[6] IS KANT A LIBERAL THINKER?

ARTICLE INFO: Date of Submission: May 16, 2023, Revised: May 30, 2023, Accepted: June 19, 2023, https://doi.org/10.56815/ijmrr.v2i2.2023.48-61

Abstract

Autonomy means that a person is free to work according to their own reason and understanding. To be a moral being, one should perform those actions that are not influenced by personal feelings and desires. Reason dictates that we should work on those maxims that can be universally acceptable. The essence of his ethics is the establishment of a ‘kingdom of ends’ by the performance of moral duty by individuals, and the essence of his political philosophy is the establishment of an ideal republican government. The principles he has given for the attainment of those ends are primarily liberal in approach. He has accepted the freedom and autonomy of the individual, he has admitted the priority of right or the moral principles over good, he has given a non-consequentialist theory, and he has promoted the maturity of an individual as an enlightened being. All these points are evidence to establish his position as a liberal. However, his ideas on the sovereignty of the state move towards authoritarianism and against the autonomy of the individual. This has been a problematic issue for Kant to maintain the autonomy of the individual and, at the same time, the sovereign authority of the state. In this process, he sometimes seems to be a true liberal, yet at other times an authoritarian. This paper is an attempt to find out whether he could be said to be a liberal thinker despite presenting the notion of the state, which is authoritarian.