My dissertation offers the following three benefits with regard to a renewed interpretation of Kant's political philosophy:
1)I will demonstrate that Kant's essays on history and politics are not dogmatic, unimportant, or of minor significance, but employ a critical principle of teleology, following on the critical-regulative method developed in the Critique of Pure Reason and the Critique of Judgement.
2) Such a holistic and systematic reading of Kant's historico-political writings will reveal that Kant's political philosophy cannot be construed as a mere extension of his moral theory. There is a distinction between how Kant theoretically justifies his normative assumptions about history and politics and how he posits teleogical practical goals based on theses assumptions. Thus, I will question whether we can read any of Kant's historico-political writings in unambiguously moral terms. In addition, I will show that cosmopolitanism, and idea that is often considred to be the centerpiece of these short writing, is not the only legacy of Kan'ts political thought.
3) Finally, I will show that by means of his critical-regulative method Kant is able to reflect on his own historical circumstances with a view to propose a teleogical universal history, and a political theory based on such a philosophy of history. Thus, a regulative teleological understanding of his own socio-historical reality is crucial to Kant's political philosophy. This suggests that a philosophy of history is always already pragmatic in orientation and that for Kant there is a close relationship between history and politics. Thus, Kant's political thought builds on this critical-teleological account of history, and finds its confirmation in such a regulative ground.
In short, in this project as a whole I uncover the contemporary legacy of Kant's philosophy of history and political theory through a close analysis of what I label his critical-regulative method. I argue that Kant's often ignored writing on history and politics are closely connected to this method that he develops in his three Critiques; thus these minor writings are not dogmatic or insignificant but squarely fit in with his critical system. Then I show that his critical-regulative method has implications for Kant's contemporary political legacy.
","abstract_html":"<p>My dissertation offers the following three benefits with regard to a renewed interpretation of Kant's political philosophy:</p> <p>1)I will demonstrate that Kant's essays on history and politics are not dogmatic, unimportant, or of minor significance, but employ a critical principle of teleology, following on the critical-regulative method developed in the Critique of Pure Reason and the Critique of Judgement.</p> <p>2) Such a holistic and systematic reading of Kant's historico-political writings will reveal that Kant's political philosophy cannot be construed as a mere extension of his moral theory. There is a distinction between how Kant theoretically justifies his normative assumptions about history and politics and how he posits teleogical practical goals based on theses assumptions. Thus, I will question whether we can read any of Kant's historico-political writings in unambiguously moral terms. In addition, I will show that cosmopolitanism, and idea that is often considred to be the centerpiece of these short writing, is not the only legacy of Kan'ts political thought.</p> <p>3) Finally, I will show that by means of his critical-regulative method Kant is able to reflect on his own historical circumstances with a view to propose a teleogical universal history, and a political theory based on such a philosophy of history. Thus, a regulative teleological understanding of his own socio-historical reality is crucial to Kant's political philosophy. This suggests that a philosophy of history is always already pragmatic in orientation and that for Kant there is a close relationship between history and politics. Thus, Kant's political thought builds on this critical-teleological account of history, and finds its confirmation in such a regulative ground.</p> <p>In short, in this project as a whole I uncover the contemporary legacy of Kant's philosophy of history and political theory through a close analysis of what I label his critical-regulative method. I argue that Kant's often ignored writing on history and politics are closely connected to this method that he develops in his three Critiques; thus these minor writings are not dogmatic or insignificant but squarely fit in with his critical system. Then I show that his critical-regulative method has implications for Kant's contemporary political legacy.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Huseyinzadegan, Dilek"],"institution":null,"degree_name":null,"degree_level":"Dissertation","degree_discipline":"Philosophy","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2011,"date_issued":"2011-11-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2011-11-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:03:52Z","subjects":["Immanuel Kant","philosophy of history","regulative principles","political philosophy","perpetual peace"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://via.library.depaul.edu/etd/110","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Huseyinzadegan, Dilek"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2017-07-01T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Philosophy"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Immanuel Kant","philosophy of history","regulative principles","political philosophy","perpetual peace"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://via.library.depaul.edu/etd/110"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["My dissertation offers the following three benefits with regard to a renewed interpretation of Kant's political philosophy:
1)I will demonstrate that Kant's essays on history and politics are not dogmatic, unimportant, or of minor significance, but employ a critical principle of teleology, following on the critical-regulative method developed in the Critique of Pure Reason and the Critique of Judgement.
