Kant’s Anthropology in the Debates on Anthropological Deficits of Contemporary Sociology

Most scholars explicitly trying to overcome anthropological deficits in sociological methodology in general, rather than seeking to establish an anthropological sub-discipline of sociology, represent one of two standpoints: the ontological or the epistemological approach. Unfortunately, Kant’s anthropology has up to now mostly played a marginal role in this context. I show that Kant’s anthropological ideas can significantly contribute to the epistemological (but not to the ontological) aspects of the debates, primarily due to the connection between his anthropology, philosophy of history, and the social character of his pragmatic rationality.