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Teleology and inequality in Kant: how gender and racial inequalities are systematically embedded in Kantian philosophy

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5380/sk.v23i1.97146

Keywords:

history of modern philosophy, philosophy of history, Immanuel Kant, Critique of the faculty of judgment, inequality, philosophy of law.

Abstract

The aim of this article is to analyze how the teleological model of human history proposed by I. Kant in some opuscules on the philosophy of history and in the Critique of the Faculty of Judgment (1790) serves as a basis for the philosopher's defense of the census vote in the Doctrine of right (1797). With this in mind, the article is divided into three parts. In the first, we explain the distinction between active and passive citizens, which is used to decide who can vote in Kantian law. Next, we explain how the unequal division of labor, which underpins the difference in citizenship, is defended by Kant as necessary for the cultural improvement of humanity. Finally, we claim that the consequence of this model of historical development is the systematic embedding of gender and racial inequalities in a society based on Kantian law.

Author Biography

Bruno Oberlander Erbella, Universidade de São Paulo (USP)

Doutorando em História da Filosofia na Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas da Universidade de São Paulo (USP).

References

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KANT, I. Sobre a expressão corrente: Isto pode ser correcto na teoria, mas nada vale na prática. Lusofia, 1793. Disponível em: https://www.marxists.org/portugues/kant/1793/mes/corrente.htm.

KANT, I. A paz perpétua e outros opúsculos. Lisboa: Edições 70, 2008.

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KANT, I. Metafísica dos costumes. Petrópolis: Editora Vozes, 2013.

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MALIKS, R. Kant’s politics in context. Oxford: Oxford University press, 2014.

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PHILONENKO, A. La théorie kantienne de l’histoire. Paris: J. Vrin, 1986.

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Published

2025-04-30

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How to Cite

Erbella, B. O. (2025). Teleology and inequality in Kant: how gender and racial inequalities are systematically embedded in Kantian philosophy. Studia Kantiana, 23(1), 77–88. https://doi.org/10.5380/sk.v23i1.97146

Issue

Vol. 23 No. 1 (2025)

Section

Papers

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Copyright (c) 2025 Bruno Oberlander Erbella

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