Kant and Fichte on Freedom and Citizens’ Assent
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 20510551 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Sofie Møller (0000-0002-0755-5805, University of Cologne, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 30 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 63-77 |
| Publication date | 2025-03-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Kantian Review (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1369-4154 • E-ISSN: 2044-2394 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/s1369415425000135 |
| OpenAlex | W4411739603 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 14 |
Kant argues that civic freedom amounts to being subject to laws to which citizens could have assented. Fichte conversely argues that personal freedom is only fully realized in a state of civil freedom and that citizens are only legitimately ruled by laws to which they have explicitly agreed. This paper shows how their differing accounts are rooted in a deeper disagreement about the relationship between transcendental and empirical freedom and the role empirical citizens’ assent ( Beistimmung ) plays in justifying civil legislation. The confrontation also shows why reading Kant as requiring citizens’ active assent may be problematic
Epistemology · Philosophical Ethics and Theory · Philosophy · Seventeenth-Century Political and Philosophical Thought · War, Ethics, and Justification
| Highly cited | No |
|---|