Kant’s Nonideal Theory of Politics

217 Pages·2019·1.192 MB·English

by  Dilek Huseyinzadegan

KANT’S NONIDEAL THEORY
OF POLITICS

K A N T ’ S N O N I D E A L
T H E O R Y O F
P O L I T I C S
Dilek Huseyinzadegan
Northwestern University Press
Evanston, Illinois
Northwestern University Press
www.nupress.northwestern.edu
Copyright © 2019 by Northwestern University Press.
Published 2019. All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
ISBN 978- 0- 8101-3 987- 9 (paper)
ISBN 978-0 - 8101- 3988- 6 (cloth)
ISBN 978- 0- 8101- 3989- 3 (ebook)
Cataloging- in- Publication Data are available from the Library of Congress.
Anneme

Contents
Acknowledgments ix
List of Abbreviations xi
Introduction. Locating a Nonideal Theory in Kant’s
Political Thought: A Systematic Approach 3
Part I. History and Politics: Political History and
Cosmopolitanism
1 A Matter of Orientation 27
2 Historical Patterns, Political Aims 43
Part II. Nature, Culture, and Politics:
Political Anthropology and Cosmopolitanism
3 Organisms, Bodies Politic, and Progress 67
4 Political Zweckmässigkeit, or From Nature to Culture 87
Part III. Nature and Politics: Political Geography
and the Cosmopolitan Right
5 Teleology and Peace on Earth 117
6 Peace, Hospitality, and the Shape of the Earth 137
Conclusion. Theorizing the Lawfulness of the Contingent
in Politics: A Defense of Teleology 159
Notes 169
Bibliography 189
Index 199

Acknowledgments
This book would not have been possible without the help and support of
many people and institutions. The Department of Philosophy at Emory
University provided a comfortable and supportive environment, together
with its fantastic team of faculty, staff, and students. Special thanks go to
the Emory University Research Committee and the College of Arts and
Sciences, which allowed me to spend the Fall Semesters of 2016 and 2017
revising and editing chapters of the book for a timely submission, and
the Center for Faculty Development and Excellence, which provided writ-
ing groups, meet-t he-e ditor sessions, and book proposal workshops along
the way. I am grateful to my writing group friends Tanine Allison, Zach
Ludington, and Dan Reynolds for reading and commenting on drafts of
various chapters from an interdisciplinary perspective, and to the gradu-
ate students in my Kant seminars, especially Jordan Leah Daniels and
Omar Quiñonez, for their enthusiasm and intellectual vivacity.
I would also like to extend my gratitude to Tina Chanter, Avery Gold-
man, Namita Goswami, Rick Lee, Elizabeth Millán, Darrell Moore, and
Kevin Thompson for their mentorship and friendship at various stages of
my academic career. This project benefited immensely from various con-
versations I have had with amazing colleagues, especially the participants
of the Institute for the History of Philosophy Seminar in summer 2016:
Lisa Ellis, Rachel Jones, Larry Krasnoff, Jennifer Mensch, Elaine Miller,
Pablo Muchnik, Angelica Nuzzo, Jameliah Shorter- Bourhanou, Kristi
Sweet, Joseph Trullinger, and Donald Wilson, as well as Rudi Makkreel,
who has also been a valuable resource in Atlanta.
I would not be where I am and who I am right now without my
Chicago family members Andrew Dilts, Marie Draz, Emily García, Sina
Kramer, Jana McAuliffe, Jeff Pardikes, H. Rakes, and Perry Zurn, who
have shown me that one can find a home away from home and that friends
are the family we choose. Suffice it to say that their undying solidarity and
unmatched intellectual brilliance are continuing sources of inspiration.
Argyle and Grafton also provided much needed perspective for the past
few years— I think that they are happy to see this book to its completion.
My family back in Istanbul had to put up with seeing me only once a
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