The concept of Kantian Perceptual Peace and the Convergence of Ethics and Politics
Abstract
This article examines Immanuel Kant’s philosophical framework regarding the attainment of "Perpetual Peace" and the inherent tension between ethics and politics. The author explores Kant’s proposition that peace is not merely the absence of conflict but a proactive legal and moral state that remains unfulfilled due to the discordance between political practice and moral law. Political actions are frequently driven by empirical expediency and a human "tendency for dominance" rather than by the dictates of pure practical reason. By analyzing the dual nature of humans—as beings split between rational will and instinctive impulses—the text argues that the "pure will" must prevail for politics to align with morality. The author concludes that while perpetual peace may be viewed as a utopia, rational beings possess a moral imperative to act "as if" its realization is possible, thereby providing a foundation for a modern re-evaluation of international law and the global legal order.
Article Details
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Gounaris, A. K. (2020). The concept of Kantian Perceptual Peace and the Convergence of Ethics and Politics. Ηθική. Περιοδικό φιλοσοφίας, (1), 23–31. https://doi.org/10.12681/ethiki.22638
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- No. 1 (2005)
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