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Freedom in the External Relation of All Human Beings: On Kant’s Cosmopolitanism

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 April 2020

Christian F. Rostbøll
Christian F. Rostbøll*
Affiliation:
University of Copenhagen
*
Email: cr@ifs.ku.dk
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Abstract

An influential interpretation of Kant’s Doctrine of Right suggests that the relationship between public right and freedom is constitutive rather than instrumental. The focus has been on domestic right and members’ relations to their own state. This has resulted in a statist bias which has not adequately dealt with the fact that Kant regards public right as a system composed of three levels – domestic, international and cosmopolitan right. This article suggests that the constitutive relationship is between all levels of right, on the one hand, and ‘freedom in the external relation’ of all human beings, on the other hand.

Keywords

cosmopolitanismstatismDoctrine of Rightexternal freedom
Type
Articles
Information
Kantian Review , Volume 25 , Issue 2 , June 2020 , pp. 243 - 265
Copyright
© Kantian Review, 2020

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