scholarly journals Conflict in Political Liberalism: Judith Shklar’s Liberalism of Fear

Res Publica ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 577-595
Author(s):  
Katharina Kaufmann
Keyword(s):  
Political Philosophy ◽  
Moral Theory ◽  
Political Liberalism ◽  
Political Conflict ◽  
Liberal Theory ◽  
The Political ◽  
Bernard Williams ◽  
Close Analysis ◽  
Normative Standard ◽  
The Individual

Abstract Realists and non-ideal theorists currently criticise Rawlsian mainstream liberalism for its inability to address injustice and political conflict, as a result of the subordination of political philosophy to moral theory (Bernard Williams), as well as an idealising and abstract methodology (Charles W. Mills). Seeing that liberalism emerged as a theory for the protection of the individual from conflict and injustice, these criticisms aim at the very core of liberalism as a theory of the political and therefore deserve close analysis. I will defend Judith N. Shklar’s liberalism of fear as an answer to these challenges. I will argue that the liberalism of fear maintains realism’s conflictual and inherently political thrust while also integrating a perspective on injustice. I will defend the claim that in contrast to the two aforementioned criticisms, the liberalism of fear develops its own normative standard from which political arrangements can be assessed. It does so by replacing the idealising approach to political philosophy with a non-utopian methodology, which opens a negative perspective on what is to be avoided in the political sphere, and how to detect and deal with injustice. Due to this standard, it is a liberal theory that is uniquely able to meet the realist and non-ideal challenge.

Process Philosophy and Political Liberalism

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel A. Dombrowski
Keyword(s):  
Political Philosophy ◽  
Political Liberalism ◽  
Reflective Equilibrium ◽  
Process Philosophy ◽  
The Political ◽  
Nonhuman Animals ◽  
Static View ◽  
Process Oriented ◽  
The Right ◽  
Political Right

In this work two key theses are defended: political liberalism is a processual (rather than a static) view and process thinkers should be political liberals. Three major figures are considered (Rawls, Whitehead, Hartshorne) in the effort to show the superiority of political liberalism to its illiberal alternatives on the political right and left. Further, a politically liberal stance regarding nonhuman animals and the environment is articulated. It is typical for debates in political philosophy to be adrift regarding the concept of method, but from start to finish this book relies on the processual method of reflective equilibrium or dialectic at its best. This is the first extended effort to argue for both political liberalism as a process-oriented view and process philosophy/theology as a politically liberal view. It is also a timely defense of political liberalism against illiberal tendencies on both the right and the left.

La Idea de “Razón Publica” (y su Revisión) en el Último Rawls

2003 ◽  
Vol 11 (22) ◽  
pp. 5-31
Author(s):  
Fernando Aranda Fraga ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Political Philosophy ◽  
Public Good ◽  
John Rawls ◽  
Public Reason ◽  
Political Liberalism ◽  
The Political ◽  
Theory Of Justice ◽  
Key Topics ◽  
Political Philosopher

In 1993 John Rawls published his main and longest work since 1971, where he had published his reknowned A Theory of Justice, book that made him famous as the greatest political philosopher of the century. We are referring to Political Liberalism, a summary of his writings of the 80’s and the first half of the 90’s, where he attempts to answer the critics of his intellectual partners, communitarian philosophers. One of the key topics in this book is the issue of “public reason”, whose object is nothing else than public good, and on which the principles and proceedings of justice are to be applied. The book was so important for the political philosophy of the time that in 1997 Rawls had to go through the 1993 edition, becoming this new one the last relevant writing published before the death of the Harvard philosopher in November 2002.

