The original contract in Kant : a contractarian justification

The aim of this thesis is first to provide a general framework that can account for the detailed applications of the original contract throughout Kant’s work: first, the original contract is a generative idea—one that gives rise to the general will as its effect. This generative process also grounds the legitimacy of subjection to the general will, which in turn constitutes the foundation of the republican constitution—that is, the people is the sovereign; second, the original contract is an idea of reason—regulative and binding. This idea requires sovereign to realize this republican constitution through concrete institutional forms and ways of governance. Then, the most innovative contribution of this thesis is the attempt to situate this framework within concrete legal contexts, thereby fleshing out the otherwise abstract and seemingly empty framework. This attempt remains faithful to Kant’s own contextual use of the original contract, since beyond the general discussion, Kant refers to the original contract at least three additional times in the Doctrine of Right: in relation to the security of property, the legitimacy of punishment, and the issue of revolution and the state. Each of these instances requires close, case-specific analysis and interpretation. Accordingly, this thesis unfolds in line with the above blueprint: Chapter 1 provides an introductory framework that the original contract functions as a generative and regulative idea, while the remaining three chapters correspond to Kant’s three specific mentions of the original contract in the Doctrine of Right. Chapter 2 examines how the original contract contributes to securing property rights; Chapter 3 explores how the original contract helps to establish the legitimacy of punishment; and Chapter 4 investigates how the original contract, as a regulative idea, constrains institutions and way of governance from the perspective of reformism.