Gandhi, Kant and Superstition

By examining and comparing Gandhi’s statement that the Bihar earthquake of 1934 should be seen as divine punishment for the sin of untouchability with a similar claim in Kant’s writings, I argue that while Gandhi and Kant are, broadly speaking, remarkably similar in the way in which they relate morality, religion, and politics in conceptualising the categories of faith and superstition, they also seem to differ in their vocabularies and the propositional content of their respective moral psychologies. However, if we are committed to dialogue across cultures, then the differences between Gandhi and Kant need not preclude reflective conversation between them.