Abstract (eng)
The present MA-thesis deals with the role of ideology critique in the oeuvre of political philosopher Hans Kelsen. I aim to give a general account of the presuppositions, goals and conclusions of his works.
In order to give such an account, it is necessary to investigate his three major fields of interest. These are: his famous legal theory (Reine Rechtslehre), his writings in the theory of democracy – especially in Vom Wesen und Wert der Demokratie –, and his historical analyses of political philosophy.
I claim that his scientific enterprise is intended to function as a critique of ideology. Its foundations are explored, first, with respect to his epistemological stance. Kelsen is a value-agnostic: he thinks that human insight into absolute values is impossible. An immediate correlate of this is his anti-metaphysical understanding of science: in his opinion, the three criteria of objectivity, methodical purity and progress are realised only in the natural sciences. What Kelsen calls „ideology“ is a set of assertions intended to form a volition. An assertion revealed as false then no longer is an ideology, but an illusion – a term Kelsen uses euphemistically. Against this background Kelsen tries to unearth the ideological aspects that subsist in legal science and political philosophy. I will focus on a selected set of political and legal terms analysed and criticised by Kelsen.
Finally, I set out to briefly evaluate the actuality of Kelsen´s critique of ideology and to discuss the possibility and necessity, to continue his critique.