Bridging Ideal and Non-Ideal Theory

2017 ◽  
Vol 66 (4) ◽  
pp. 887-902 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandru Volacu
Keyword(s):  
Political Theory ◽  
Ideal Theory ◽  
Two Dimensional ◽  
Current State ◽  
The World ◽  
Normative Models ◽  
The Ideal

Many of the recent methodological debates within political theory have focused on the ideal/non-ideal theory distinction. While ideal theorists recognise the need to develop an account of the transition between the two levels of theorising, no general proposal has been advanced thus far. In this article, I aim to bridge this conceptual gap. Towards this end, I first reconstruct the ideal/non-ideal theory distinction within a simplified two-dimensional framework, which captures the primary meanings usually attributed to it. Subsequently, I use this framework to provide an algorithm for the bidirectional transition between ideal and non-ideal theory, based on the incremental derivation of normative models. The approach outlined illuminates the various ways in which principles derived under highly idealised assumptions might be distorted by the circumstances of our current world and illustrates the various paths which we can pursue in moving from our current state of the world to an ideal one.

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....

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.

The Oxford Handbook of International Political Theory

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Political Theory ◽  
World Politics ◽  
Normative Theory ◽  
Ideal Theory ◽  
Current State ◽  
Main Emphasis ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
International Political Theory ◽  
The Relationship

This Handbook—one of a new series—sets out to describe the current state of the art in International Political Theory, and to advance this discourse into new areas. A key feature of the Handbook is the way in which its contributors engage with “real politics”: although the importance of developing so-called ideal theory is acknowledged in several chapters, the main emphasis of the book is on an engagement with empirical data and real-world politics. Conventional distinctions such as that between “critical theory” and “problem-solving theory” are challenged—the underlying contention is that, ultimately, all theory is problem-solving, and an emphasis on norms and normative theory cannot be understood as separate from so-called positive International Relations Theory. The contributors have approached the themes of the Handbook from different angles in relation to a wide range of different topics in ways that showcase the diversity of perspectives and traditions that make up the field of International Political Theory. The Handbook consists of fifty chapters organized into nine sections, covering History, Traditions and Perspectives, International Justice, Violence and Conflict, Humanitarianism and Human Rights, Democracy, Accountability and Global Governance, Ethics and International Public Policy, New Directions in International Political Theory, and, finally, a section which puts in question the relationship between International Political Theory and Real Politics.

The Tyranny of the Ideal

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerald Gaus
Keyword(s):  
Political Philosophy ◽  
Moral Life ◽  
Moral Inquiry ◽  
Open Society ◽  
The Past ◽  
Theories Of Justice ◽  
The World ◽  
Diverse Society ◽  
Just Society ◽  
The Ideal

This book lays out a vision for how we should theorize about justice in a diverse society. It shows how free and equal people, faced with intractable struggles and irreconcilable conflicts, might share a common moral life shaped by a just framework. The book argues that if we are to take diversity seriously and if moral inquiry is sincere about shaping the world, then the pursuit of idealized and perfect theories of justice—essentially, the entire production of theories of justice that has dominated political philosophy for the past forty years—needs to change. Drawing on recent work in social science and philosophy, the book points to an important paradox: only those in a heterogeneous society—with its various religious, moral, and political perspectives—have a reasonable hope of understanding what an ideally just society would be like. However, due to its very nature, this world could never be collectively devoted to any single ideal. The book defends the moral constitution of this pluralistic, open society, where the very clash and disagreement of ideals spurs all to better understand what their personal ideals of justice happen to be. Presenting an original framework for how we should think about morality, this book rigorously analyzes a theory of ideal justice more suitable for contemporary times.

