Normative Methodology

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Russell Hardin
Keyword(s):  
Political Theory ◽  
Social Theory ◽  
Social Order ◽  
Science Inquiry ◽  
Value Theory ◽  
Shared Value ◽  
Classical Economics ◽  
The Core ◽  
Large Society ◽  
The Face

This article shows that one should start social science inquiry with individuals, their motivations, and the kinds of transactions they undertake with one another. It specifically discusses four basic schools of social theory: conflict, shared-values, exchange, and coordination theories. Conflict theories almost inherently lead into normative discussions of the justification of coercion in varied political contexts. Religious visions of social order are usually shared-value theories and interest is the chief means used by religions to guide people. Individualism is at the core of an exchange theory. Because the first three theories are generally in conflict in any moderately large society, coercion is a sine qua non for social order. Coordination interactions are especially important for politics and political theory and probably for sociology, although exchange relations might be most of economics, or at least of classical economics. Shared-value theory may possibly turn into the most commonly asserted alternative to rational choice in this time as contractarian reasoning recedes from center stage in the face of challenges to the story of contracting that lies behind it and the difficulty of believing people actually think they have consciously agreed to their political order.

scholarly journals Buddhist Modernism Underway in Bhutan: Gross National Happiness and Buddhist Political Theory

Religions ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 297
Author(s):  
Jessica Locke
Keyword(s):  
Political Theory ◽  
Political Thought ◽  
Ethnic Politics ◽  
Gross National Happiness ◽  
Political Literature ◽  
The Core ◽  
Buddhist Modernism ◽  
The Face ◽  
National Happiness ◽  
Constitutional Monarchy

This article synthesizes and clarifies the significance of the last half-century’s developments in Bhutan’s politics within the frame of Buddhist political thought. During this time, Bhutan has held a curious position in the international community, both celebrated as a Buddhist Shangri-La defending its culture in the face of globalized modernity, and at times, criticized for defending its heritage too conservatively at the expense of ethnic minorities’ human rights. In other words, Bhutan is praised for being anti-modern and illiberal and denounced for being anti-modern and illiberal. As an alternative to understanding Bhutan vis-à-vis this unhelpful schema, and in order to better grasp what exactly is underway in Bhutan’s political developments, I read Bhutan’s politics from within the tradition of Buddhist political literature. I argue that the theory of governance driving Bhutan’s politics is an example of Buddhist modernism—both ancient and modern, deeply Buddhist and yet manifestly inflected by western liberalism. To elucidate Bhutan’s contiguity with (and occasional departures from) the tradition of Buddhist political thought, I read two politically-themed Buddhist texts, Nāgārjuna’s Precious Garland and Mipham’s Treatise on Ethics for Kings, drawing out their most relevant points on Buddhist governance. I then use these themes as a lens for analyzing three significant political developments in Bhutan: its recent transition to constitutional monarchy, its signature policy of Gross National Happiness, and its fraught ethnic politics. Reading Bhutan’s politics in this manner reveals the extent to which Buddhist political thought is underway in this moment. Bhutan’s Buddhist-modernist theory of governance is a hybrid political tradition that evinces a lasting commitment to the core values of Buddhist political thought while at the same time being responsive to modern geopolitical and intellectual influences.

Some Central Elements of Socratic Political Theory

2001 ◽  
Vol 18 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 27-40
Author(s):  
Donald Morrison
Keyword(s):  
Political Theory ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Value Theory ◽  
The Core ◽  
Central Elements ◽  
Socratic Intellectualism ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The City ◽  
Dimensions Of Variation

The fundamental concepts of Socratic political theory are statesmanship or the art of politics, and the good of the city. Important scholars have denied that, on Socrates’ view, statesmanship as such is possible. But Socratic intellectualism does not commit him to the view that the methods of politics, such as legislation and punishment, are useless. The Socratic tradition in political theory is rich and varied. Among the dimensions of variation are: the relationship between statesmanship and other arts of rule; what are the limits of reasonable human ambition; and the relationship between the well-being of the city and the well-being of its parts. At the core of Socratic moral and political theory is a commitment to choose what is truly good. Varieties of Socratic value theory arise from the different ways in which this commitment is interpreted, and the range of realms to which it is applied.

scholarly journals Tid til IKKE at tale om forskel

2002 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Jenkins
Keyword(s):  
Social Identity ◽  
Social Theory ◽  
Human Life ◽  
The Core ◽  
The Face ◽  
Core Questions ◽  
Similarity And Difference

This paper outlines the currently-dominant ‘difference paradigm’ in the study of social identity, and argues that, for three reasons, it is time to move on. First, to concentrate on difference makes it impossible to understand what identity is and how it works. Second, to concentrate on difference is to fly in the face of the observable realities of everyday human life. Third, to concentrate on difference makes it impossible to deal with the core questions of social theory, or even, perhaps, to engage in social theory at all. It is proposed that a model of identification as simultaneously a matter of similarity and difference is required if these criticisms are to be met.

