The Relationship between Right and Ethics in Kant's View “From the Doctrine of Right and External Coercion to the Doctrine of Virtue and Internal Constraint”

Articles in Press

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
seyed mohammad hosseini 1
hassan vakilian 2
1 Ph.D. Student, Public Law, Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran.
2 Associate Professor, Department of Public International Law, Allameh Tabataba'i University, Tehran, Iran
10.30470/phm.2025.2050133.2630
Abstract
A comprehensive framework called “ethics” is divided into two parts: “ethics” (also referred to as the “doctrine of virtue”) and “right/justice” (also known as the “doctrine of right”). In The Metaphysics of Morals, Kant argues that the “categorical imperative” determines the duties and obligations of moral agents. These obligations, or constraints, can be categorized as either internal, as in the “duties of virtue,” where “motive” or “incentive” is significant, or external, as in the “duties of right/justice,” where such motives are irrelevant. In both cases, the “categorical imperative” establishes these moral constraints. According to Kant, duties related to ethics, or virtue, are internal and cannot be externally enforced, unlike the “duties of right/justice.” The “duties of virtue” are concerned with moral law and the internal constraints of the agent(s), whereas “juridical” or “legal duties,” which correspond to the duties based on “right/justice,” relate to the external actions of moral agents and are subject to external constraints, particularly legal restrictions.

Keywords

Subjects

Philosophical Meditations

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 15 April 2025