Group Intentions and Oppression

Philosophy ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 88 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-100 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Moltchanova

AbstractA reductive theory of collective intentionality would imply that the ‘official’ intentions of an oppressive political authority cannot be constructed from the intentions of individuals when they follow the authority's rules. This makes it difficult to explain the unraveling of official group plans through time in a seemingly consistent fashion, and the corresponding source of coercion. A non-reductive theory, on the other hand, cannot capture whether the actions of individuals in an oppressive society are free or coerced, so long as a manifest institutional structure and rules are in place. I put forward a hybrid account of group intentionality that is capable of articulating why oppressive political power is illegitimate, which comes down to the official and individual intentions in joint group actions diverging in such a way that individuals are not governed on the basis of dependent reasons.

1973 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 191-202 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan deVries

The political and economic institutions of the Dutch Republic puzzle the historian. Closely juxtaposed are elements suggesting a tantalizing precociousness and elements which hearken to the medieval past. The Republic was the creation of a revolution; it can be identified as the first European state to throw off a monarchical regime and bring a bourgeois social class to full political power. On the other hand, the foremost motive behind this rebellion was the resistance of medieval, municipal particularism to governmental centralization—to modernization, if you will.


Author(s):  
Steven Lee

National sovereignty presents a puzzle. On the one hand, this notion continues to figure importantly in our descriptions of global political change. On the other hand, factors such as the accelerating pace of international economic integration seem to have made the notion anachronistic. This paper is an attempt to resolve this puzzle. Distinguishing between internal sovereignty or supremacy and external sovereignty or independence, I investigate whether some insights from the discussion of the former can be applied to our puzzle concerning the latter. One response to the objection that the notion of internal sovereignty is inapplicable because no group in society holds unlimited political power is to distinguish between different types of internal sovereignty, such as legal and electoral sovereignty. The resolution of the puzzle lies in applying this response strategy to the objection that the notion of external sovereignty is inapplicable because no state is completely independent.


1965 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 358-370 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cho-Yun Hsu

The consolidation of China did not come immediately with China's unification. It was not fully accomplished until the middle of the Former (Western) Han. The monolithic2 nature of the political powers and a group of local elite3 were then forming. And the bureaucracy, becoming much elaborated during this era, served to link the two. The elite group functioned, on the one hand as the reservoir of candidates to officialdom, and on the other hand, as the leading element with education, prestige, and often wealth, in the community. Based on these concepts, this paper ventures to present the formation of the local elite group through the changing social base of political power during Western Han.


2022 ◽  
pp. 1470594X2110650
Author(s):  
Michael Hannon

It is widely believed that democracies require knowledgeable citizens to function well. But the most politically knowledgeable individuals tend to be the most partisan and the strength of partisan identity tends to corrupt political thinking. This creates a conundrum. On the one hand, an informed citizenry is allegedly necessary for a democracy to flourish. On the other hand, the most knowledgeable and passionate voters are also the most likely to think in corrupted, biased ways. What to do? This paper examines this tension and draws out several lessons. First, it is not obvious that more knowledgeable voters will make better political decisions. Second, attempts to remedy voter ignorance are problematic because partisans tend to become more polarized when they acquire more information. Third, solutions to citizen incompetence must focus on the intellectual virtue of objectivity. Fourth, some forms of epistocracy are troubling, in part, because they would increase the political power of the most dogmatic and biased individuals. Fifth, a highly restrictive form of epistocracy may escape the problem of political dogmatism, but epistocrats may face a steeper tradeoff between inclusivity and epistemic virtue than they would like.


1996 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michal Kobialka

Ever since the project of supplying objective knowledge was challenged by the debates about colonialism, gender, sexual orientation, and ethnicity, academics from different fields have begun to share a conception of knowledge as representational, differing primarily in the accounts of how their, “representations” are related to objects that are represented. Understandably, Plato's and Aristotle's definitions of mimesis have acquired new currency. According to Plato, whenever “you see one, you conceive of the other.” According to Aristotle, the relationship between techne and phusis is contained in the formulation that, on the one hand, art imitates nature; on the other hand, art carries to its end what nature is incapable of effecting. Both Plato and Aristotle perceive mimesis as the process of either epistemological or ontological repetition or doubling in which “one” (thought or subject) becomes “two” (thought or subject doubles as idea or object), in theatre studies, for example, the prevailing tradition defines representation in terms of a promise of a performative act. Such an act signifies that the “I” or “we” making the promise understands or knows the problem, the object, or the text and will be able to transfer it from nature, that is, from the real space, to the theatrical, “imaginary” space where the declaration of its existence and the formulation of its speech will be staged in a tight spotlight. This process is authorized by an institutional structure that safeguards the promise, its execution, and its use.


