Mohammad Tavakkol; Abolfazl Morshedi
Volume 12, Issue 2 , March 2015, , Pages 35-53
Abstract
Although Emanuel Kant has considerable writings in social and political philosophy, his ideas in this area have not been taken serious, and in fact they were overshadowed by his theoretical ...
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Although Emanuel Kant has considerable writings in social and political philosophy, his ideas in this area have not been taken serious, and in fact they were overshadowed by his theoretical philosophy, as well as by Hegel's socio-political philosophy. To understand the place and importance of Kant's social and political ideas, it is necessary to read them in comparison with his predecessors’ views. In this article we intend to review Kant's social and political philosophy in line with the ideas of Jean Jacques Rousseau, especially his concept of "general will". In this framework we will see how Kant proceeded and succeeded to develop Rousseau's social and political philosophy to a more maturity. We will then demonstrate how Kant, influenced by Rousseau, provided a radical versio of "autonomous will" and transformed external legislation into "self-legislation", in fact by overcoming the inconsistencies within Rousseau's socio-political philosophy; Kant opened a new chapter in the field of social and political philosophy.