The problem of correlation between ideal and reality in Kantian philosophy of law

• Main Author: Nikolai A. Shaveko
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Philosophy and Law 2019-09-01
• Series: Антиномии
• Subjects: social ideal; legal ideal; justice; natural law with changing content; neo-kantianism; kant; equality of opportunities
• Online Access: http://yearbook.uran.ru/images/files/Antinomies_19_3_nd_4258.pdf
• ISSN: 2686-7206; 2686-925X

The Kantian tradition is one of the most influential in moral, legal and political philosophy, and in the theory of justice. This article aims to analyze the problem of the abstractness of the «categorical imperative», as well as those aspects, in which this problem was actualized in contemporary philosophy. To this purpose, the author analyzes the concept of justice of such scholars of XX century as R. Stammler, P. Novgorodtsev, G. Radbruch, J. Rawls, J. Habermas, and others. In the course of the study, historical-genetic, historical-comparative, formal-legal, systemic, and other methods are used. As a result, the author comes to the conclusion that the problem of the abstractness of the “categorical imperative” can be explicated in seven different aspects, forming various scientific discourses: 1) in the idea of natural law with changing content; 2) in the nature of the social ideal, which can only be postulated, but not justified; 3) in the discursive, and therefore contextual nature of legal norms arising from the postulated social ideal; 4) in admitting, in exceptional cases, intentionally unfair norms, taking into account the real possibility of putting the ideal into practice; 5) the possibility of understanding the legal ideal as the egoism of individuals under the condition of reciprocity; 6) the need to take into account the equality of opportunities; 7) in the matter of the fairness of the election and domination of those or other legal constructions, determined by the goals of social institutions. In the end, the author draws conclusions regarding the relevance and the results of the scientific discourses named by him.