Quibbling Kings in Kant
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 24213844 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Glen Gray |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 53 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 85-103 |
| Publication date | 2026-08-01 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | boundary 2 (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0190-3659 • E-ISSN: 1527-2141 |
| Publisher | Duke University Press (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1215/01903659-12437274 |
| OpenAlex | W7220710150 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 8 |
In Kant's Toward Perpetual Peace, the philosopher introduces limits that should be placed on the political powers of kings. He argues that the republican form of government consisting of split legislative and executive powers is the best structure of government yet admits that the enlightened monarch Frederick II of Prussia was able to rule in accord with the spirit of a republican government. Following these contradictory statements, this contribution argues that, for Kant, the monarch only acts in the spirit of republicanism when they restrict their actions to what Kant holds to be the logical limits of the office of monarch. The focus is on Kant's insistence that kings must not “quibble.” The act of quibbling (Klügelei) constitutes an attempt of the monarch to exceed their rightful power. By restricting the king's sphere of influence, Kant ensures that the king can only act within the limits of the executive power, thereby approximating the form of a republican government.
Kantian Philosophy and Modern Interpretations · Political Philosophy and Ethics · Seventeenth-Century Political and Philosophical Thought
| Highly cited | No |
|---|