The Normative Role of the Concept of Dignity in the Public Sphere

Democratization and pluralization are essential aspects of modern society, and one of the sources of such a social vision is Kant’s project of enlightenment. The first important aspect of this project is the concept of the “original contract.” Here, the state is not only a part of the social contract theory but also the construction of the logical space of justice. This is because “justice” is embodied in institutionalization. In Kant’s case, however, unlike Hobbes’s, two levels of institutionalization are structurally embedded in this space: institutionalization and the institutionalization of institutionalization, the latter being a higher order of institutionalization. Note that the first level of institutionalization is carried out by the “original contract” and the space of justice is actualized as the state, which is further institutionalized through the system of practical laws. However, not all practical laws are necessarily in accordance with justice. There are cases in which the actual laws are not “correct.” In some of these cases, there will be a conflict between legality and morality within the state over a particular positive law. The theoretical prototype of this conflict is, in the words of Kant’s The metaphysics of morals, the conflict between “the justice arising from the state” and “the justice arising from the people.” If this conflict is left unchecked, there will be no progress in terms of enlightenment, and the state, as a space of justice, will fall into chaos. Moreover, if the former “justice arising from the state” is enforced, the state will become an oppressive one, and justice will be only nominal. Therefore, Kant calls for the institutionalization of the second order by locating “justice arising from the people” in “human dignity.” The use of reason in this case is public, and one of the principles on which the public use of reason depends is precisely human dignity. This paper analyzes the problem of hate speech based on this Kantian framework. Hate speech is a serious social problem in which freedom of speech and human dignity are in conflict. According to the Kantian framework, it will be important, for the democratization and pluralism of modern society, to overcome hate speech by appropriately restricting freedom of speech based on the public use of reason and relying on human dignity.