Law as the Critique of Practical Reason

Historically, the connection between law and practical reason has been subject to at least two expositions. According to the first, the law is the deposit of the moral reasons people have to create a set of institutions. The existence of law is, thus understood, a consequence of potentially universal reasons for action (and a wellspring of further such reasons). Alternately, practical reason can be seen as relevant to positive law in the dual role to limit the tolerable content of positive law and to explain the significance of moral arguments in legal reasoning. The article explores a third perspective that views the emergence of the legal relation as a consequence of the self-critique of practical reason.