Kant’s ethics reject casuistry and graded moral categories, unlike Islamic practice
Evidence
Kant detested the old Catholic discipline of moral casuistry because it sought to guide the conscience, especially in situations of uncertainty, and would also surely have detested the practice of seeking fatwas. His standpoint suggests that a category like makru¯h (reprehensible) has no place in a truly moral vocabulary because it dilutes the absolute wrongness of an act to which it is applied. But seen simply as the products of ethical judgment one misses the practical use of the words makru¯h (reprehensible) and mustahabb (desirable) in cultivating virtuous thought and behavior—forms of behavior that, incidentally, carry no punitive sanctions. — Talal Asad, Formations of the Secular, 1186
Categorization
Category: Contrarian or Surprising Claims
- XREF: Connects to the reader’s interest in ritual and moral economy — the idea that graded categories (makruh/mustahabb) cultivate virtue without punitive sanction parallels the ADDENDUM on sacrifice as non-punitive ritual practice.
- DEFINE: Clarifies makruh (reprehensible) and mustahabb (desirable) as gradations in the Islamic moral vocabulary that Kantian ethics has no room for.