On the Conflict between Legitimacy and Certainty in Kant

Abstract

This study attempts to show that there is a competitive relationship in political thinking of Kant between legal political autonomy and legal security. The fact that he is concerned with the legitimacy of the legal rules is uncontroversial; however, that he is concerned about what today we call legal certainty is less evident. It is argued here that this concern is more evident when he tries to ensure the separation of powers and demands mathematical precision in the application of legal rules. Furthermore, it is argued that this relationship becomes more evident when there is a conflict between them, for example, when he addresses the right to civil disobedience.