scholarly journals Plurality is a conditio per quam of all political life

2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 141-145
Author(s):  
Sanja Bojanic

The book Phenomenology of Plurality: Hannah Arendt on Political Intersubjectivity is a contribution not only to the phenomenological tradition of thought and Hannah Arendt studies, but also political science and, most importantly, political philosophy. Sophie Loidolt advances an intervention that stands in contrast to contemporary phenomenological research which in certain times have had the tendency to perform depoliticized examination of the self and sociality, actually revealing the intention of Phenomenology of Plurality to articulate the numerous elements that comprise the methodological novelty with which Arendt changes the theory of the political.

Problemos ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 69 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alvydas Jokubaitis

Straipsnis skirtas šiuolaikinės politinės filosofijos nuošalyje likusiai sąmokslo problemai. Sąmokslas yra didelis iššūkis pozityvistinei mokslo sampratai. Karlo R. Popperio sąmokslo teorijos kritika prieštarauja pagrindinėms šio autoriaus metodologinėms nuostatoms. Popperio požiūris į sąmokslo teoriją gali būti apibūdintas kaip nenuoseklus ir vienpusiškas. Sąmokslas yra didelis iššūkis liberalizmo politinei filosofijai. Daugelis autorių mano, kad sąmokslas yra mažai reikšmingas liberalios visuomenės gyvenimo elementas. Tai menkai pagrįstas požiūris. Net pačioje liberaliausioje visuomenėje veikia daugybė slaptų susitarimų, viešai nematomų politinio gyvenimo subjektų ir manipuliacijų viešąja nuomone. Kai kurie dabartinių liberalių visuomenių politinio gyvenimo reiškiniai verčia naujai pažvelgti į sąmokslo fenomeną.Reikšminiai žodžiai: sąmokslas, sąmokslo teorija, pozityvizmas, liberalizmas. CONSPIRACY AS A PROBLEM OF POLITICAL SCIENCE AND LIBERAL SOCIETYAlvydas Jokubaitis Summary The article discusses the concept of political conspiracy. This concept is a great challenge to a positivistic understanding of political science. The criticism of conspiracy theory proposed by Karl Popper contradicts the main methodological ideas maintained by the author. His view on conspiracy theory may be described as incoherent and one-sided. Conspiracy is an ambitious challenge to contemporary liberal political philosophy. It is widely asserted that conspiracy is an insignificant element in the political life of a liberal society. This view is hardly substantiated. Even in the most liberal society there are a lot of clandestine agreements, undercover subjects of political life and manipulations of public opinion. Many phenomena of contemporary liberal society encourage us to regard conspiracy from a different perspective.Keywords: conspiracy, conspiracy theory, positivism, liberalism.


2013 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 23-33
Author(s):  
Zoran Dimic

Following the new reading of Kant?s third critique, which was proposed by Hannah Arendt in her Lectures on Kant?s Political Philosophy, in this paper, the author deals with the function of art in the establishment, organization and profiling of political communities. The focus is primarily on the field of music. The analysis begins with ancient philosophers (Pythagoras, Plato, Aristotle) and continues with the problems which relate to artistic shaping of citizens? lives in modern epoch (Rousseau, Kant, Schiller). The goal of the paper is to show that the philosophy of art and the philosophy of music, could be taken as a political philosophy, precisely because the analysis of these phenomena constantly convinces a close intertwining of politics and aesthetics, i.e. art and power, music and power. As a conclusion, we might say that a general aesthetic sense can be seen as a kind of human organ for public aesthetic gathering of citizens. Music, poetry, visual arts, etc., have become tools for the political shaping of citizens, i.e. the tools of their political life.


1989 ◽  
Vol 83 (1) ◽  
pp. 233-239 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clifford Orwin

Political philosophy or science first emerged in response to certain contradictions in political life that thoughtful citizens could not but face. Nowhere is this process better portrayed than in Thucydides, who of all great students of politics remains closest to the perspective of practice, at the same time showing how practice points us toward a place of critical distance from politics. The Greek political world, like all prescientific worlds, acknowledged certain gods who, as rulers, made demands on humankind. But because these were neither the only, nor in practice the most insistent, demands made on humankind, the question necessarily arose as to the gods' status in the event of conflict—as to the relative necessity of these divine demands. From this followed the further question—crucial for the emergence of political science or philosophy—as to whether the political world was ruled indeed by the gods or by necessity.


Author(s):  
Shahrough Akhavi

The doctrine of salvation in Islam centers on the community of believers. Contemporary Muslim political philosophy (or, preferably, political theory) covers a broad expanse that brings under its rubric at least two diverse tendencies: an approach that stresses the integration of religion and politics, and an approach that insists on their separation. Advocates of the first approach seem united in their desire for the “Islamization of knowledge,” meaning that the epistemological foundation of understanding and explanation in all areas of life, including all areas of political life, must be “Islamic.” Thus, one needs to speak of an “Islamic anthropology,” an “Islamic sociology,” an “Islamic political science,” and so on. But there is also a distinction that one may make among advocates of this first approach. Moreover, one can say about many, perhaps most, advocates of the first approach that they feel an urgency to apply Islamic law throughout all arenas of society. This article focuses on the Muslim tradition of political philosophy and considers the following themes: the individual and society, the state, and democracy.


