Social Contract and Public Opinion -- Two Political Concepts of the Enlightenment

In: Filozofski vestnik: FV, Band 14, Heft 2, S. 57-81

Abstract

Often seen as cornerstones of modern liberty, the concepts of social contract & public opinion have long played an important role in the political self-perception of European societies. Indeed, questions about the political organization of contemporary Europe can scarcely be formulated today without being articulated in terms of -- or at least with recourse to -- these two terms. A crucial stage in their development, the era of enlightenment, is examined. After analyzing the significance of Immanuel Kant's distinction between uses of reason in the public & private spheres, remarks critical of Kantian notions of rationalism, jurisprudence, liberty, & public opinion made by Edmund Burke, Jeremy Bentham, & Benjamin Constant are reviewed. M. Maguire