Pengaruh Inflasi, BI Rate, NPF, dan BOPO terhadap Profitabilitas Bank Umum Syariah di Indonesia

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 133-153
Author(s):  
Toufan Aldian Syah
Keyword(s):  
Banking Industry ◽  
External Factors ◽  
Coefficient Of Determination ◽  
Muslim Country ◽  
Internal Factors ◽  
Slowing Down ◽  
The World ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Test Correlation ◽  
The Ideal

Banking industry has a very important role in economic development in a country. Indonesia, which is the largest Muslim country in the world, certainly has the prospect of the development of Sharia Banking Industry is very good in the future. However, the development of Sharia Bank has been slowing down in recent years and the profitability of sharia comercial banking is still below the ideal value. This study aims to determine the internal factors and external factors that affect the profitability of Sharia Bank in the year of January 2012 until August 2017. The variables used in this study are ROA, Inflation, NPF, and BOPO. The data used is aggregate data of all Sharia Commercial Banks recorded at Bank Indonesia. Measurement of Statistic Description, F-Test, T-Test, Correlation Coefficient, Coefficient of Determination and Multiple Linear Regression using IBM SPSS 21 software. The results showed that significant negative effect of BI rate, NPF and BOPO was found, while Inflation variable showed negative but not significant. Overall, the above variables affect the ROA of 87.7%, while 12.3% is likely to be influenced by other factors.

DEVELOPMENT OF THE WORLD MARKET OF SERVICES IN TURBULENCE CONDITIONS AND CHANGES

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Larysa Nosach ◽  
◽  
Victoria Morgun ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
International Trade ◽  
Service Sector ◽  
World Market ◽  
Global Dimension ◽  
Trade In Services ◽  
Current State ◽  
The World

The author's research of the current state and features of the development of the world market for services in conditions of turbulence of world processes was carried; the world leaders of the service sector in the global dimension and leaders of the most dynamic articles of service categories were identified; the share of world exports of services by countries by the level of their economic development was justified; weaknesses in the assessment of indicators of international trade in services were identified; the research is based on UNCTAD statistics.

Current State and Trends of Export and Import of Fruits and Vegetables in the World

2019 ◽  
pp. 56-63
Author(s):  
Yu.I. Agirbov ◽  
◽  
R.R. Mukhametzyanov ◽  
D.V. Storozhev ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fruits And Vegetables ◽  
Current State ◽  
The World

Getting Real?

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Goodhart
Keyword(s):  
Political Theory ◽  
Social Relations ◽  
Social Transformation ◽  
Critical Analysis ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
Political Analysis ◽  
Political Theories ◽  
The World ◽  
Political Norms

Chapter 3 engages with realist political theory throughcritical dialogues with leading realist theorists. It argues that realist political theories are much more susceptible to conservatism, distortion, and idealization than their proponents typically acknowledge. Realism is often not very realistic either in its descriptions of the world or in its political analysis. While realism enables the critical analysis of political norms (the analysis of power and unmasking of ideology), it cannot support substantive normative critique of existing social relations or enable prescriptive theorizing. These two types of critique must be integrated into a single theoretical framework to facilitate emancipatory social transformation.

The World Underfoot

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hallie M. Franks
Keyword(s):  
The Political ◽  
Classical Period ◽  
Social Fabric ◽  
Physiological Reaction ◽  
The Social ◽  
The World ◽  
Foreign Land ◽  
Social Gathering ◽  
Set Up ◽  
The Ideal

In the Greek Classical period, the symposium—the social gathering at which male citizens gathered to drink wine and engage in conversation—was held in a room called the andron. From couches set up around the perimeter of the andron, symposiasts looked inward to the room’s center, which often was decorated with a pebble mosaic floor. These mosaics provided visual treats for the guests, presenting them with images of mythological scenes, exotic flora, dangerous beasts, hunting parties, or the specter of Dionysos, the god of wine, riding in his chariot or on the back of a panther. This book takes as its subject these mosaics and the context of their viewing. Relying on discourses in the sociology and anthropology of space, it argues that the andron’s mosaic imagery actively contributed to a complex, metaphorical experience of the symposium. In combination with the ritualized circling of the wine cup from couch to couch around the room and the physiological reaction to wine, the images of mosaic floors called to mind other images, spaces, or experiences, and, in doing so, prompted drinkers to reimagine the symposium as another kind of event—a nautical voyage, a journey to a foreign land, the circling heavens or a choral dance, or the luxury of an abundant past. Such spatial metaphors helped to forge the intimate bonds of friendship that are the ideal result of the symposium and that make up the political and social fabric of the Greek polis.

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