Kant, Existence, and the Psychology of Moral Agency by RJ Starr

This lecture brings together Kantian philosophy and existential psychology into a single, integrated framework. Rather than treating Kant as abstract moral theory or historical thought, the focus here is psychological: how concepts like freedom, responsibility, duty, and constraint function inside the human mind.

Across this talk, I explore how Kant’s account of moral agency intersects with existential concerns about choice, meaning, and self-authorship. The emphasis is not on ethics as rules, but on the internal structures that make agency possible in the first place. Why responsibility feels heavy. Why freedom can feel burdensome rather than liberating. And why moral clarity often creates tension rather than comfort.

This is not an introduction in the instructional sense, and it is not a philosophy lecture for specialists. It is an orienting synthesis for listeners interested in how Kantian ideas illuminate the psychological experience of being a self who must choose, act, and live with the consequences of those choices.