Individual, Nation, Reason

The standard model of Modern Political Philosophy, reflecting its Hobbesian origin, is fundamentally Empiricist--a finite aggregate, i. e. a Nation, of elements unified by associations, e. g. contracts.  However, one systematic problem with the model is that its basic element--the Individual--does not per se exist in that Empiricism, e. g. Hume's bundle of perceptions.  Addressing and solving that problem waits for Kant, for whom the unity of the Individual originates in Pure Practical Reason, i. e. the Rational Agent, as defined by the Fundamental Priciple of Pure Practical Reason.  But, such an Individual is a member of an infinite Universe of such Agents, linked by mutual respect, not mere association. It is thus a member of a society that transcends a finite one like a Nation.  In other words, Kant's critique of the Modern Nationalist Individual initiates a transition to a new concept of the Individual, one which can be characterized as Contemporay and Planetary, spanning an era that is still in progress.