Frantz Fanon and the decolonial turn in psychology: from modern/colonial methods to the decolonial attitude

2017 ◽  
Vol 47 (4) ◽  
pp. 432-441 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nelson Maldonado-Torres
Keyword(s):  
Political Theory ◽  
Social Theory ◽  
Knowledge Production ◽  
Frantz Fanon ◽  
Human Sciences ◽  
Black Skin ◽  
The World ◽  
The Face

Frantz Fanon, one of the foremost theoreticians of racism, colonization, and decolonization was a psychiatrist by training who wrote about psychology, social theory, and philosophy, among other areas. In his “work in psychology” Black Skin, White Masks, Fanon declares that he will “leave methods to the botanists and mathematicians.” In the face of colonial methods and attitudes, he searches for a decolonial attitude that seeks to “build the world of you.” With the search for this attitude at its core, Fanon’s corpus makes the case for a decolonial turn in psychology that poses the primacy of attitude over method in knowledge production. In such a form, psychology becomes a decolonial transdisciplinary practice that is close to decolonized versions of other fields in the human sciences, such as philosophy, sociology, history, literature, and political theory, as well as to decolonial activism and praxis.

scholarly journals Confounding Complexity of Machine Action

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 87-100
Author(s):  
Henrik Skaug Sætra
Keyword(s):  
Moral Hazard ◽  
Political Theory ◽  
Social Order ◽  
Philosophical Analysis ◽  
Ethics Of Technology ◽  
Beneficial Effects ◽  
The Core ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Core Concepts

In this article, the core concepts in Thomas Hobbes's framework of representation and responsibility are applied to the question of machine responsibility and the responsibility gap and the retribution gap. The method is philosophical analysis and involves the application of theories from political theory to the ethics of technology. A veil of complexity creates the illusion that machine actions belong to a mysterious and unpredictable domain, and some argue that this unpredictability absolves designers of responsibility. Such a move would create a moral hazard related to both (a) strategically increasing unpredictability and (b) taking more risk if responsible humans do not have to bear the costs of the risks they create. Hobbes's theory allows for the clear and arguably fair attribution of action while allowing for necessary development and innovation. Innovation will be allowed as long as it is compatible with social order and provided the beneficial effects outweigh concerns about increased risk. Questions of responsibility are here considered to be political questions.

Political Philosophy and Nationalism

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruhtan Yalçıner
Keyword(s):  
Political Philosophy ◽  
Political Theory ◽  
Social Theory ◽  
Critical Social Theory ◽  
Universal Theory ◽  
The Core ◽  
Political Sciences ◽  
Categorical Structure ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Core Issues

Theoretical debates for a better definition of nationalism have played a key role in understanding the core issues of history, sociology, and political sciences. Classical modernist theories of nationalism mainly synthesized former sociological and historical approaches with a political science perspective. Within the classical modernist perspective, the necessity and importance of transformation from traditional culture and society to a horizontal one in the agenda of modernization was characterized as a universal consequence of industrialization. Some of the foremost complexities and problems involved in the classical and contemporary studies of nation and nationalism include the logic of dualization; the definition of nationalism with reference to its substantive and paradigmatic nature; and whether it is possible to concretely construct a universal theory of nationalism. Both classical and contemporary theories of nations and nationalism can be postulated with reference to two major theoretical sides. Universalist theories of nations and nationalism focus on the categorical structure of nationalism in conceptual grounds while being associated with (neo)positivistic methodological points of departure. On the other hand, particularist theories of nationalism underline the immanent characteristics of nations and nationalism by going through nominalism and relativism in methodological grounds. Considering the conceptual, epistemological, and theoretical contributions of “postclassical approach to nationalism” in the 1990s, three major contributions in contemporary nationalism studies can be marked: the increasing research on gender, sexuality, and feminist social theory; the framework of “new social theory” or “critical social theory”; and the discussions derived from political philosophy and normative political theory.

scholarly journals Some Current Controversies in Critical Legal Studies

2011 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 290-299 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Tushnet
Keyword(s):  
Political Theory ◽  
Social Theory ◽  
Social Order ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Social Thought ◽  
Critical Legal Studies ◽  
Strategic Action ◽  
Legal Studies ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Theories

