Abstract
Immanuel Kant promised, ‘as Your Majesty's loyal subject’, to abstain
from all public lectures about religion. All past commentators agree
this phrase permitted Kant to return to the topic after the King died.
But it is not part of the ‘at-issue content’. Consequently, ‘as Your
Majesty's loyal subject’ is no more an escape clause than the
corresponding phrase in ‘I guarantee, as your devoted fan, that these
guitar strings will not break’. Just as the guarantee stands regardless
of whether the guarantor ceases to be your devoted fan, the compliance
conditions of Kant's promise are not affected by Kant's ceasing to be
the king's loyal subject. For good or ill, Kant made a lying promise to
King Friedrich Wilhelm II in 1794.
Original language | English |
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Journal | Ratio |
Volume | 37 |
Issue number | 1 |
Early online date | 21 Aug 2023 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 16 Feb 2024 |
Keywords
- Conventional implicature
- Grice
- Hypocrisy
- Lying promise
- Mental reservation
- Posthumous harm