Liberdade e Direitos Humanos no Pensamento de Richard Price

2005 ◽  
Vol 13 (25) ◽  
pp. 119-145
Author(s):  
José Gomes André ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Political Philosophy ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Human Dignity ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Expression ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Way

This paper is concerned with the political philosophy of Richard Price, analysing the way this author has developed the concept of liberty and the problem of human rights. The theme of liberty will be interpreted in a double perspective: a) in a private dimension, that sets liberty in the inner side of the individual; b) in a public dimension, that places it in the domain of a manifest action of the individual. We will try to show how this double outlook of liberty is conceived under the optics of a necessary complementarity, since liberty, which is primarily understood as a feature of the subject taken as an individual, acquires only a full meaning when she becomes efective in a comunitary field, as a social and political expression. The concept of human rights will appear located in this analysis, being defined simultaneously as condition and expression of the human dignity and happiness, at the same time natural attributes of an individual that should be cultivated and public effectiveness that contributes to the development of society.

24. Kant

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katrin A. Flikschuh
Keyword(s):  
Political Philosophy ◽  
Property Rights ◽  
Immanuel Kant ◽  
Political Liberalism ◽  
Political Obligation ◽  
Practical Philosophy ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Ideas ◽  
Short Biography ◽  
The Relationship

This chapter examines the political ideas of Immanuel Kant. Kant is widely regarded as a precursor to current political liberalism. There are many aspects of Kant's political philosophy, including his property argument, that remain poorly understood and unjustly neglected. Many other aspects, including his cosmopolitanism, reveal Kant as perhaps one of the most systematic and consistent political thinkers. Underlying all these aspects of his political philosophy is an abiding commitment to his epistemological method of transcendental idealism. After providing a short biography of Kant, this chapter considers his epistemology as well as the relationship between virtue and justice in his practical philosophy. It also explores a number of themes in Kant's political thinking, including the idea of external freedom, the nature of political obligation, the vindication of property rights, the denial of a right to revolution, and the cosmopolitan scope of Kantian justice.

The Grounds of Institutional Moral Theory: On the Political Philosophy of Allen Buchanan

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Rainer Forst
Keyword(s):  
Political Philosophy ◽  
Human Nature ◽  
Moral Theory ◽  
The Other ◽  
The Political

In this paper, I discuss the conception of “institutional moral theory” that Allen Buchanan lays out in his work. I argue that it moves within a trilemma of grounding. The trilemma arises because the three routes to grounding we find in Buchanan’s works – the anthropological route appealing to human nature, the liberal route appealing to liberal values and the institutionalist route appealing to practice-immanent values – are mutually exclusive. But more than that, each horn of the trilemma encounters counterarguments from within Buchanan’s own thought, not only from the perspective of the other horns. Finally, I suggest a fourth alternative that refers to a notion of “justificatory responsibility” that Buchanan also suggests.

Toward an Ethics of Organizations

1999 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 619-638 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert A. Phillips ◽  
Joshua D. Margolis
Keyword(s):  
Political Philosophy ◽  
Moral Theory ◽  
Organizational Ethics ◽  
Nation State ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
The Individual

Abstract:The organization is importantly different from both the nation-state and the individual and hence needs its own ethical models and theories, distinct from political and moral theory. To develop a case for organizational ethics, this paper advances arguments in three directions. First, it highlights the growing role of organizations and their distinctive attributes. Second, it illuminates the incongruities between organizations and moral and political philosophy. Third, it takes these incongruities, as well as organizations’ distinctive attributes, as a starting point for suggesting an agenda for an ethics of organizations.

scholarly journals Worlding the Inward Dimensions of Islam

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Mandaville
Keyword(s):  
Political Philosophy ◽  
Good Governance ◽  
Political Liberalism ◽  
The Political ◽  
The World ◽  
Islamic Politics

Muqtedar Khan’s Islam and Good Governance: A Political Philosophy of Ihsan is, above all, an expression of faith.[1] This does not mean that we should engage it as a confessional text — although it certainly is one at some level — or that it necessitates or assumes a particular faith positionality on the part of its reader. Rather, Khan seeks here to build a vision and conception of Islamic governance that does not depend on compliance with or fidelity to some outward standard — whether that be European political liberalism or madhhabi requirements. Instead, he draws on concepts, values, and virtues commonly associated with Islam’s more inward dimensions to propose a strikingly original political philosophy: one that makes worldly that which has traditionally been kept apart from the world. More specifically, Khan locates the basis of a new kind of Islamic politics within the Qur’anic and Prophetic injunction of ihsan, which implies beautification, excellence, or perfection — conventionally understood as primarily spiritual in nature. However, this is not a politics that concerns itself with domination (the pursuit, retention, and maximization of power); it is neither narrowly focused on building governmental structures that supposedly correspond with divine diktat nor understood as contestation or competition. This is, as the book’s subtitle suggests, a pathway to a philosophy of the political which defines the latter in terms of searching for the Good.

