Sartre and the Instigation of Immanence

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Gilliam
Keyword(s):  
Social Contract ◽  
Contract Theory ◽  
Early Period ◽  
Social Contract Theory ◽  
The Other ◽  
Ethical Practice ◽  
Ground Resistance ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Pure Immanence

This chapter investigates how Sartre instigates the first few moves of ‘pure’ immanence. Through following the progression of Sartre’s thought, there is shown a deepening engagement with immanence, which ultimately sets the foundation upon which the later thinkers build. In his early period, Sartre reworks Husserlian intentionality to bring about a repudiation of the transcendental ego. Following from this, in Being and Nothingness and the Critique, he develops a dialectic in which consciousness, while relating to an ‘outside’, is construed as also thoroughly embedded in that outside through the subject-body of the flesh and relations of desire. From this comes a conceptualisation of the In-itself and For-itself as simulacra or topological variations of a more primordial intertwining or fabric of univocal Being. In this sense, we are immediately taken away from the subject of social contract theory, insofar as this presumes an asocial self, and the notion of identity as the sine qua non of politics, insofar as this presumes the terrain of an inexplicable transcendent Other. This brings with it a new take on politics as an ethical practice – one that will be taken up and extended by the other three thinkers – in which we do not look for a transcendent outside or fracture/break in immanence through which to ground resistance, but rather work through and experiment with our situation or condition.

scholarly journals Contracting for Catastrophe:Legitimizing Emergency Constitutions by Drawing on Social Contract Theory

Res Publica ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefan Voigt
Keyword(s):  
Social Contract ◽  
Contract Theory ◽  
Social Contract Theory ◽  
Constitutional Rights ◽  
State Of Emergency ◽  
Half Century ◽  
States Of Emergency ◽  
The World

AbstractStates of emergency are declared frequently in all parts of the world. Their declaration routinely implies a suspension of basic constitutional rights. In the last half century, it has become the norm for constitutions to contain an explicit ‘emergency constitution’, i.e., the constitutionally safeguarded rules of operation for a state of emergency. In this paper, I ask whether inclusion of an emergency constitution can be legitimized by drawing on social contract theory. I argue that there are important arguments, both against and in favor of constitutionalized emergency provisions, and that social contract theory—as applied by economists—can be of some help when deciding whether to have, or not to have an emergency constitution. This paper introduces a novel argument for justifying emergency constitutions. It argues that they can serve as a commitment mechanism protecting both citizens and politicians from overreacting to rare but significant threats.

scholarly journals Evaluating social contract theory in the light of evolutionary social science

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-45
Author(s):  
Paul Seabright ◽  
Jonathan Stieglitz ◽  
Karine Van der Straeten
Keyword(s):  
Social Science ◽  
Social Contract ◽  
Contract Theory ◽  
Social Contract Theory

The Maximum Claims of Gauthier's Bargainers: Are the Fixed Social Inequalities Acceptable?

Dialogue ◽  
1982 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 411-429
Author(s):  
David Braybrooke
Keyword(s):  
Social Contract ◽  
Social Inequalities ◽  
Social Contract Theory ◽  
The Other ◽  
Relative Advantage ◽  
Central Feature ◽  
Maximum Utility ◽  
The Difference ◽  
The One ◽  
Principle Of Maximum

A central feature of David Gauthier's impressively searching version of social contract theory is the principle of maximin relative advantage. Given certain assumptions—more than he originally thought—this principle may be described as calling for maximum equal advantage, which is easier to talk about; and I shall refer to the principle under this description. Maximum equal relative advantage is equivalent to minimum equal relative concession; hence the principle of maximum equal relative advantage has a twin and mirror, the principle of minimum equal relative concession. Relative advantage and relative concession are ratios with the same denominator, the difference for a given agent between the maximum utility (umax) that she might get from the societyt o be contracted for and the minimum utility (umin) that would give her an incentive to cooperate in establishing the society and in keeping it up. The numerator for the one ratio—relative advantage—is the difference between the utility that she is actually going to gain from society (ua) and her minimum cooperative utility (umin). The numerator for the other ratio—relative concession—is the difference between her maximum utility (umax) and the utility that she is going to get (ua), in other words, the amount of utility that she foregoes in not getting her maximum.

