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the science of right-第10章

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existence upon the earth。 Now that possession proper to all men upon

the earth; which is prior to all their particular juridical acts;

constitutes an original possession in common (communio possessionis

originaria)。 The conception of such an original; common possession

of things is not derived from experience; nor is it dependent on

conditions of time; as is the case with the imaginary and

indemonstrable fiction of a primaeval community of possession in

actual history。 Hence it is a practical conception of reason;

involving in itself the only principle according to which men may

use the place they happen to occupy on the surface of the earth; in

accordance with laws of right。



           14。 The Juridical Act of this Original

                   Acquisition is Occupancy。



  The act of taking possession (apprehensio); being at its beginning

the physical appropriation of a corporeal thing in space (possessionis

physicae); can accord with the law of the external freedom of all;

under no other condition than that of its priority in respect of time。

In this relation it must have the characteristic of a first act in the

way of taking possession; as a free exercise of will。 The activity

of will; however; as determining that the thing… in this case a

definite separate place on the surface of the earth… shall be mine;

being an act of appropriation; cannot be otherwise in the case of

original acquisition than individual or unilateral (voluntas

unilateralis s。 propria)。 Now; occupancy is the acquisition of an

external object by an individual act of will。 The original acquisition

of such an object as a limited portion of the soil can therefore

only be accomplished by an act of occupation。

  The possibility of this mode of acquisition cannot be intuitively

apprehended by pure reason in any way; nor established by its

principles; but is an immediate consequence from the postulate of

the practical reason。 The will as practical reason; however; cannot

justify external acquisition otherwise than only in so far as it is

itself included in an absolutely authoritative will; with which it

is united by implication; or; in other words; only in so far as it

is contained within a union of the wills of all who come into

practical relation with each other。 For an individual; unilateral

will… and the same applies to a dual or other particular will…

cannot impose on all an obligation which is contingent in itself。 This

requires an omnilateral or universal will; which is not contingent;

but a priori; and which is therefore necessarily united and

legislative。 Only in accordance with such a principle can there be

agreement of the active free…will of each individual with the

freedom of all; and consequently rights in general; or even the

possibility of an external mine and thine。



     15。 It is Only within a Civil Constitution that Anything can

         be Acquired Peremptorily; whereas in the State of Nature

                 Acquisition can only be Provisory。



  A civil constitution is objectively necessary as a duty; although

subjectively its reality is contingent。 Hence; there is connected with

it a real natural law of right; to which all external acquisition is

subjected。

  The empirical title of acquisition has been shown to be

constituted by the taking physical possession (apprehensio physica) as

founded upon an original community of right in all to the soil。 And

because a possession in the phenomenal sphere of sense can only be

subordinated to that possession which is in accordance with rational

conceptions of right; there must correspond to this physical act of

possession a rational mode of taking possession by elimination of

all the empirical conditions in space and time。 This rational form

of possession establishes the proposition that 〃whatever I bring under

my power in accordance with laws of external freedom; and will that it

shall be mine; becomes mine。〃

  The rational title of acquisition can therefore only lie

originally in the idea of the will of all united implicitly; or

necessarily to be united; which is here tacitly assumed as an

indispensable condition (conditio sine qua non)。 For by a single

will there cannot be imposed upon others an obligation by which they

would not have been otherwise bound。 But the fact formed by wills

actually and universally united in a legislation constitutes the civil

state of society。 Hence; it is only in conformity with the idea of a

civil state of society; or in reference to it and its realization;

that anything external can be acquired。 Before such a state is

realized; and in anticipation of it; acquisition; which would

otherwise be derived; is consequently only provisory。 The

acquisition which is peremptory finds place only in the civil state。

  Nevertheless; such provisory acquisition is real acquisition。 For;

according to the postulate of the juridically practical reason; the

possibility of acquisition in whatever state men may happen to be

living beside one another; and therefore in the state of nature as

well; is a principle of private right。 And in accordance with this

principle; every one is justified or entitled to exercise that

compulsion by which it alone becomes possible to pass out of the state

of nature and to enter into that state of civil society which alone

can make all acquisition peremptory。



  It is a question as to how far the right of taking possession of the

soil extends。 The answer is; So far as the capability of having it

under one's power extends; that is; just as far as he who wills to

appropriate it can defend it; as if the soil were to say: 〃If you

cannot protect me; neither can you command me。〃 In this way the

controversy about what constitutes a free or closed sea must be

decided。 Thus; within the range of a cannon…shot no one has a right to

intrude on the coast of a country that already belongs to a certain

state; in order to fish or gather amber on the shore; or such like。

Further; the question is put; 〃Is cultivation of the soil; by

building; agriculture; drainage; etc。; necessary in order to its

acquisition?〃 No。 For; as these processes as forms of specification

are only accidents; they do not constitute objects of immediate

possession and can only belong to the subject in so far as the

substance of them has been already recognized as his。 When it is a

question of the first acquisition of a thing; the cultivation or

modification of it by labour forms nothing more than an external

sign of the fact that it has been taken into possession; and this

can be indicated by many other signs that cost less trouble。 Again:

〃May any one be hindered in the act of taking possession; so that

neither one nor other of two competitors shall acquire the right of

priority; and the soil in consequence may remain for all time free

as belonging to no one?〃 Not at all。 Such a hindrance cannot be

allowed to take place; because the second of the two; in order to be

enabled to do this; would himself have to be upon some neighbouring

soil; where he also; in this manner; could be hindered from being; and

such absolute hindering would involve a contradiction。 It would;

however; be quite consistent with the right of occupation; in the case

of a certain intervening piece of the soil; to let it lie unused as

a neutral ground for the separation of two neighbouring states; but

under such a condition; that ground would actually belong to them both

in common; and would not be without an owner (res nullius); just

because it would be used by both in order to form a separation between

them。 Again: 〃May one have a thing as his; on a soil of which no one

has appropriated any part as his own?〃 Yes。 In Mongolia; for

example; any one may let lie whatever baggage he has; or bring back

the horse that has run away from him into his possession as his own;

because the whole soil belongs to the people generally; and the use of

it accordingly belongs to every

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