scholarly journals Rawls, Hegel e o liberalismo da liberdade

2005 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Cesar Augusto Ramos
Keyword(s):  
Political Philosophy ◽  
Key Words ◽  
Political Liberalism ◽  
Individual Freedom ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Individual

Este artigo procura examinar a avaliação de Rawls acerca de alguns aspectos da filosofia política de Hegel. Rawls interpreta Hegel como um liberal de mente moderadamente reformista, e seu liberalismo é um importante exemplar na história do liberalismo da liberdade. Pretendemos, primeiramente, examinar o estatuto do liberalismo de Hegel, particularmente a questão da liberdade individual. Em segundo lugar, apresentamos alguns aspectos do entendimento de Rawls acerca deste liberalismo. A plausibilidade da filosofia política de Hegel é questionada, quando Rawls analisa a sua possível contribuição à luz do liberalismo político. PALAVRAS-CHAVE – Liberalismo. Liberdade. Liberalismo politico. Hegelianismo. ABSTRACT This article seeks to examine Ralws’s evaluation about some features of Hegel’s political philosophy. Rawls interprets Hegel as a liberal, with a moderately reforming mind, and his liberalism is an important exemplar in the history of liberalism of freedom. We intend, first, to examine Hegel’s liberalism statute, particularly the individual freedom issue. Second, we present some aspects of Rawls’s understanding about this liberalism. Hegel’s political philosophy plausibility is questioned, when Rawls analyses his possible contribution in the light of political liberalism. KEY WORDS – Liberalism. Freedom. Political liberalism. Hegelianism.

Political Liberalism and Legitimacy

2020 ◽  
pp. 122-171
Author(s):  
Charles Larmore
Keyword(s):  
Political Philosophy ◽  
Political Liberalism ◽  
Political Legitimacy ◽  
Philosophical Tradition ◽  
Liberal Theory ◽  
Political Society ◽  
Self Awareness ◽  
Classical Liberalism ◽  
Philosophical Reflection ◽  
Clear View

This chapter explores the phenomenon of reasonable disagreement, which is an idea that can seem paradoxical because of the philosophical tradition that leads inevitably to the convergence of opinion. It analyzes the conception of political legitimacy that follows the fundamental principles of political society as they are coercive in nature. It discusses liberalism that is seen more clearly than past conceptions about the true task of political philosophy due to the reflective culture imbued with historical self-awareness. The chapter also provides a clear view of the fundamental problems confronting political society. It reviews political liberalism, which is understood as a form of liberal theory that is different from classical liberalism and becomes a vigorous area of philosophical reflection.

The political work of narratives

2006 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 295-318 ◽  
Author(s):  
Owen Whooley
Keyword(s):  
Jim Crow ◽  
Meaning Making ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Political Conflict ◽  
Local Context ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Work ◽  
Abolitionist Movement ◽  
Jim Crow Era ◽  
The Individual

Tied to meaning-making, narratives are saturated with political relevance. Narratives do political work on both the individual and collective levels. To achieve a comprehensive understanding of the political work performed by a given narrative, both the historical context and local context must be analyzed. This paper uses a comparative dialogic analysis derived from M. M. Bakhtin to illuminate the different types of political work that narratives can accomplish. I compare two slave narratives, each recalling an incident of violence against a slave. Although the narratives describe similar events, their portrayals of slavery differ greatly because of the different political work they perform in their respective contexts. One narrative, produced in conjunction with the abolitionist movement, serves as a piece of political propaganda that frames slavery in an uncompromisingly harsh light. The other narrative, taken from a WPA interview in the 1930s, reveals narrative as a site of political conflict between blacks and whites during the Jim Crow era.

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