Author(s):  
Husni Setiawan

This study discusses the status of adat which has the power of formal law which gradually impacts on the addition and strengthening of political rights of traditional leaders. This phenomenon occurs in the Sakai Minas Traditional Village, Siak Regency. The community of the traditional village made a rule that the chief (Village Chief) must come from ethnic Sakai or who have blood ties with the Sakai community. On the other hand, there is a dichotomy of the political rights of people outside of Sakai Ethnicity. This study aims to analyze the strengthening of the authority of indigenous actors in Kabupaten Siak. This study uses a qualitative method. Analysis of data using emik based on the results of in-depth interviews and related documents. The results of the study showed that after the establishment of Sakai Minas Traditional Village status, customary actors experienced formal political authority (de jure) strengthening compared to before the establishment of traditional village status. Strengthening this authority comes from the interpretation of the Perda Kabupaten Siak No. 2 of 2015 concerning the Establishment of Traditional Villages.


Author(s):  
Harmiyati Harmiyati1

Lebanon, a country with a confessional political system, fragmented its political power based on the composition of religions. The political system is fragile and become an obstacle in creating national integrity. The fragility of the political system has always been the source of unstable politics and economics, however, the system remains until now. These problems are worsened by the fact that Lebanese community are exclusive in certain areas based on their religion, thus it triggers the imbalance of social and economic. On the other hand, the number of corruptions in the country has increased among the political elites hence social, political, and economical chaos are undeniable.


Author(s):  
Chelsea Harry

In her book, Method and politics in Plato’s Statesman (1998), Melissa Lane discusses the relationship between political authority and time. Namely, she asks what the source of political authority could be when, in the Statesman, the Stranger tells us that law cannot be applicable in all situations, for all people, in all times (294b2-6, 295a1-5). In this paper I agree with Lane that the apparent contradiction in the dialogue between, on the one hand, the temporal laws and, on the other hand, the contingency of everyday situations can be explained only in coming to understand the statesman as a master of kairos, or “right timing”. A mastery of kairos, I suggest, does not mean simply that one is able to recognize when it is the right time to do or say something, but rather it must mean that one is able to create the right time, which involves foreknowledge of universal truth and proficiency in the art of putting things together.


Author(s):  
Jonathan Fox

Countries can regulate both the majority religion and minority religions. Although most countries do both, the motivations and dynamics of these two types of regulation are distinct. The regulation, restriction, or control by a government of all religion in a country, including the majority religion, can take multiple forms. These include regulating (1) religion’s role in politics, (2) religious institutions and clergy, (3) religious practices, and (4) other aspects of religion. At least one form of religious regulation is engaged in by 95.5% of governments, and religious regulation is becoming more common over time. Regulating, restricting, and controlling religion is the norm worldwide regardless of world region, government type, and majority religion. Multiple motivations exist for regulating, restricting, and controlling majority religions. (1) Some countries have secular or anti-religious national ideologies. (2) Some countries support religion, but countries that support a religion often also want to influence and control that religion. In fact, control is a nearly inevitable consequence of support. (3) Politicians often fear religion’s potential political power and seek to keep it in check. (4) Autocratic governments often seek to restrict any aspect of civil culture they cannot control, and this includes religion. On the other hand, regulation is costly. It requires resources that can be used elsewhere, so regulating religion represents a decision to use resources despite these costs.


1972 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 170-188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carl-Martin Edsman

The myth of the state is used for legitimating certain actions. For example, the ideologist of National Socialism, A. Rosenberg, used the term myth for the belief or conception of life which was to sustain the new state. The Third Reich's myth was the superiority and glory of the Aryan' race. In addition, Hitler compared the requisite official ideology or philosophy to a religion. It must be intolerant like a religion; it demanded total submission, organization and devotion to struggle. Even Hitler's comrade in arms, Mussolini, used similar language, although the substance was partially different. Thus in a speech at Naples in 1922, Mussolini said: "We have created our myth. The myth is a faith, it is passion. It is not necessary that it shall be a reality. It is a reality by the fact that it is a goad, a hope, a faith, that it is courage. Our myth is the nation, our myth is the greatness of the nation ! In the Third World, besides native traditions, there are ideas taken from the Christian or secularized West. The first type of appropriation may have taken place long ago or in our own time. Within Islam, an offshoot from Judaism and Christianity, the theocratic consciousness is highly evident. The holder of political power is the instrument of God and shall therefore be obeyed. The ruler, on the other hand, shall consult his subjects, and the believers shall do the same among themselves and assist each other in word and deed.


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