Pregledni rad
https://doi.org/10.20901/pm.60.1.06
Forced to Be Free – Leaving the State of Nature And Entering the Civil State as a Legal Duty In Kant’s Theory of Law and Politics
Katarina Jukić
orcid.org/0009-0007-8980-5110
; Fakultet političkih znanosti Sveučilišta u Zagrebu
Sažetak
This work examines the relationship between Kant’s notion of freedom and the legal duty to leave the state of nature and enter the civil state in his theory of law and politics. As opposed to ethical duties, the fulfilment of legal duties can be forced upon a person. Coercion is important in the context of this paper because, according to Kant, right is always connected with an authorization to use coercion. The right of intelligible possession as an acquired right already existing in the state of nature is the basis of the legal duty to leave the state of nature and enter the civil state. The right of intelligible possession, which refers to the possession of external objects, or possession independent of the empirical conditions, implies the duty of all others to refrain from using the objects we first possess, but also the moral authorization of coercion over those who refuse to do so. However, since in the state of nature there is no public authority which enforces the law through general laws, coercion is arbitrary and depends on particular interpretations of legal situations. The arbitrariness of coercion implies the possibility that the freedom of the individual, which is externally manifested through the right of intelligible possession, will be endangered. For this reason, others can be forced to enter the civil state with me, submitting to the public authority under the same conditions. The public authority makes rights of possession explicit and secures them, and is thus a necessary condition for the fullness of human freedom.
Ključne riječi
Kant; Legal Duty; Intelligible Possession; Permissive Law; State of Nature
Hrčak ID:
300938
URI
Datum izdavanja:
27.4.2023.
Posjeta: 761 *