Unity, Freedom, and History

In this paper, I explore the concept of unity in Kant’s system, as laid out by Lara Ostaric. One of the key claims Ostaric makes is that, for Kant, the idea of a harmonious and ethical society is not merely a utopia, but a robust project grounded in what she terms ‘Moral-Image Realism’ (MIR). The MIR thesis, according to Ostaric, renders different and sometimes seemingly incompatible aspects of Kant’s system coherent and, more than that, unified. I try to further develop the implications of Ostaric’s view by exploring how Kant’s view, known as ‘Primacy of the Practical’, can be used to reinforce the claim that human beings progress toward fulfilling their ends as moral agents in what is famously known as the ‘kingdom of ends’. Furthermore, the MIR thesis, I try to show, renders Kant’s practical philosophy not just theoretically, but empirically driven. Namely, once established that the moral image of the world is more than just an empty hope or a utopia, it becomes paramount to consider how exactly such a goal can be realised, given the complexities of the real world (Kant’s as well as ours). This leads us to an entirely new way, I argue, of addressing the question of the applicability of Kant’s practical philosophy, which has often been deemed to be an impossible endeavour. This also leads us to re-evaluate Kant’s views and subsequent interpretations of the relationship between ethics, politics, and history.