Kant’s political cosmopolitanism; the method of the Doctrine of Right

The Covid-19 pandemic, global warming, and global political instabilities, have highlighted the need to address the multifaceted demands on humanity at this time. The current global challenges we are facing require a reconsideration of the political, social and scientific enterprises of humanity. Few philosophers have ever lived who are up to the task of providing a framework to help us address these issues. The scope of Kant’s architectonic philosophy, amalgamating in his Metaphysics of Morals, offers one prospective framework. This paper has two aims: the first is to address the extent to which Kant’s political philosophy, especially his Doctrine of Right, can offer a guideline for approaching contemporary issues. Secondly, this also an opportunity to examine the role of Kant’s Doctrine of Right in the broader context of his overall philosophy. There is great diversity between interpretations of Kant’s political philosophy. On the hand, it is interpreted as emerging from context of the French Revolution (Maliks, 2004). On the other hand, it is been argued that it is building on aspects of his theoretical (Ripstein, 2009) and practical (Williams, 1983) philosophy. This opens the possibility that the resolution to the gulf between theoretical and practical reason that Kant describes in the third Critique (5: 176), and hence the culmination of his critical philosophy, is his political philosophy. In the Doctrine of Right, Kant draws support from various aspects of broader critical philosophy including science, mathematics, and geometry. At times, tensions arise between how these arguments are deployed in the Doctrine of Right and their deployment in other aspects of his critical philosophy. This raises important questions about Kant’s motivations for developing these argumentative strategies, and whether they threaten the overall consistency of his critical philosophy. This opportunity for an examination of Kant’s the methodology in the Doctrine of Right aims to consolidate the importance of Kant’s political philosophy for the contemporary issues we are facing. Especially the extent to which Kant’s philosophy aims to promote political cosmopolitanism. Also, the ways in which his political philosophy relates to other aspects of his critical project including science, morality, and religion. Does Kant’s philosophy offer potential guidance and correction to the growing tendency toward pluralism across disciplines? Alternatively, have global developments revealed that demands of Kant’s philosophy are untenable and ill-suited to offer resolution the current issues we are facing? Maliks, R., 2004. Kant’s Politics in Context, Kant’s Politics in Context. Oxford University Press. Ripstein, A., 2009. Force and Freedom: Kant’s Legal and Political Philosophy. Harvard University Press. Williams, H.L., 1983. Kant’s Political Philosophy. Palgrave Macmillan, New York