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- Title
Property and the Will: Kant and Achenwall on Ownership Rights.
- Authors
Tomassini, Fiorella
- Abstract
This article examines Kant's theory of property through a comparative analysis of Gottfried Achenwall's justification of ownership rights. I argue that at the core of Achenwall's and Kant's understanding of ownership rights lies the idea that rights are to be acquired through a juridical act (factum iuridicum , rechtlichen Act) of the will. However, while Achenwall thinks of this act as emerging from a private will, Kant holds that rights and obligations can only be brought about by an act of the general will. By contrasting these two views, I aim to illuminate one of the main features of Kant's theory of property, namely, that ownership rights are only possible in a rightfully constituted state. I conclude with a suggestion regarding Kant's view of the notion of 'provisional' possession in the state of nature.
- Publication
Kantian Review, 2023, Vol 28, Issue 2, p297
- ISSN
1369-4154
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1017/S1369415423000080