Kant and Future Political Authority

Abstract

It seems clear that humanity will have a future only if some significant changes in our current practices are adopted. Whether we are talking about consumption, corporate responsibility, the use of social media, our relation to the environment and its crises leading to migration and displacement, social justice, national and international conflict resolution, political institutions or our own views of ourselves as historical and moral agents, we need to reconceptualise our practices and find concrete ways of applying such renewed perspectives to our world. Kant’s philosophy is particularly apposite in this context, not only given its significant legacy, including numerous recent texts which approach such difficult issues against the background of Kant’s thought; in addition, Kant’s texts on their own continue to yield new useful insights for our theoretical attempts to tackle currently urgent problems, and recent exegetical efforts are evidence of the continued relevance of his work. This panel will examine some important implications Kant's political thought has for the way in which we conceive of political authority. Papers will focus on the link between political authority and emotions, in particular anger, envy and fear, but also enthusiasm, and compassion, but also on the authority of national and cosmopolitan law, and their implication for future international and global politics.

Title	Details
Ius gentium or ius cosmopoliticum, what is the future global law like?	View Paper Details
Kantian Enthusiasm in the Pro-independence Catalan Movement	View Paper Details
Gandhi’s Sentimental Cosmopolitanism and Duty to Alleviate Global Poverty: An Indian Response to the West	View Paper Details
Democracy at the Crossroads: Emotions and Political Change	View Paper Details