Philosophical Ideas about Law

During the Renaissance, it affirmed the idea that humans are the center of value and the source of normative legitimacy. The peak of this shift is evident in the work of Immanuel Kant (1724–1804). ThroughGroundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals (1785), Kant not only changed the basis of morality, but also built the foundation of knowledge for the modern legal framework.

According to Kant, only humans as rational beings have dignity, because humans are able to act autonomously based on universally applicable moral obligations. This obligation is not determined by purpose or consequence, but because it is indeed a necessity (categorical imperative). Kant formulated this principle concisely: “Act only according to that maxim whereby you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law.” Meaning: “Act only according to the principle (rule) which at the same time you can will to become a universal law.” In other words, every moral action must be based on a principle that can be accepted as a general rule for everyone, without exception.

Kant, said “maxim” here meaning the personal principle or reason underlying our actions. Meanwhile, what Kant meant by “universal law”, is a rule that applies to all rational beings, without contradiction or discrimination. Simply put, before doing something, a person needs to ask: “If everyone acted like this, would it be logical, fair, and acceptable?” If the answer is “no”, then the action is immoral.

From this principle arises the moral interpretation that humans must be treated as an end in themselves (end in itself), not merely as a means or tool to achieve the interests of other parties. Because only rational beings can autonomously create and follow moral laws, only they possess dignity within a moral framework.

Other thinkers such as René Descartes formulated an influential ontological dualism: res cogitans, a thinking substance equated with human existence, and res extensa, an extended substance identical to the material world. By categorically separating humans from nature, Descartes simultaneously placed nature in the realm of “inanimate objects” that can be measured, modeled, and reduced to mechanisms subject to the laws of physics. This view provides a philosophical justification for the exploration and mastery of nature, no longer as a divine mandate, but as the natural right of humans as rational beings.

Descartes' ideas later found their counterpart in Francis Bacon's pragmatic and utilitarian vision. In Novum Organum, Bacon advocated for inductive methods and experimentation as a way to "conquer" nature for the sake of human progress. Science, according to Bacon, is a practical endeavor to change natural conditions for the benefit of mankind, placing utilitarian goals at the center of knowledge aspirations. The combination of Cartesian dualism and the Baconian imperative gave rise to a world reduced to a machine, while humans positioned themselves as moral-technical rulers authorized to use technology for the purpose of progress.