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.

The Rule of Law: The New Leviathan?

1999 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 151-168 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olufemi Taiwo
Keyword(s):  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Philosophical Tradition ◽  
Global Level ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
The World ◽  
Social Ordering ◽  
Soviet Communism ◽  
Just Society ◽  
Different Parts ◽  
The Ideal

These are the best of times for the Rule of Law. In all parts of the world, states, governments, and individuals, have found in the rule of law, at various times, a rallying cry, a principle of social ordering that promises the dawn of a just society that its supporters in Euro-American democracies claim to be its crowning glory, or a set of practices that is a sine qua non of a good society. The pursuit of the ideal is nothing new: after all, even those states where it was observed more often in its breach always paid lip service to it. And the defunct socialist countries of Eastern Europe, while they existed, could not escape its lure even as they sought to give it a different nomenclature—socialist legality. The movement towards the rule of law has accelerated after the collapse of Soviet communism and its foster progeny in different parts of the world. Given the present momentum towards the rule of law and the widespread enthusiasm with which it is being embraced and pursued at the global level, some would consider it somewhat churlish for anyone to inject any note of doubt or caution. This is more so when such a note emanates from Marxist quarters. But that is precisely what I wish to do in this essay. Although I do not intend to rain on the rule of law’s entire parade, I surely propose to rain on a segment of it: the Marxist float. I propose to look at the issue within the context of the Marxist politico-philosophical tradition.

scholarly journals Young People: Between Literature and Advanced Technologies

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-23
Author(s):  
Ahmad Idris Asmaradhani
Keyword(s):  
Life Choices ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Human Essence ◽  
The Past ◽  
Technological Advances ◽  
The World ◽  
Simple Question ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Ideal

In the eyes of literature, existentialist thinkers focus on the question of concrete human existence and the conditions of this existence rather than hypothesizing a human essence, stressing that the human essence is determined through life choices. The ideal, however, is that humans exist in a state of distance from the world that they nonetheless remain in the midst of. This distance is what enables humans to project meaning into the disinterested world of in-itselfs. This projected meaning remains fragile, constantly facing breakdown for any reason— from a tragedy to a particularly insightful moment. In such a breakdown, humans are put face to face with the naked meaninglessness of the world, and the results can be devastating. It is porposed that literature and the media combined have a powerful impact on those who wish to truly realize and understand their message. By studying, reading, learning, experiencing, and knowing the culture of the present and those cultures of the past then one can understand the ideas of life and how the two work together to help us better understand each other and ourselves. In what ways our present culture, our technological advances, and the media shape who we are as individuals is not a simple question. The answer seems to elusively hide in a world filled with cultural complexities. But, it is no secret to find that literature is a source of power. It does influence, guide, and shape the human become as they continue their journey through life. Hence, since human are never without the influence of literature, they will always have factors working to modify the human being. However, it is their choice as to how they internalize what they are exposed to, and in turn, it is up to them to determine the individual that ultimately prevails.

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....

Advancing from the Citadel

2018 ◽  
pp. 241-250
Author(s):  
Gerald Gaus
Keyword(s):  
Open Society ◽  
Cooperation And Competition ◽  
Moral Ideals ◽  
Diverse Society ◽  
The Ideal

This chapter argues that the well-ordered society is a dangerous illusion. The very aim that the ideal theorist cherished, to know justice and just social states as well as possible, requires an open, diverse society, in which innumerable perspectives simultaneously cooperate and compete, share and conflict. In this society there will be a crisscrossing network of communities exploring and refining moral ideals and gaining insights into their own ideals by their interactions with others. In order to be successful and robust, the Open Society must be based on a moral constitution that provides the basis of a practice of responsibility and accountability among a maximally wide array of perspectives, allowing us to reap the fruits of the cooperation and competition that diversity allows.

