A PHILOSOPHER OF SCIENCE LOOKS AT IDEALIZATION IN POLITICAL THEORY

2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 11-31
Author(s):  
Jenann Ismael
Keyword(s):  
Political Theory ◽  
Division Of Labor ◽  
Real World ◽  
Ideal Theory ◽  
Nonideal Theory ◽  
The Real ◽  
Theory Of Justice ◽  
Ideal Part ◽  
Real World Problems ◽  
The Ideal

Abstract:Rawls ignited a debate in political theory when he introduced a division between the ideal and nonideal parts of a theory of justice. In the ideal part of the theory, one presents a positive conception of justice in a setting that assumes perfect compliance with the rules of justice. In the nonideal part, one addresses the question of what happens under departures from compliance. Critics of Rawls have attacked his focus on ideal theory as a form of utopianism, and have argued that political theory should be focused instead on providing solutions to the manifest injustices of the real world. In this essay, I offer a defense of the ideal/nonideal theory distinction according to which it amounts to nothing more than a division of labor, and explore some scientific analogies. Rawls’s own focus on the ideal part of the theory, I argue, stems from a felt need to clarify the foundations of justice, rather than a utopian neglect of real world problems.

Democratic Ideals in a Non-Ideal World

2020 ◽  
pp. 175-194
Author(s):  
Mary F. Scudder
Keyword(s):  
Political Behavior ◽  
Real World ◽  
Critical Value ◽  
Ideal Theory ◽  
The Real ◽  
Ideal World ◽  
Democratic Ideals ◽  
The Ideal

The book concludes with a discussion of the real-world implications of pursuing a politics of listening. Does the expectation to fairly consider the inputs of others apply equally to members of a minority or marginalized group as it does to the relatively powerful and privileged members of society? Chapter 7 explains how to pursue the ideal of uptake and a politics of listening while remaining sensitive to the non-ideal conditions of the present. The chapter draws on political behavior research to show that people are capable of meeting the demands of citizenship laid out in this book. Nonetheless, this chapter also defends the practical value of the ideal of uptake, even when our efforts to attain it fall short. Discussing what to do when listening and uptake are consistently denied or beyond our reach, the chapter concludes by considering the critical value of ideal theory in a non-ideal world.

International Political Theory and the Real World

2018 ◽  
pp. 2-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris Brown ◽  
Robyn Eckersley
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Critical Theory ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Political Theory ◽  
Real World ◽  
World Politics ◽  
Ideal Theory ◽  
The Real ◽  
International Political Theory

This chapter introduces and defends the themes around which the Handbook has been constructed: the importance of an engagement between International Political Theory (IPT) and “real-world” politics, and the need to establish links between IPT and the empirical findings of International Relations scholars. The “new realist” critique of “moralism” is examined along with the more general critique of ideal theory, and both are found to hit a very narrow target. The conventional distinction between “critical theory” and “problem-solving theory” is also challenged, and each is defended as an equally important, albeit different, stage in the life of a theory. The second half of this chapter sets out the principles upon which the Handbook is organized, and provides a guide to each section and chapter.

Between Real and Ideal: Documenting Media Art

Leonardo ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
pp. 418-419 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caitlin Jones ◽  
Lizzie Muller
Keyword(s):  
Data Structure ◽  
Real World ◽  
Media Art ◽  
New Approach ◽  
The Real ◽  
Key Features ◽  
The Ideal

This paper describes a new approach to documenting media art which seeks to place in dialogue the artist's intentions and the audience's experience. It explicitly highlights the productive tension between the ideal, conceptual existence of the work, and its actual manifestation through different iterations and exhibitions in the real world. The paper describes how the approach was developed collaboratively during the production of a documentary collection for the artwork Giver of Names, by David Rokeby. It outlines the key features of the approach including artist's interview, audience interviews and data structure.

scholarly journals Ideal and nonideal theory: A conceptual overview

2013 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 151-173
Author(s):  
Milica Trifunovic
Keyword(s):  
John Rawls ◽  
Ideal Theory ◽  
Nonideal Theory ◽  
Law Of Peoples ◽  
Theory Of Justice ◽  
Conceptual Clarification ◽  
The Law ◽  
Conceptual Overview

The article gives conceptual clarification on a distinction between ideal and nonideal theory by analyzing John Rawls? theory as presented in his books ?A Theory of Justice? and ?The Law of Peoples.? The article tries to show the importance of ideal theory, while at the same time pointing out that the distinction, ideal and nonideal, needs further qualification. Further, the article also introduces the distinction of normative and descriptive into ideal and consequently nonideal theory. Through this four-fold distinction it is easier to establish the function of each theory and the separation of work-fields between philosophers, politicians and lawyers.

