Potential of Immanuel Kant's Philosophy in the Context of The Encyclical Amoris Laetitia of Pope Francis
Potential of Immanuel Kant's Philosophy in the Context of The Encyclical Amoris Laetitia of Pope Francis

Summary/Abstract: The new approaches to the topic of marriage, which were expressed by Pope Francis in the encyclical Amoris Laetitia, in many aspects are intertwined with the philosophical views of I. Kant, so it is necessary to study this issue to develop the interaction of these worldview systems. The purpose of this article is to determine the role of Kantianism in modern Catholic teaching expressed in Amoris Laetitia. During the research, several methods of scientific knowledge were used, including philosophical and historical analysis, comparison, synthesis, concretisation, and generalisation. As a result of the research, the following conclusions were reached: for a long time, Catholicism has been rejecting the ideas of I. Kant, but in the 20th century, steps were taken to get closer to this teaching; the main difference between the views of Catholicism and Kantianism in this context is that the latter does not consider marriage as a sacrament. Between these worldview systems, there are several common views on the issue of marriage, in particular, Catholicism and Kantianism understand marriage as a union in which spouses become a unique community of two people; the formation of marriage is the result of free choice; procreation is not the only purpose of marriage; marriage involves the right to own each other; spouses are equal; marriage is exclusively heterosexual and elimination of sexual contacts is not possible. In addition, I. Kant's philosophy has an important potential for modern Catholic teaching, which is preached by Pope Francis. This article will be useful for philosophers and Catholic priests.

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