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Kant’s Legal Positivism and Natural Law Theory

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 March 2025

Çağlar Çömez Open the ORCID record for Çağlar Çömez [Opens in a new window]
Çağlar Çömez*
Affiliation:
Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany
*
Email: caglar.coemez@phil.uni-halle.de
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Abstract

Kant’s position in analytical jurisprudence has not been sufficiently explored. This paper aims to remedy this shortcoming. The main issue in this paper is to which extent Kant’s legal theory is an instance of natural law theory or legal positivism. Robert Alexy is one of the few philosophers who addressed this issue. Alexy believes that Kant defends a version of natural law theory that puts moral limits on legal validity. I show that Alexy’s interpretation is unsuccessful. I argue that Kant defends the positivist separability thesis that norms need not meet moral requirements to qualify as legal norms.

Keywords

Kantnatural law theorylegal positivismlawenlightenmentinner moralitycontractual slavery
Type
Article
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Kantian Review , First View , pp. 1 - 22
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© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Kantian Review

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