Kant's Concept of Freedom
It is very difficult to think about human rights, because its basis is not clear or explicit. What does support these concepts? Furthermore, do they really have its basis? At a glance we can pick up a lot of questions about human rights. we usually use the word “Human Rights” as if we know its meaning, though we don’t actually. So what is the Human rights? do they have existence or are they only instruments? I think they are only instruments so it is not right to talk about them as if they exist like ideas or transcendent values. However, in this time we can ask what kind of instrument they are. Every instruments must have aims to be useful in accomplishing some other values. What is the higher value than human rights? It is human dignity. I think human rights are the instrument to protect human dignity. the idea of human dignity is universal, and we can regard it as idea which should exists. Why can I regard human dignity as so important? The reason is that human dignity is based on the universal idea of “freedom of human agency” so it cannot change or lose its value through all times and spaces. Human dignity is almost equal to freedom. So on this paper, I want to inquire into this most important concept to think about human dignity and human rights by analyzing the Kant’s thought of freedom. In Kant’s philosophy, as you know, the concept of freedom has given very importnat meaning. Actually Kant regard it as one of the ”ultimate ends towards which all endeavours of reason must ultimately converge”(B491). However, though the concept of freedom is so important, Kant’s explanation is unclear and seems not to be enough. the most critical reason of that vagueness comes from the unclearness of the dichotomy between “transcendental freedom” and “practical freedom”. Furthermore, the relationship is not only vague but also contradictory at a glance. He says “The denial of transcendental freedom must, therefore, involve the elimination of all