Abstract

In Schillerʼs On Grace and Dignity of 1794, his critique of the alleged ‘rigorism’ of Kantian ethics is particularly harsh: Kant has developed an ethic for “servants” that suppresses human nature for fear of it and does not reconcile it. The essay attempts to show that this critique is based on Schillerʼs double misunderstanding: a misunderstanding of the Kantian conception and a misunderstanding of its own alternative model. This analysis and interpretation of Schillerʼs critique of Kant’s ethics also leads to the realization that Schillerʼs idea of morality is ultimately more rigid than Kantʼs theory, which was so harshly criticized.