ONLINE FIRST
published on May 29, 2025
Zdzislaw Kieliszek
https://doi.org/10.5840/ipq2025527252
The Concept of ¡°Motherhood¡± In Immanuel Kant¡¯s Philosophy and Its Contemporary Potential
The study considered the concept of motherhood in the philosophy of Immanuel Kant and its possibilities in contemporary ethical debates related to the family, gender roles, and social justice. To achieve the research objective, a literature search and critical review was conducted through Google Scholar, PubMed, Scopus, and ScienceDirect databases using keywords related to maternal ethics, family philosophy, and Kantian ethics. The results of the study showed that Kantian ethics can be adapted to take into account the moral aspects of motherhood, but there are significant contradictions and limitations in its application to contemporary conceptions of the family. In particular, the Kantian emphasis on rationality and autonomy is often at odds with the realities of motherhood, which involves emotional involvement and care. By exploring how Kantian ethics intersects with modern feminist critiques, the research opens new avenues for understanding the ethical significance of motherhood beyond traditional paradigms. The analysis suggests that Kant¡¯s focus on duty and moral law can be reinterpreted to emphasize care and relational ethics, offering a more inclusive framework that recognizes the emotional and social complexities of parenting. This provides a foundation for integrating Kantian philosophy with practical ethical solutions in family life, allowing for a new conceptual framework for understanding motherhood as a multidimensional role that combines autonomy, care, and moral development. Such a synthesis enriches both philosophical research and practical approaches to family dynamics in the modern world, creating opportunities for further study and rethinking of the role of motherhood through the prism of classical ethics.