Kant and Schiller on duty and inclination

Abstract

This article is an analysis of the discussion between Schiller and Kant about duty and inclination in Schiller’s «On Grace and Dignity», Kant’s «Religion Within the Limits of Reason Alone» and a letter of Schiller to Kant on this topic. The article shows that Schiller’s and Kant’s conceptions are essentially different. With Kant there could be no theoretical connection between duty and inclination for systematic reasons, whereas Schiller thought it was the case. But Kant and Schiller had great respect for each other; they did not consider their differences as important. Each tried to understand the other from the viewpoint of the latter’s theories, and insisted principally on the agreements between their respective theories.