Autonomia e razão pública na filosofia de Immanuel Kant: a propósito da emancipação humana

Abstract

In this doctoral thesis I intend to investigate the conditions of human emancipation from the notion of autonomy and public reason in Immanuel Kant's philosophy. In order to achieve success in the investigation, I approach the issue of autonomy treated by Kant and highlight the originality with which the philosopher dealt with it in the modern context. After that, I present the correlation between autonomy and freedom, from which it is possible to start by oneself a cause, whose foundation is found in the moral law, which allows us to legislate for everyone, under the same principles. To stress the emphasis given by Kant to public argumentation in the scope of communication I present the conception of public reason in the modern context, as well as the echo of this conception in contemporaneity. I underline then the two uses of reason – public and private – and how the adequate articulation between them promotes the escape from minority. I emphasize the public argument, debated and agreed, as a point of integration between the individual and the collective. Finally, I show that criticism, offered by Kant as a support for reason, allows political engagement and makes clarification an always current and continuous task.