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The Symbol of Justice: Bloodguilt in Kant

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 September 2020

Krista K. Thomason
Krista K. Thomason*
Affiliation:
Swarthmore College
*
Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

One of the more notorious passages in Kant occurs in the Doctrine of Right where he claims that ‘bloodguilt’ will cling to members of a dissolving society if they fail to execute the last murderer (MM, 6: 333). Although this is the most famous, bloodguilt appears in three other passages in Kant’s writings. These have received little attention in Kant scholarship. In this article, I examine these other passages and argue that bloodguilt functions as a symbol for the demandingness of justice. I then offer a sympathetic interpretation of the passage from the Doctrine of Right.

Keywords

Kantbloodguiltjusticeideas of reasonpunishmentDoctrine of Right
Type
Articles
Information
Kantian Review , Volume 26 , Issue 1 , March 2021 , pp. 79 - 97
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Kantian Review

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