Foundations of Natural Right
Encyclopedia
Foundations of Natural Right is a philosophical
text by the German
philosopher Johann Gottlieb Fichte
and it was first published in 1797. The book is one of Fichte's most important and one of his broadest books in terms of subjects covered.
The book begins with the subject of self-consciousness
. Fichte believes that self-consciousness requires resistance from exterior objects, but this resistance can only come from other rational beings, making consciousness a social phenomenon. Because of this, people are inevitably involved in relations with others that Fichte calls a 'relation of right.' The relation of right relies on mutual recognition of rationality and consciousness by all parties involved. Each conscious agent, Fichte thinks, should retain their own 'sphere of freedom' in which they are free from outside forces.
As the text continues, Fichte uses the idea of the 'sphere of freedom' to establish what he calls 'original right.' Original right is a fictitious concept in which a being can exist only as a cause, and never be caused or effected by exterior forces. To violate one's original right is to violate one's freedom and to commit coercion.
To combat coercion, Fichte suggests taking away any incentive to commit such a crime. Namely, there must be a society that, whenever one attempts to commit a crime, the exact opposite of the criminal's intention will occur. He then concludes that a society such as this could only exist in a commonwealth, and goes on to discuss the exact nature of such a commonwealth.
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
text by the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
philosopher Johann Gottlieb Fichte
Johann Gottlieb Fichte
Johann Gottlieb Fichte was a German philosopher. He was one of the founding figures of the philosophical movement known as German idealism, a movement that developed from the theoretical and ethical writings of Immanuel Kant...
and it was first published in 1797. The book is one of Fichte's most important and one of his broadest books in terms of subjects covered.
The book begins with the subject of self-consciousness
Self-consciousness
Self-consciousness is an acute sense of self-awareness. It is a preoccupation with oneself, as opposed to the philosophical state of self-awareness, which is the awareness that one exists as an individual being; although some writers use both terms interchangeably or synonymously...
. Fichte believes that self-consciousness requires resistance from exterior objects, but this resistance can only come from other rational beings, making consciousness a social phenomenon. Because of this, people are inevitably involved in relations with others that Fichte calls a 'relation of right.' The relation of right relies on mutual recognition of rationality and consciousness by all parties involved. Each conscious agent, Fichte thinks, should retain their own 'sphere of freedom' in which they are free from outside forces.
As the text continues, Fichte uses the idea of the 'sphere of freedom' to establish what he calls 'original right.' Original right is a fictitious concept in which a being can exist only as a cause, and never be caused or effected by exterior forces. To violate one's original right is to violate one's freedom and to commit coercion.
To combat coercion, Fichte suggests taking away any incentive to commit such a crime. Namely, there must be a society that, whenever one attempts to commit a crime, the exact opposite of the criminal's intention will occur. He then concludes that a society such as this could only exist in a commonwealth, and goes on to discuss the exact nature of such a commonwealth.