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Document Details : Title: Kant, Kafka, Josef K. Author(s): VAN GORKOM, Joris Journal: Tijdschrift voor Filosofie Volume: 72 Issue: 1 Date: 2010 Pages: 41-78 DOI: 10.2143/TVF.72.1.2047017 Abstract : This paper tries to read ‘Kant with Kafka’. We begin with the question of how the law can be given. This question is addressed by way of another question, namely whether Immanuel Kant’s practical philosophy can protect us from corrupting motives. What if Kant’s thoughts on the law are merely based on illusions? Central to this discussion is the theme of respect. Respect is first of all respect for the moral law, but Kant adds that this respect is mediated by a respect for the person. Will respect, then, guard us against all corrupting impulses, as Kant assured us? Here, Franz Kafka’s The Trial becomes relevant, insofar as Kafka presents in this novel what can be called a ‘Talmudic’ discussion between the protagonist Josef K. and a priest, which precisely deals with the question of illusions and lies regarding the law. |
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