Independent families : a republican account of the parent-child relationship.

Children occupy a strange space in politics. On the one hand, citizens all seem to have fundamental rights to generally live as they please. On the other hand, child citizens generally require parents with the authority to significantly influence how they live for a good part of their lives. So, what must the parent-child relationship look like to reconcile both claims? And what is the state’s role in ensuring this reconciliation? In this dissertation, I answer these questions from a broadly Kantian version of Republicanism. Since Kant is centrally concerned with each person’s innate right against domination by others, I consider what this commitment requires of various domains within the family. As a result, I provide further justification for some status-quo arrangements: parents acquire the right to raise a child just by setting out to do so without dominating others (Chapter One), and parents may shape their children’s values without concern for keeping their children’s options wide because they have a duty to help their children live meaningful lives (Chapter Three). However, some features need to change: because families require states to ensure the mutual enforcement of rights and responsibilities within the parent-child relationship, states likely require more contact with the family (Chapter Two). And since children are citizens, they have a right against the state to provide greater welfare benefits than they currently receive (Chapter Four). In Chapter Five, I turn from merely human parent-child relationships to the divine parent-child relationship and argue that God has legitimate practical authority over us in virtue of being our divine parent.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Doctoral

Grantor

Baylor University.

Year dc:date.issued

2025

Author dc:creator

• Hadsell, Nick T. (Nicholas T.), 1997-

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Jeffrey, Anne.

• Ethics of parenthood.
• Kant.
• Parental rights.
• Parental obligations.

Statement dc:rights

• Baylor University works are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. Contact libraryquestions@baylor.edu for inquiries about permission.

Language dc:language.iso

en

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/2104/13896

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:baylor-ir.tdl.org:2104/13896