E-Book Overview
In Germany, Otfried Höffe has been a leading contributor to debates in moral, legal, political, and social philosophy for close to three decades. Höffe's work (like that of his contemporary, Jürgen Habermas), brings into relief the relevance of these German discussions to their counterparts in English-language circles.In this book, originally published in Germany in 1990 and expanded since, Höffe proposes an extended and original interpretation of Kant philosophy of law, and social morality. Höffe articulates his reading of Kant in the context of an account of modernity as a "polyphonous project," in which the dominant themes of pluralism and empiricism are countered by the theme of categorically binding moral principles, such as human rights. Paying equal attention to the nuances of Kant's texts and the character of the philosophical issues in their own right, Höffe ends up with a Kantianism that requires, rather than precludes, a moral anthropology and that questions the fashionable juxtaposition of Kant and Aristotle as exemplars of incompatible approaches to ethical and political thought.
E-Book Content
FM_PS_Hoffe_117022
7/23/02
6:17 PM
C A T E G O R I C A L
Page i
P R I N C I P L E S
O F
L A W
FM_PS_Hoffe_117022
7/23/02
6:17 PM
Page ii
FM_PS_Hoffe_117022
7/23/02
6:17 PM
Page iii
C AT E G O R I C A L .
P R I N C I P L E S .
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
A Counterpoint to Modernity
O T F R I E D
T R A N S L AT E D
FOREWORD
BY
B Y
H Ö F F E
M A R K
M I G OT T I
K E N N E T H BAY N E S
THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY PRESS UNIVERSITY PARK, PENNSYLVANIA
O F
L A W
FM_PS_Hoffe_117022
7/23/02
6:17 PM
Page iv
The German edition on which this translation is based is Kategorische Rechtsprinzipien: Ein Kontrapunkt der Moderne. ©Suhrkamp Verlag, Frankfurt am Main, 1990. This translation also incorporates the article “Eine Konversion der Kritischen Theorie” (Habermas), in Vernunft und Recht: Bausteine zu einem interkulturellen Rechtsdiskurs, pp. 146–59. ©Suhrkamp Verlag, Frankfurt am Main, 1996. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Höffe, Otfried. [Kategorische Rechtsprinzipien. English] Categorical principles of law : a counterpoint to modernity/Otfried Höffe ; translated by Mark Migotti. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-271-02158-6 (cloth : alk. paper) ISBN 0-271-02159-4 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Ethics. 2. Law—Philosophy. 3. Ethics, Modern—20th century. 4. Philosophy, Modern—20th century. I. Title. BJ55 .H5713 2001 340.1—dc21 2001021547 Copyright © 2002 The Pennsylvania State University All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America Published by The Pennsylvania State University Press, University Park, PA 16802-1003 The paper used in this publication is both acid-free and totally chlorinefree (TCF). It meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1992.
FM_PS_Hoffe_117022
7/23/02
6:17 PM
Page v
CONTENTS
Foreword, by Kenneth Baynes Translator’s Preface Abbreviations 1
The Theory of Modernity in Dialogue with Kant
vii xxv xxix 1
PART ONE: COUNTERPOINT OR ANACHRONISM?
2 3 4 5
A Transcendental Critique of Society? In Search of the Lost Paradigm Practical Metaphysics and Anthropology The Categorical Imperative of Law in the Singular
17 31 59 85
PART TWO: EXAMPLES OF CATEGORICAL PRINCIPLES OF LAW