Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Palgrave Macmillan

Role Of The Unrealisable

A Study In Regulative Ideals

  • Book
  • © 1994

Overview

Authors:
  1. Dorothy Emmet

    1. University of Manchester, UK
      Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge, UK
      Oxford, UK

    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

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

Access this book

Log in via an institution
eBook USD 44.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access

Licence this eBook for your library

Institutional subscriptions

Table of contents (9 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-x
    Download chapter PDF

  2. Introduction

    • Dorothy Emmet
    Pages 1-9

  3. Regulative Ideals: Kant

    • Dorothy Emmet
    Pages 10-17

  4. A Regulative Ideal in Ethics: The Good Will

    • Dorothy Emmet
    Pages 18-29

  5. A Regulative Ideal in Politics: The General Will

    • Dorothy Emmet
    Pages 30-46

  6. The Perfect Society: Utopia or Regulative Ideal?

    • Dorothy Emmet
    Pages 47-60

  7. The Idea of the Good as a Regulative Ideal

    • Dorothy Emmet
    Pages 61-76

  8. True Propositions and Truth as a Regulative Ideal

    • Dorothy Emmet
    Pages 77-92

  9. Two Regulative Ideals in Religion

    • Dorothy Emmet
    Pages 93-108

  10. Metaphysical Overtones

    • Dorothy Emmet
    Pages 109-122

  11. Back Matter

    Pages 123-134
    Download chapter PDF
Back to top

Keywords

About this book

There are certain ideals that can never be realised yet play an important role in our thinking, our morality, and our politics: they include the final comprehensive Truth, the General Will, the absolute Good, and certain religious ideals. Our attempts to get closer to them profoundly influence what we do, and our concern for them informs our criticism of what we reject. In politics, in particular, too many idealists are under the illusion that these ideals can be realised and if disillusioned about this they too easily turn to cynicism - which is equally mistaken. This book looks at the role of such ideals in our intellectual and moral lives and in our politics by taking Kant's concept of the Regulative Ideal, and in so doing develops the concept itself further. Other thinkers whose ideas are considered in relation to this range from Plato to Iris Murdoch.

Authors and Affiliations

  • University of Manchester, UK

    Dorothy Emmet

  • Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge, UK

    Dorothy Emmet

  • Oxford, UK

    Dorothy Emmet

Bibliographic Information

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Back to top

Search

Navigation