2010 ◽  
Vol 112 (2) ◽  
pp. 556-575
Author(s):  
Gert Biesta

Background/Context In discussions about democratic education, there is a strong tendency to see the role of education as that of the preparation of children and young people for their future participation in democratic life. A major problem with this view is that it relies on the idea that the guarantee for democracy lies in the existence of a properly educated citizenry so that once all citizens have received their education, democracy will simply follow. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study The question that is explored in this article is whether it is possible to think of the relationship between education and democracy differently than in terms of preparation. This is important not only to be able to acknowledge the political nature of democratic education but also to be able to acknowledge the political “foundation” of democratic politics itself. Research Design The argumentation in the article is developed through a critical analysis and discussion of the work of Hannah Arendt, with a specific focus on her ideas about the relationship between education and politics and her views on the role of understanding in politics. Findings/Results Arendt's writings on the relationship between education and politics seem to be informed by a “developmentalistic” perspective in which it is maintained that the child is not yet ready for political life, so education has to be separated from politics and seen as a preparation for future participation in political life. Arendt's writings on politics and the role of understanding in political life point in a different direction. They articulate what it means to exist politically—that is, to exist together in plurality—and highlight that political existence is neither based on, nor can be guaranteed by, moral qualities such as tolerance and respect. Conclusions/Recommendations The main conclusion of the article is that democratic education should not be seen as the preparation of citizens for their future participation in political life. Rather, it should focus on creating opportunities for political existence inside and outside schools. Rather than thinking of democratic education as learning for political existence, it is argued that the focus of our educational endeavours should be on how we can learn from political existence.


Author(s):  
Mikhail E. Razinkov

On the basis of published and previously unexplored archival materials from Voronezh, Orel, Kursk, Tambov, Bryansk, the self-organization and relationship with the government of entrepreneurs of the Central Black Earth Region in the period from spring 1917 to summer 1918 is studied. Studying this social group is important for understanding the balance of power in the region. The author comes to the conclusion that entrepreneurs, despite their active participation in political life in the spring and summer of 1917, due to the preservation of traditional ideas about power and the desire to protect and enhance their rights, could not have a significant impact on the development of the political situation in the region. Entrepreneurs did not enjoy exclusive support from government bodies, including government, which refutes the concept that existed in Soviet historiography about the bourgeois nature of the February regime. Moreover, in resolving conflicts, the authorities in 1917 tried to take into account, first of all, the interests of workers. This situation worsened even more for the bourgeoisie with the coming to power of the Bolsheviks and Left Socialist-Revolutionaries, who not only supported workers' demands, but also openly robbed entrepreneurs with the help of indemnities. Nevertheless, in order to maintain peace, the Soviet government (especially by the summer of 1918) tried to resolve relations between workers and employers for mutual benefit. At the same time, during the period under study, conflicts between workers and employers reached a high intensity relatively rarely, leaving room for agreements and dialogue, which, however, narrowed.


2014 ◽  
Vol 53 (1) ◽  
pp. 139-159 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clifford Angell Bates

Political theorists today are addressing issues of global concern confronting state systems and in so doing are often forced to confront the concept of Homo sapiens as a ‘political animal’. Thus theorists considering Aristotle’s Politics attempt to transcend his polis-centric focus and make the case that Aristotle offers ways to address these global concerns by focusing on Empire. This article, contra Dietz et al., argues that Aristotle’s political science is first and foremost a science of politeia and that this approach to the operation and working of political systems is far superior to recent attempts at regime analysis in comparative politics. Thus Aristotle’s mode of examining political systems offers much fruit for those interested in approaching political phenomena with precision and depth as diverse manifestations of the political communities formed by the species Aristotle called the ‘political animal’. From this perspective, focusing on the politeia constituting each political community permits an analysis of contemporary transformations of political life without distorting what is being analyzed.


1981 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 163-181 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan Ware

The aim of this paper is to explicate the concept of manipulation, to show why it is of central importance in democratic theory, and to explain its relation to power. At first glance this might seem an unusual objective, since it remains one of the least studied of the concepts that are usually recognized as members of the power or control ‘family’. Yet allegations of the existence of manipulative practices, and demands for intervention by public agencies to prevent them, are commonplace in political life. Political science and political philosophy have contributed little to the understanding of how, for example, the following four claims about manipulation are to be evaluated.


Cogito ◽  
1994 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 290-291
Author(s):  
Anthony Rudd ◽  

2014 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Krzynówek-Arndt

AbstractThe paper proposes to examine the variety of ways political theorists understand the political importance of Wittgenstein’s thought. Any analysis of Wittgensteinian political philosophy start from different understanding of this philosophy of language and possible ends of philosophical activity. However, each attempt to interpret the significance of Wittgenstein’s work to political thought anticipates or is linked to a particular conception of the self, a particular conception of the human being that is not easy to reconcile with the Wittgenstein of Tractatus and the Wittgenstein of Philosophical Investigations. For that reasons any Wittgensteinian approach to political thought should make an attention to the way Wittgenstein discusses on the self, the “I”, the way we use the word “I”.


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