Jurisprudence Presentation

Transcendental
Idealism
Presentation by
Ananyaa Maharaj, Adhitya Sudhir, Ashish, Mariam Mathew, Siddharth K.S
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Overview
Introduction Doctrine of Right

Immanuel Kant Johann Fichte

Transcendental Idealism Georg Wilhelm Hegel

Rechtsstaat Conclusion
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Introduction
Kant argued that the mind structures the

raw data of objects which are subject to

certain a priori categories, such as space

and time, which are necessary for the

mind to make sense of the world. These

categories are not derived from

experience, but rather are innate to the

mind and allow us to impose order on the

world.
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Immanuel
Kant
He was born in Königsberg(Former Prussia) 1724–1804.

He was an influential philosopher regarding

metaphysics, epistemology, aesthetics, and morality.

Immanuel Kant was a German
philosopher who

developed a comprehensive and influential

philosophy on law and morality. In his philosophy,

Kant argued that the moral law is a product of

practical reason, and that it is based on the idea of

the "categorical imperative," which is a universal

principle that holds that we should always act in ways

that can be willed as a universal law.

 Transcendental

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Idealism

Transcendental idealism is a philosophical theory that has been influential in

the field of jurisprudence, but it is not the only perspective on the nature of law

and its relationship to reality. There have been many other jurists and

philosophers who have proposed different theories and perspectives on these

issues.

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Idealism
According to Kant, the moral law is not based on external, objective sources,

but rather it is based on the inherent rational nature of human beings. He

argued that the moral law is not something that is imposed on us from the

outside, but rather it is something that is inherent in our own rational nature. In

terms of jurisprudence, Kant's philosophy would suggest that the legal system

is not based on a pre-existing, objective moral order, but rather it is based on

the inherent rational nature of human beings. In terms of jurisprudence, this

would imply that the laws and rules that govern society are derived from the

principles of practical reason and the categorical imperative.

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"Rechtsstaat" is a legal system that is based on the rule of law and the principles of justice.
Kant did not use the word Rechtsstaat, but contrasted an existing state (Staat) with an

ideal, constitutional state (Republik). His approach is based on the supremacy of a

country's written constitution. This supremacy must create guarantees for

implementation of his central idea: a permanent peaceful life as a basic condition for the

happiness of its people and their prosperity. Kant proposed that this happiness be

guaranteed by a moral constitution agreed on by the people and thus, under it, by moral

government.

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Doctrine of Right

Kant's doctrine of right is derived from the first part

of his book The Metaphysics of Morals. Kant sought

to separate political rights and duties from what we

might call morals in the narrow sense.

In the first part of his book the Metaphysics of Morals he states three

conditions that have to be met for something to be enforceable as right.

Right concerns only actions that have influence on other persons.
Right does not concern the wish but only the choice of others
Right does not concern the matter of the other’s act but only the form

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Law of Right

According to Kant, the Law of Right states that "any action is right if it can

coexist with everyone's freedom in accordance with a universal law, and

wrong if it conflicts with such a law." This means that an action is morally

right if it can be willed as a universal law, or if it could be applied to

everyone without contradiction. Conversely, an action is morally wrong if

it would lead to contradiction or conflict if it were applied universally

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Categorical

Imperative
Kant's Law of Right is closely related to his concept of the "Categorical Imperative,"

which is a moral principle that states that one should act only according to those

maxims (principles or rules of action) that one can will to be universal laws. The

Categorical Imperative is often seen as a summary of Kant's moral philosophy, and

the Law of Right is an important part of this principle.

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Johann Gottlieb
Fichte
Fichte was born May 19, 1762 in Germany.
Johann Fichte was a student of Kant’s philosophy.
Fichte is known as a key interpreter of Immanuel

Kant who removed the idea of the "thing-in-itself,"

Fichte developed Kant’s Critical philosophy into

a system of his own, which he named ‘Theory

of Science’ or Wissenschaftslehre.
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Philosophy of law
The specific task of Fichte’s theory of right is to consider the

specific ways in which the freedom of each individual must be

restricted in order that several individuals can live together with

the maximum amount of mutual freedom

The rational individual is viewed as free by Fichte in the sense that it sets its own

goals and is capable of attaining them; in other words, the actions of human

beings are determined solely by their own will. However, individuals stand in

relations of interaction with other individuals, their respective spheres of

freedom must be adjusted and harmonized. According to him, the legal

relations between people regulate and define individual liberty.

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law
Thus Fichte, like Kant, considered law as a device for

securing the coexistence of free individuals. Every man

must respect the freedom of every other man

According to Fichte, the law serves as a standard of right and wrong, and it is

the duty of every member of the community to follow the law and to respect

the rights of others. He believed that the law is the result of a social contract

between individuals, in which they agree to be governed by a set of rules in

exchange for the protection and security provided by the state.

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law
Fichte’s legal philosophy is derived from the self-consciousness of an

individual being. According to Fichte the legal relations between people arise

due to their interactions with each other and these legal relations are used to

regulate and define individual liberty and they use 3 basic principles to do this
namely:-
through fulfillment of civic duties.An individual becomes a member of the

state
The law limits and assures the rights of the individuals.
Outside his sphere of civic duties, an individual is free and responsible to

himself

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Georg Wilhelm

Hegel
born August 27, 1770, Stuttgart, Württemberg

[Germany]—died November 14, 1831, Berlin, he

was a German philosopher who developed a

dialectical scheme that emphasized the

progress of history and of ideas from thesis to

antithesis and thence to a synthesis.

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Georg Wilhelm

Hegel

The great contribution of Hegel to philosophical school is the development of

the idea of evolution. According to him, the various manifestations of social life,

including law are the product of an evolutionary, dynamic process. This

process takes on a dialectical form, revealing itself in thesis, antithesis and

synthesis. The human spirit sets a thesis which becomes current as the leading

idea of a particular historical epoch.

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Hegel

The system of law, he asserted, is designed to realise the ideal of freedom in its

external manifestations. It bears emphasis, however, that for Hegel freedom did not

signify the right of a person to do as he pleased. A free person, in his view, is one

whose mind is in control of his body, one who subordinates his natural passions,

irrational desires, and purely material interests to the superior demands of his

rational and spiritual self. Hegel admonished men to lead a life governed by reason

and pointed out that one of the cardinal postulates of reason was to accord respect

to the personality and rights of other human beings. The law was considered by him
as one of the chief instruments to devise to reinforce and secure such respect.

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Philosophy of

Right
Hegel defines “right” [Recht] as the existence of the free will in the world .
So a philosophy of right is necessarily a philosophy of freedom that seeks to

comprehend freedom actualized in how we relate to each other and construct

social and political institutions.

Following his dialectical method, Hegel approaches the development of our

comprehension of right through these stages:

Abstract Right- freedom to do what one wants without external constraints
, Morality- to be self-legislating and set rational principle for oneself
and Ethical Life- to participate in social institution and view them as a rational

expression of our own desires and sense of duty

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Philosophy of

Right
We progress from one stage to the next in a distinctive way where apparent
contradictions arising in each stage are dissolved through attaining a higher stage,
where this cycle is repeated and progress made since the beginning remains
present where what was abstract and opaque at first becomes more concrete as we
advance to the end of this work. This multi-layered, dialectical nature of Hegel’s
argument does give his philosophical work an added complexity, but also a richness
that close study rewards.

Thank
You!