Is Kant’s ethical theory too demanding? Do its commands ask too much of us, either by calling for self-sacrifice on particular occasions, or by pervading our lives to the extent that there is no room for permissible action? In this article, I argue that Kant’s ethics is very demanding, but not excessively so. The notion of ‘latitude’ (the idea that wide duty admits of ‘exceptions’) does not help. But we need to bear in mind (i) that moral laws are self-imposed and cannot be externally enforced; (ii) that ‘right action’ is not a category of Kantian ethics – there is a more and a less, and lack of perfection does not entail vice; and (iii) that only practice makes perfect, i.e. how much virtue can realistically be expected can vary from agent to agent. The principle that ‘ought’ is limited by ‘can’ is firmly entrenched in Kant’s ethical thought.

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自主、进步和美德：为什么康德对过度要求的反对无所畏惧

康德的伦理理论是不是要求太高了？它的命令是否对我们要求太多，要么在特定场合要求自我牺牲，要么在我们的生活中渗透到没有允许行动的余地？在本文中，我认为康德的伦理学要求很高，但并不过分。“自由度”的概念（广泛职责承认“例外”的想法）没有帮助。但我们需要牢记（i）道德法则是自我强加的，不能由外部强制执行；（ii）“正确的行为”不是康德伦理学的一个范畴——有更多和更少，缺乏完美并不意味着恶；(iii) 只有熟能生巧，即实际上可以期望多少美德因代理人而异。“应该”受“能”限制的原则在康德的伦理思想中根深蒂固。