scholarly journals Biblical Inspirations in Nikifor’s Paintings

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 31-46
Author(s):  
Krzysztof Wałczyk
Keyword(s):  
Real World ◽  
The Self ◽  
Creative Activity ◽  
The Real ◽  
Ideal World ◽  
The World ◽  
Biblical Anthropology ◽  
Divine Order ◽  
The Ideal

Nikifor Krynicki (Epifaniusz Drowniak, 1895-1968) was one of the most popular non-academic Polish painters worldwide. To show the biblical inspiration in his creative output I chose two categories from various thematic aspects: self-portraits and landscapes with a church. There are plenty of Nikifor’s paintings showing him as a teacher, as a celebrating priest, as a bishop, or even as Christ. A pop­ular way to explain this idea of self-portraits is a psychological one: as a form of auto-therapy. This analysis is aims to show a deeper expla­nation for the biblical anthropology. Nikifor’s self-portraits as a priest celebrating the liturgy are a symbol of creative activity understood as a divine re-creation of the world. Such activity needs divine inspira­tion. Here are two paintings to recall: Potrójny autoportret (The triple self-portrait) and Autoportret w trzech postaciach (Self-portrait in three persons). The proper way to understand the self-identification with Christ needs a reference to biblical anthropology. To achieve our re­al-self we need to identify with Christ, whose death and resurrection bring about our whole humanity. The key impression we may have by showing Nikifor’s landscapes with a church is harmony. The painter used plenty of warm colors. Many of the critics are of the opinion that Nikifor created an imaginary, ideal world in his landscapes, the world he wanted to be there and not the real world. The thesis of this article is that Nikifor created not only the ideal world, but he also showed the source of the harmony – the divine order.

The Modern Tradition

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melissa Anne-Marie Curley
Keyword(s):  
Real World ◽  
Church And State ◽  
Nation State ◽  
Pure Land ◽  
Complementary Relationship ◽  
The Real ◽  
Pastoral Letter ◽  
Private Matter ◽  
Modern Nation State ◽  
The Ideal

Abbot Kōnyo’s pastoral letter of 1871 codifies an understanding of the Pure Land as a transcendent realm, attainable only after death, and of faith as a private matter of the heart. This understanding is valuable as a way of negotiating a place for Shinshū in the regime of the modern nation-state. Early Meiji thinkers like Shimaji Mokurai rely on this understanding of religion as internal in arguing for the separation of church and state. Shinshū reformer Kiyozawa Manshi pushes this focus on interiority to its limit, destabilizing the complementary relationship between the Buddhist law and the imperial law that his predecessors sought to secure. During the Taishō, Kiyozawa’s disciple Kaneko Daiei attempts to rearticulate the connection between the ideal Pure Land and the real world, while the Honganji-ha thinker Nonomura Naotarō argues that it is time for the Pure Land tradition to set aside the myth of the Western Paradise.

A & B Companies: Impairment of Goodwill

2004 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 369-376 ◽  
Author(s):  
Veronique G. Frucot ◽  
Leland G. Jordan ◽  
Marc I. Lebow
Keyword(s):  
Real World ◽  
Intangible Assets ◽  
Financial Accounting ◽  
Theoretical Problem ◽  
Problem Statement ◽  
Current Standard ◽  
The Real ◽  
Correct Method ◽  
Real World Problems

Accounting for goodwill has long been a theoretical problem for accountants. Although most businesses possess some goodwill, accountants record it only when a premium is paid in the acquisition of another company. Subsequent to acquisition, valuing goodwill becomes a problem. Statement of Financial Accounting No. 142, Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets (FASB 2001), is the current standard for testing goodwill for impairment. This case is designed to introduce you to the “real-world” problems that many practitioners are likely to encounter while implementing this new standard. The case involves two antagonists: an auditor eager to record an impairment of goodwill and a client even more eager to avoid recording any impairment. You must tactfully address both individuals' arguments and determine the correct method for accounting for goodwill and the standard for testing for impairment per SFAS No. 142.

Introduction

John Rawls ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 53-60
Keyword(s):  
Political Philosophy ◽  
Political Theory ◽  
Real World ◽  
John Rawls ◽  
Political Practice ◽  
The World ◽  
Ideal Standards ◽  
Principles Of Justice ◽  
The Ideal

What is the relation between political theory and political practice? In what ways can political philosophy help people to address real injustices in the world? John Rawls argues that an important role of political philosophy is to identify the ideal standards of justice at which we should aim in political practice. Other philosophers challenge this approach, arguing that Rawls’s idealizations are not useful as a guide for action or, worse, that they are an impediment to addressing actual injustices in the world. They argue, instead, that political philosophy ought to be focused on theorizing about the elimination of existing injustice. Still others argue that principles of justice should be identified without any constraint concerning the possibility of implementation or regulation in the real world at all....

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