Includes bibliographical references (pages 236-241) and index

Kant's "metaphysics of permanent rupture": radical evil and the unity of reason / Philip Rossi -- Kantian moral pessimism / Patrick Frierson -- Kant, the bible, and the recovery from radical evil / Gordon E. Michalson, Jr -- Kant's moral excluded middle / Claudia Card -- Evil everywhere: the ordinariness of Kantian radical evil / Robert B. Louden -- An alternative proof of the universal propensity to evil / Pablo Muchnik -- Kant and the intelligibility of evil / Allen W. Wood -- Social dimensions of Kant's conception of radical evil / Jeanine M. Grenberg -- Kant, radical evil, and crimes against humanity / Sharon Anderson-Gold -- Unforgivable sins? Revolution and reconciliation in Kant / David Sussman

"Kant infamously claimed that all human beings, without exception, are evil by nature. This collection of essays critically examines and elucidates what he must have meant by this indictment. It shows the role which evil plays in his overall philosophical project and analyses its relation to individual autonomy. Furthermore, it explores the relevance of Kant's views for understanding contemporary questions such as crimes against humanity and moral reconstruction. Leading scholars in the field engage a wide range of sources from which a distinctly Kantian theory of evil emerges, both subtle and robust, and capable of shedding light on the complex dynamics of human immorality."--Jacket