Allen W. Wood Quotes

United States, Philosopher
October 26, 1942

Allen William Wood is an American philosopher specializing in the work of Immanuel Kant and German Idealism, with particular interests in ethics and social philosophy. He is the Ruth Norman Halls professor of philosophy at Indiana University and has held professorships and visiting appointments at numerous universities in the United States and Europe. In addition to popularising and clarifying the ethical thought of Immanuel Kant, Wood has also mounted arguments against the validity of 'trolley problems' in moral philosophy.

Descartes recommended that we distrust the senses and rely on the ... use of our intellect.

Allen W. Wood
We totally misunderstand both his aims and his contribution if we try to read into Marx some anticipation of either the modest successes or the disastrous failures of those who later thought they were acting in his name.

Allen W. Wood

Kant certainly was sympathetic with the metaphysical tradition of rational theology that he criticized.

Allen W. Wood
- Theology
- Criticized
- Kant
The species of anti-Enlightenment religion we find among evangelical protestants is far more impoverished, anti-intellectual and downright wretched.

Allen W. Wood
The problem is that many who reject Marx do not read him, or read him only by bringing prejudices to their reading that prevent them from understanding him.

Allen W. Wood
Since we cannot know too much about the long term effects of our particular lives, and since success and fame are not good measures of the value of what we have done, it should be enough for any of us that as far as we can tell, in some small way we have made humanity's future better rather than worse.

Allen W. Wood
- Success
- Humanity
- Lives
In general, those who defend capitalism are basically out of touch with reality.

Allen W. Wood
We can't coherently deny, or even decline to affirm, that we are free.

Allen W. Wood
- Free
- Deny
- Affirm

My own view is that Kant's conception of the duality of the good (morality and happiness, the good of our person and the good of our state or condition) is a distinctively modern view.

Allen W. Wood
- Modern
- View
- Kant
Kant can provide, and has provided, a good model for philosophers to think about the relation of metaphysics to science and scientific methodology.

Allen W. Wood