Kantian Philosophy Today. 13th & 14th June, 2024 at the University of Amsterdam.
https://aihr.uva.nl/content/events/2024/06/kant.html

Kant Table Talks. 20th March, 24th April, and 5th June 2024, at the Goethe Institute Amsterdam.
https://www.goethe.de/ins/nl/nl/ver.cfm?event_id=25460635

Members

Thomas Nys, Principal Investigator, Associate Professor in Ethics
T.r.v.nys@uva.nl
https://www.uva.nl/profiel/n/y/t.r.v.nys/t.r.v.nys.html

Tijn Smits, PhD Candidate
T.m.smits@uva.nl

https://www.uva.nl/profiel/s/m/t.m.smits/t.m.smits.html

Please reach out for any questions about the project or possible cooperation!