The first few years in the development of critical legal studies (CLS) saw an ongoing discussion of an issue that was framed as “rationalism v. irrationalism”. The labels, it now appears, were misleading, for the discussion can be better understood as concerning the utility - for purposes of orienting strategic action as well as of understanding the social order - of relatively large-scale social theories in the traditions of Marx and Weber. The distinctive contribution of CLS to leftist social thought, and the embodiment of the fact that one side in the earlier discussion more or less prevailed, is its insistence that a leftist social and political theory does not need to be grounded in that sort of social theory.

scholarly journals Bruno Leoni’s Concept of Law and Representation in The Cyber Age: A Cybernetic Model

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 56-65
Author(s):  
Mario De Benedetti
Keyword(s):  
Political Theory ◽  
Social Order ◽  
Information Society ◽  
The Political ◽  
Digital Information ◽  
Political Arena ◽  
Cybernetic Model ◽  
Norbert Wiener ◽  
Law And Politics ◽  
Concept Of Law

AbstractThe purpose of this article is to contextualize Bruno Leoni’s political theory within the Digital Information Society, a new dimension of public participation in the political arena and a sign of the democratic transition through new forms of involvement by public opinion. In particular, the evolution of the Information Society will be briefly examined starting from the studies of Fritz Machlup, considered its progenitor, to pass to the examination of the Leonian concept of law and politics in the technological society, with reference to Norbert Wiener and Karl Deutsch’s cybernetic theory. This paper will attempt to describe the evolutive process of political participation in democratic society by reinterpreting the thought of Bruno Leoni concerning Democracy, the State and the homo telematicus in the digital social order.

Material Selection for CFRP-Aluminium-Foam-Sandwiches Manufactured by a PUR Spraying Process

2017 ◽  
Vol 742 ◽  
pp. 317-324
Author(s):  
Peter Rupp ◽  
Peter Elsner ◽  
Kay André Weidenmann
Keyword(s):  
Manufacturing Process ◽  
Sandwich Structures ◽  
Bending Stiffness ◽  
Effective Density ◽  
Sandwich Composites ◽  
Open Cell ◽  
The Core ◽  
Bending Modulus ◽  
The Face ◽  
Spraying Process

Sandwich structures are ideal for planar parts which require a high bending stiffness ata low weight. Usually, sandwich structures are manufactured using a joining step, connecting theface sheets with the core. The PUR spraying process allows to include the infiltration of the facesheet fibres, the curing of the matrix and the joining of the face sheets to the core within one processstep. Furthermore, this manufacturing process allows for the use of open cell core structures withoutinfiltrating the core, which enables a comparison of different material configurations, assembled bythe same manufacturing process. The selection of these materials, with the aim of the lowest possiblemass of the sandwich composite at a constant bending stiffness, is displayed systematically within thiswork.It could be shown that the bending modulus calculated from the component properties matched theexperimentally achieved values well, with only few exceptions. The optimum of the bending modulus,the face sheet thickness and the resulting effective density could be calculated and also matched theexperimental values well. The mass-specific bending stiffness of the sandwich composites with corestructures of open cell aluminium foams was higher than with closed cell aluminium foams, but wasexceeded by sandwich composites with Nomex honeycomb cores.

Devolution processes and the theory of historical development by S. Sanderson

2021 ◽  
pp. 72-77
Author(s):  
A.V. Verkhoturov ◽  
◽  
A.A. Obukhov
Keyword(s):  
Historical Development ◽  
World System ◽  
Human Society ◽  
Evolutionary Trend ◽  
The Core ◽  
The World ◽  
The Face ◽  
American Historian ◽  
Immanuel Wallerstein ◽  
Main Ideas

Analyzed is one of the most comprehensive modern approaches to the problem of the existence of evolution of human society as such and of specific human communities, i.e. “General Theory of Historical Development” by American historian and sociologist Stephen Sanderson. While agreeing, in general, with its main ideas, we believe that it is important to note that the issue of existence of individual communities demonstrating devolution (regression to an earlier historical state), stagnation or degeneration at certain historical stages is practically ignored in the framework of the theory under consideration. This creates its vulnerability in the face of specific empirical data, indicating a deviation from the evolutionary trend. We believe that overcoming this theoretical difficulty is possible in the process of comprehending the theory of S. Sanderson in the context of ideas of the world-system approach of Immanuel Wallerstein. We want to show that examples of devolution, stagnation and degeneration of societies do not deny general progressive evolutionary tendencies, characteristic for the world-system as a whole, but only indicate the transition of a particular society to a lower level within the world-system (from the core to the semi-periphery, or from the semi-periphery to the periphery).

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