Kant’s ethics as a part of metaphysics: the role of spontaneity

Resumo

In his article, Kant’s Ethics as a part of Metaphysics: a possible Newtonian Suggestion? With Some Comments on Kant’s “Dream of a Seer”, Giorgio Tonelli suggests a possible relation between Isaac Newton’s conception of attraction and the metaphysical foundation of morals in the light of some considerations on Träume eines Geistersehers erläutert durch Träume der Metaphysik (Tonelli 1974). In this paper, I argue that Immanuel Kant’s notion of Ethics as a part of metaphysics does not simply derive from Newton and his followers, it is also a philosophical necessity triggered by the development of Kant’s system and his thought on spontaneity. I focus the attention especially on Kant’s early writings of ethics, in which it is evident the breach with the tradition and the formation of the system. The first part of the paper sketches the placement of ethics in Kant’s pre-critical works and its status as science. The second part develops the systematic justification of Kant’s insertion of ethics within metaphysics. The third part deals with the historical debate on soul-body’s relationship. The fourth and fifth parts account for the history of spontaneity and its reception in Kant’s early writings. The last two, finally, deal with Kant’s notion of ethics as part of metaphysics from 1770 to critical period.