Kantotle, Aristkant

--- by JLS
----- for the GC

Jonathan Bennett did his best to popularise Kantotle when he entitled his review of Grice's "Philosophical Foundations of Rationality: intentions, categories, ends" (Grandy/Warner) in the Times Literary Supplement as "In the tradition of Kantotle".

J is commenting on Kant's deontology (in "Non-natural tears", this forum), and I would think that Grice always found Kant a bit hard to digest (if not swallow). He was too much of a teleologist to care. Hence his device, "Kantotle" (in other places, Ariskant, which, if only for chronological reasons, I prefer).

Consider his passage from a discussion of Kant's Groundwork (Grice's favourite Kantian book) to Acrill on eudomainonia! Yes! That's precisely what you are treated to when reading the last two chapters of Grice's "Aspects of reason". It's all Kant, Kant, Kant, universalisability of the maxim, and then -- abracadabra -- we lose Grice! And he starts to consider Kant's hint, "If you want to be happy, do x", and next thing you have Grice saying that 'fairy godmother' is the best translation to date for 'eudaimon'.