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Dr. Sofie Møller, Kant on Lawfulness and Normativity

Friday, January 21, 2022 - 3:00pm to 5:00pm

Abstract: Kant's Critique of Pure Reason surprises many readers with an extended use of metaphors drawing on legal theory and practice. This talk explores the parallels between the Critique of Pure Reason and the establishment of a civil condition in natural right theory. These parallels show how Kant’s conception of reason’s normativity is ingrained in an extensive legal framework by focusing on two images: the one portraying the critique as the tribunal of reason and the one depicting the critique as the establishment of a rightful condition that is analogous to the establishment of a civil state. These images show that Kant’s account of a priori laws is not merely a colorful way of expressing a new philosophical approach; he is building an entire normative framework around a legal structure. In addition, the state of nature metaphor shows how the critique aims to provide a procedure for ending conflicts in metaphysics and thereby establish perpetual peace in philosophy.

Paper Title

Kant on Lawfulness and Normativity