Aborigines in Multilingual Australia

1984 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 3-12
Author(s):  
J. Budby
Keyword(s):  
Multicultural Education ◽  
Government Policy ◽  
Working Party ◽  
Department Of Education ◽  
Australian Population ◽  
The Past ◽  
Important Principle ◽  
The World ◽  
Equal Recognition ◽  
The Ideal

(Address given to the World Education Fellowship – Queensland Section, 28 July 1983).The topic chosen for discussion at this gathering is entitled, ‘Towards a Multilingual Australia’. Because of my particular upbringing, experience and knowledge, my presentation will specifically focus on the place of Aborigines within such a society. My fellow speaker will broaden the issue by outlining aspects of the wider Australian society and their relationship to the new ideal. Since we constitute between one and two per cent of the Australian population, perhaps I should limit myself to this proportion of time in presenting my paper. However, I shall adopt an important principle of multilingualism, namely, that of equal recognition, and spend considerably more time in presenting an Aboriginal viewpoint on the contribution my peoples can make to a multilingual Australia. I hope that my fellow speaker does not permit me to ‘hog the microphone’ for too long as I am sure that he will have some important perspectives to add to tonight’s discussion.To present my people’s place within a multilingual Australia I believe it is necessary to present the current attitudes. The current attitudes can be attributed largely to what has occurred in the past. The settlement of Australia has significance. Therefore I will begin my presentation by outlining the structure of the Australian population and how it came to be. Then to present the Aboriginal view of this and the attitude to the suggested new Australia. To do this I will diverge from the major topic initially to express a view of multiculturalism. Language is an important component of culture and therefore one cannot easily divorce one from the other. A multilingual Australia must also be multicultural, in my opinion. Most Aborigines have a particular attitude to this new Government policy. My people’s attitude will be defined and made explicit through the historical perspective and through a critical analysis of statements made by three groups on multiculturalism. The three groups who have made a statement include, the Working Party on Multiculturalism, established by the Queensland Department of Education, the Commonwealth Education Portfolio, and the Committee on Multicultural Education who reported to the Commonwealth Schools Commission. Having established the current Aboriginal attitude, I will provide some strategic ideas as to how I consider the ideal of multilingual Australia can be achieved. In providing strategies I hope to leave food for thought for later discussion and review.

scholarly journals Ukrainian Religious Missionary Mission in its Research Interpretations

2008 ◽  
pp. 147-174
Author(s):  
Vitaliy Volodymyrovych Shevchenko
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Group ◽  
Ethnic Groups ◽  
The Other ◽  
Anatomical Features ◽  
The Past ◽  
The World ◽  
Work Psychology ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
Determining Factor ◽  
The Ideal

It is well known that all peoples, without exception, have for centuries formed their own ideas about the world, the cosmos, man, his otherworldly and other dimensions. Associated with factors of different vital values, they accumulate the energy of an ethno-national spirit, attest to the reflections of an individual, as well as the tribe, nation, nation over the ideal aspirations that are usually united around consecrated, close and native ethnic groups. On the other hand, being a subject of admiration and reflection, holiness and inspiration, sacred importance inevitably influences the formation of the culture and art of a particular ethnic group, its life and behavior, aptitude and character, and thus determine the originality of its thinking, worldview and experience. To put it another way, for centuries and still largely, despite the loss of the world of theocentricity as a determining factor in civilizational development, religious imperatives acted and acted as the axis of history, one of the fundamental principles with which humanity binds the past and now comprehends the future. "Every nation," Gustave LeBon notes in his work, "Psychology of Nations and Masses," has a mental structure as stable as its anatomical features, and it is from him that his feelings, his thoughts, his institutions, his beliefs and his art »

scholarly journals ¿Por qué la arquitectura es música congelada? Schelling, Le Corbusier y Xenakis

2016 ◽  
pp. 39-60
Author(s):  
Virginia López-Domínguez
Keyword(s):  
A Priori ◽  
Le Corbusier ◽  
The Real ◽  
The Past ◽  
The World ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
Architecture And Music ◽  
The Ideal

Architecture is frozen music is a phrase which has been transformed by use, but it has also been taken away the importance it has for an esthetic ontology and a different conception of the world, and that is why its deepness and meaning are analyzed through Schelling, Le Corbusier and Xenakis in order to show why architecture is frozen music. Here architecture and music have a correlation that cannot be perceived at first, which places architecture itself in a quest for beauty, when in the past it only used to be taken into account in the criteria of the useful. The narrow connection between architecture and music dwells on the level of a priori regarding structure and mathematics, but also shows the relation with the sensitive, the real and the ideal, which means that it involves the fluctuation between the objective and the subjective that can be shown regarding the execution of the work.

