Baumgarten, Kant, and the Subdivisions of Practical Philosophy

Abstract This chapter analyzes a specific passage from Kant’s note to §88 of Baumgarten’s Elements of First Practical Philosophy, where Kant offers a triadic classification of (i) inner freedom under inner laws; and outer freedom under (ii) inner and (iii) outer laws, a classification which appears perplexing in light of his later division of practical philosophy into right and virtue. While virtue seems to map onto the first distinction, and right the third, there is no obvious match for the second. This chapter investigates whether this second category implies the same actions viewed from the perspective of inner laws or if it indicates two distinct forms of outer freedom subject to different laws. Emphasizing Kant’s priority of freedom over perfectionism, the study explores how Kant adopted and adapted Baumgarten’s distinctions, highlighting the tension between inner and outer distinctions that persists in Kant’s final division between right and virtue in the Metaphysics of Morals.