공적 이성과 지구법학 - 지구법학적 공적 이성의 가능성 -

The global crisis of the Anthropocene calls for a fundamental transformation in human modes of thought and action, as well as in national and international institutional responses. Earth jurisprudence offers a compelling normative direction for such transformation within the field of law. Yet if its proposals are to be institutionalized through public policy and enforced by public power, they must satisfy the requirements of public justification. At the normative core of earth jurisprudence lies a form of perfectionism, which seeks the flourishing of both human and non-human beings. Since perfectionism typically belongs to the domain of comprehensive doctrines, it must secure the support of public reason in order to serve as a legitimate basis for coercive state action. This article examines whether the normative claims of earth jurisprudence can meet the standards of legitimacy articulated by public reason liberalism. It analyzes whether these claims can pass the test of reasonable rejectability and satisfy the criterion of reasonable acceptability. The article further explores whether certain perfectionist propositions may be incorporated into the content of public reason itself. In particular, it argues that the conditions necessary for individuals to sufficiently realize their own conceptions of a good or flourishing life may constitute a component of public reason. Moreover, some core claims of earth jurisprudence may be capable of forming an overlapping consensus insofar as the protection of ecological systems and nature supports the effective exercise and enjoyment of basic human rights and freedoms. In conclusion, the values of public reason that justify the exercise of public power may be understood as comprising three components: liberal values (liberty, equality, and fairness); perfectionist values (the sufficient conditions for the realization of a good or flourishing life); and earth-jurisprudential values (the integral well-being of the earth community and its non-human members). The idea of an “earth-jurisprudential public reason” thus expands the horizon and ground of public justification and provides a theoretical foundation for the development of a reasonable political conception of justice that incorporates principles of ecological justice.