2) Such a holistic and systematic reading of Kant's historico-political writings will reveal that Kant's political philosophy cannot be construed as a mere extension of his moral theory. There is a distinction between how Kant theoretically justifies his normative assumptions about history and politics and how he posits teleogical practical goals based on theses assumptions. Thus, I will question whether we can read any of Kant's historico-political writings in unambiguously moral terms. In addition, I will show that cosmopolitanism, and idea that is often considred to be the centerpiece of these short writing, is not the only legacy of Kan'ts political thought.
3) Finally, I will show that by means of his critical-regulative method Kant is able to reflect on his own historical circumstances with a view to propose a teleogical universal history, and a political theory based on such a philosophy of history. Thus, a regulative teleological understanding of his own socio-historical reality is crucial to Kant's political philosophy. This suggests that a philosophy of history is always already pragmatic in orientation and that for Kant there is a close relationship between history and politics. Thus, Kant's political thought builds on this critical-teleological account of history, and finds its confirmation in such a regulative ground.
In short, in this project as a whole I uncover the contemporary legacy of Kant's philosophy of history and political theory through a close analysis of what I label his critical-regulative method. I argue that Kant's often ignored writing on history and politics are closely connected to this method that he develops in his three Critiques; thus these minor writings are not dogmatic or insignificant but squarely fit in with his critical system. Then I show that his critical-regulative method has implications for Kant's contemporary political legacy.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Politics, history, critique: An interpretation of Kant's political philosophy in light of his critical-regulative method."]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["Huseyinzadegan, Dilek"],"dc:date.available":["2017-07-01T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["My dissertation offers the following three benefits with regard to a renewed interpretation of Kant's political philosophy:
1)I will demonstrate that Kant's essays on history and politics are not dogmatic, unimportant, or of minor significance, but employ a critical principle of teleology, following on the critical-regulative method developed in the Critique of Pure Reason and the Critique of Judgement.
2) Such a holistic and systematic reading of Kant's historico-political writings will reveal that Kant's political philosophy cannot be construed as a mere extension of his moral theory. There is a distinction between how Kant theoretically justifies his normative assumptions about history and politics and how he posits teleogical practical goals based on theses assumptions. Thus, I will question whether we can read any of Kant's historico-political writings in unambiguously moral terms. In addition, I will show that cosmopolitanism, and idea that is often considred to be the centerpiece of these short writing, is not the only legacy of Kan'ts political thought.
3) Finally, I will show that by means of his critical-regulative method Kant is able to reflect on his own historical circumstances with a view to propose a teleogical universal history, and a political theory based on such a philosophy of history. Thus, a regulative teleological understanding of his own socio-historical reality is crucial to Kant's political philosophy. This suggests that a philosophy of history is always already pragmatic in orientation and that for Kant there is a close relationship between history and politics. Thus, Kant's political thought builds on this critical-teleological account of history, and finds its confirmation in such a regulative ground.
In short, in this project as a whole I uncover the contemporary legacy of Kant's philosophy of history and political theory through a close analysis of what I label his critical-regulative method. I argue that Kant's often ignored writing on history and politics are closely connected to this method that he develops in his three Critiques; thus these minor writings are not dogmatic or insignificant but squarely fit in with his critical system. Then I show that his critical-regulative method has implications for Kant's contemporary political legacy.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://via.library.depaul.edu/etd/110"],"dc:subject":["Immanuel Kant","philosophy of history","regulative principles","political philosophy","perpetual peace"],"dc:title":["Politics, history, critique: An interpretation of Kant's political philosophy in light of his critical-regulative method."],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Philosophy"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:03:52Z"}