Should Criminals Be Punished for Their Folly? On the Ethical Foundations of Kant’s Legal Philosophy

How do law and morality relate to each other in Kant's philosophy? Is law to be understood merely as an application of general moral principles to legal institutions, or does law have its own normativity that cannot be traced back to that of morality? This volume of new essays is a comprehensive treatment of law and morality in Kant, which also sheds new light on Kant's practical philosophy more broadly. The essays present different approaches to this core issue and address related topics including the justification of legal coercion, the role of freedom and autonomy for law and politics, legal punishment and the question of its ethical presuppositions, moral luck, and the role of permissive laws in Kant's legal and political philosophy. The volume will be of interest to researchers and graduate students working on Kant's moral and legal philosophy. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core