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Chhatrapati Singh and the Idea of a Legal Theory Author(s): Upendra Baxi |
This paper seeks to restore the critical importance of Chhatrapti Singh's (CS) jurisprudential significance; it focuses primarily on his work Anarchy, and Utopia, The paper critically evaluates CS thought, developing a distinction between CS-I (the legal philosopher) and CS-II (the activist citizen). Following the philosopher Leibniz, CS insists that each one of us has a normative obligation to create a Utopia (best possible normative world) developing further the thought that legal philosophy is the 'first philosophy'. The Utopia that we have an obligation to develop is that of a 'universalized Dharma'; the article examines ways in which law takes us back to dharma and dharma back to modern law. In a Kantian vein, CS insists on the regulative idea of moral progress; '...continuity in moral progress must not only be in knowledge but also in being a person'. Each individual finite self, says CS, here quoting and endorsing Kant, is a vessel and vehicle of 'infinite progress' and thus refers us also to 'the presupposition of an infinitely enduring existence and personality of the same rational being... called the immortality of soul'. CS insists that Kant then needs to accept 'the possibility of rational will becoming a holy will as ontologically true and not just as epistemological truth' and further that the 'idea of law demands this'.
Ovaj rad nastoji da povrati kritični značaj pravnog značaja Chhatrapti Singha (CS); fokusira se prvenstveno na njegovo delo Anarhija i Utopija. Rad kritički ocenjuje misao CS-a, razvijajući razliku između CS-I (pravni filozof) i CS-II (aktivistički građanin). Sledeći filozofa Leibniza, CS insistira da svako od nas ima normativnu obavezu da stvori utopiju (najbolji mogući normativni svet) razvijajući dalje misao da je pravna filozofija „prva filozofija“. Utopija koju imamo obavezu da razvijemo je ona 'univerzalizovane Darme'; članak ispituje načine na koje nas pravo vraća u dharmu, a dharma u moderno pravo. Na kantovski način, CS insistira na regulativnoj ideji moralnog napretka; '... kontinuitet u moralnom napretku ne mora biti samo u znanju već i u ličnosti'. Svako pojedinačno konačno ja, kaže CS, ovde citirajući i podržavajući Kanta, posuda je i sredstvo 'beskonačnog napretka' pa nas upućuje i na 'pretpostavku beskonačno postojanog postojanja i ličnosti istog racionalnog bića ... tzv. besmrtnost duše '. CS insistira na tome da Kant tada mora prihvatiti „mogućnost da racionalna volja postane sveta volja kao ontološki istinita, a ne samo kao epistemološka istina“ i dalje da „ideja prava to zahteva“.
Key words: author/Upendra Baxi, language/ English, personalities/ Chhatrapti Singh, Leibniz, Kant, Marx, jurisprudence, utopia, law, existence, finitude, soul, rationality
Ključne reči: Autori / Upendra Baxi, Jezik / Engleski, Ličnosti / Chhatrapti Singh, Lajbnic, Kant, Marks, pravna teorija, utopija, pravo, postojanje, konačnost, duša, razumnost
