Universality, Necessity, and Law in General in Kant
The first part of this chapter distinguishes different basic senses of the terms “universality,” “necessity,” and “law” in Kant: strict vs. loose; strong particular vs. weak general; logical vs. metaphysical vs. transcendental; constitutive vs. regulative; for judgment, vs. system, vs. reason; re modality, math, morals, or mind. In addition, practical and theoretical contexts are distinguished. In the second part, these distinctions are used in slightly amending a general definition, offered by Eric Watkins of the notion of law with regard nature and also to morality. Use is also made of recent work by Michela Massimi on the modern idea that laws of nature can be understood as commanded. Throughout, Kant’s interest in a strict and absolutely necessary sense of law is emphasized.