Kantian Patriotism

Abstract

The article considers a paradoxical, at first glance, question – does the social and political philosophy of Immanuel Kant allow patriotism as a duty. The fact is that Kant is widely considered an icon of cosmopolitanism. His “cosmopolitan­ism” was reflected in such works as “Idea for a Universal History from a Cos­mopolitan Purpose” (1784), and later, with adjustments, in “Toward Perpetual Peace” (1795) and “Metaphysics of Morals” (1797). Considering that many philosophers reject patriotism on ethical grounds, believing that it cannot be a virtue, even more strange it may seem to pose the problem of “Kantian patriot­ism”. Nevertheless, modern researchers of Kant’s philosophy are trying to under­stand how his views can be combined with patriotism. In particular, this topic was raised several times (in 2000 and in 2003) by Pauline Kleingeld, a re­searcher of ethics and philosophy of Kant. To answer the question of whether patriotism is obligatory, permissible, or even harmful for Kant’s philosophy, she first described three types of patriotism – civic, nationalist, and patriotism based on the unique characteristics of the country, Kleingeld has done a lot of philo­sophical work, because now Kant’s social and philosophical concept can among other things be considered patriotic