The critical legal and political philosophy of Immanuel Kant

Howard Williams

pp. 567-591

in: The Palgrave Kant handbook, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, 2017

Abstract

This chapter explains the basic positions in Kant's political philosophy. The first section deals with the role of political philosophy within Kant's philosophical system, its relation to metaphysics, and the connection between politics, law, and morality. The second section deals with Kant's account of the social contract and the account of property relations grounded within it. The third section outlines Kant's view of civil society and the state and the role of philosophy within both. The fourth section brings out the interrelationship between the various levels of law as seen by Kant: the national, the international, and the cosmopolitan.

Cited authors

Kant Immanuel