The Open Society and Its Complexities

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerald Gaus
Keyword(s):  
Political Philosophy ◽  
Liberal Democracy ◽  
Democratic Governance ◽  
Moral Justification ◽  
Moral Foundations ◽  
Formal Models ◽  
Open Society ◽  
Moral Science ◽  
Self Organized ◽  
Diverse Society

Two decades ago it was widely assumed that liberal democracy and the Open Society had won their century-long struggle against authoritarianism. Although subsequent events have shocked many, F. A. Hayek would not have been surprised that people are in many ways disoriented by the society they have created. For him, the Open Society was a precarious achievement, in many ways at odds with the deepest moral sentiments. He argued that the Open Society runs against humans’ evolved attraction to “tribalism”; that the Open Society is too complex for moral justification; and that its self-organized complexity defies attempts at democratic governance. In this wide-ranging work, Gerald Gaus re-examines Hayek’s analyses. Drawing on work in social and moral science, Gaus argues that Hayek’s program was prescient and sophisticated, always identifying real and pressing problems, though he underestimated the resources of human morality and the Open Society to cope with the challenges he perceived. Gaus marshals formal models and empirical evidence to show that the Open Society is grounded on the moral foundations of human cooperation originating in the distant evolutionary past, but has built upon them a complex and diverse society that requires rethinking both the nature of moral justification and the meaning of democratic self-governance. In these fearful, angry, and inward-looking times, when political philosophy has itself become a hostile exchange between ideological camps, The Open Society and Its Complexities shows how moral and ideological diversity, far from being the enemy of a free and open society, can be its foundation.

Partial Equality

Dialogue ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 775-798
Author(s):  
Colin M. MacLeod
Keyword(s):  
Political Philosophy ◽  
Equality Of Opportunity ◽  
Difference Principle ◽  
Historical Injustice ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Current Distributions ◽  
Theories Of Justice ◽  
The World ◽  
The Rich ◽  
The Difference

Despite the diversity and important disagreement which characterizes theorizing in political philosophy, most contemporary theories of justice yield remarkably similar verdicts on the moral adequacy of current distributions of wealth, income, and opportunity. By almost any standard of justice defended today, we live in a profoundly unjust world. It is obvious, for instance, that utilitarianism, the difference principle, equality of resources, and even modest-sounding principles of equality of opportunity all condemn the yawning gulf which separates the rich and the poor of the world. Even Nozick's recommendation that the difference principle be used as a rough principle for rectifying historical injustice indicates how little immediate practical difference there is between Rawls's theory and its supposed libertarian antithesis. All this suggests that there is a surprising theoretical consensus about the immediate practical demands of justice. In short, moving toward justice requires substantially reducing the dramatic inequalities which plague our world.

Federal world government: The road to peace and justice?

2012 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 220-238 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronald Tinnevelt
Keyword(s):  
Political Philosophy ◽  
Critical Analysis ◽  
General Rule ◽  
World Government ◽  
World State ◽  
The Road ◽  
The Past ◽  
Peace And Justice ◽  
The World ◽  
Centralization And Decentralization

Within contemporary legal and political philosophy there is nothing more unpopular than defending a world state. It seems food for thought for writers like Huxley or Wells, but not a topic that deserves serious philosophical reflection. Fortunately, there are exceptions to this general rule. Theorists such as Höffe, Cabrera, Deudney and Yunker defend a version of a multilayered minimal world state – a model based on the dual principles of federalism and subsidiarity. The focus of this article is on the very fragile balance that proponents of this model have to keep between a simultaneous need for centralization and decentralization. On the basis of a critical analysis of the work of these theorists, it is argued in this article that the safeguards these authors defend to prevent a bloating of government themselves contain a tendency to hierarchical centralization. While some form of world state might be necessary to cope with the challenges posed by globalization, it is essential to discuss the shape and competences of the world state much more critically and in more detail than has been the case in the past.

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