Chera asked:

My prof. mentioned a woman once wrote Kant a letter about suicide What's the story on that?

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The woman was Maria von Herbert, an Austrian aristocrat and enthusiastic follower of Kant. She
sought his counsel after a break-up from her fiance had left her feeling suicidal. She did kill herself in
the end, but more than a decade after Kant's reply to her.

For the full story, and a discussion of its philosophical implications, see Rae Langton's paper 'Maria
von Herbert's Challenge to Kant', an abridgement of her 'Duty and Desolation', Philosophy67 1992,
reprinted in Peter Singer (ed.), Oxford Readings in Ethics(Oxford University Press, 1994). It is
available online at:

http://homepages.ed.ac.uk/ajbird/teaching/Introduction_html/KantMaria.html

Andrew Aberdein

You can get the series of letters written to Kant by Maria von Herbert, and his replies, in Sommers,
C., & Sommers, F. (1985). Vice & virtue in everyday life; introductory readings in ethics.Fort Worth,
Texas: Harcourt Brace & Company. Pp. 175-191. Fascinating, and I don't think Kant acquitted himself
very well.

Steven Ravett Brown

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