scholarly journals Konsep Nation-State dalam Pemikiran Ideologi Politik Melayu Islam pada Abad Ke-19 M (Studi Pemikiran Abdullah bin Abdul Kadir Munsyi (1787-1854)

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 134-146
Author(s):  
Andi Chandra Jaya
Keyword(s):  
Social Contract ◽  
Political Ideology ◽  
Contract Theory ◽  
Good Governance ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Social Contract Theory ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Nation State ◽  
State Management ◽  
The Social

The focus of this study is to answer the subject matter of how the concept of the nation-state according to Abdullah Munsyi in the constellation of Malay Islamic political ideology in the 19th century AD and how is the relevance of the concept of the current Indonesian nation state ? The study used the conscience morale theory of Ernest Renan and the social contract theory initiated by J. J. Roussae. This research is included in the library research category and uses historical approaches and political philosophy. The primary data in this study are Abdullah Musnyi's Hikayat Abdullah book published by Yayasan Karyawan, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 2007 and secondary data, in the form of books, journal articles, papers, and others related to research problems. the findings of the research are: 1). In accordance with the theory of conscience morale Ernest Renan and the social contract theory initiated by J. J. Roussae, Abdullah bin Abdul Kadir Munsyi was the originator of nationalism. Through his most important work, Hikayat Abdullah, he put forward the formulation of Malay identity in the formulation of the nation which was understood as a Malay tribe or race who had the right to be involved in determining the Malay political format not as a community under a political system that was authoritarian. 2). His closeness with the British colonial side, thus forming the liberal thinking he obtained from Raffles and his friends. He not only dismantled the manipulation of royal ideology, but at the same time put forward a new view of the existence of a humanist individual. 3). The understanding of nationality has egalitarian values ​​that are very relevant to the current Indonesian context, especially the values ​​of equality (egalitarianism) in the midst of the emergence of conflicts in various conflicts today. Likewise the concept of nation-state is closely related to nationalism and good governance where good governance is based on the absolute existence of transparency, open participation, and accountability in all state activities at every level of state management, so that a clean government is formed. Keywords: Abdullah Munsyi, Nation-State, and Malay Political ideology

The Epicureans on Human Nature and its Social and Political Consequences

2017 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-19
Author(s):  
Jan Maximilian Robitzsch
Keyword(s):  
Human Nature ◽  
Social Contract ◽  
Contract Theory ◽  
Human Life ◽  
Social Contract Theory ◽  
Systematic Analysis ◽  
Political Consequences ◽  
The Social

Based on certain passages in Colotes, Hermarchus, and Horace, the Epicureans may be thought to defend a social contract theory that is roughly Hobbesian. According to such a view, human life without the social contract is solitary and brutish. This paper argues that such a reading is mistaken. It offers a systematic analysis of Lucretius’s culture story in On the Nature of Things v as well as the Epicurean passages that at first sight seem to contradict the Lucretian account. The conclusion of such an analysis is not only that all extant evidence is internally consistent, but also that Epicurean social contract theory relies on a ‘dynamic’ conception of human nature: On the Epicurean view, agents have very different psychological motivations when coming together to form societies and when coming together to form political and legal states.

Gendering the General Will: Frankenstein’s Breaches of Contract

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zoe Beenstock
Keyword(s):  
Social Contract ◽  
Gender Inequality ◽  
Social Cohesion ◽  
Contract Theory ◽  
Social Contract Theory ◽  
Test Cases ◽  
General Will ◽  
The Social ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Creation Stories

As a sociable being that is barred from society, Frankenstein’s monster presents a sustained engagement with social contract theory’s major dilemma of whether individualism can produce sociability. The male creature’s isolation and inner disunity suggest that contract theory displaces men and is unable to concatenate even those members that should be eligible for full citizenship. Shelley focuses on the gender inequality of contract theory through her different creation stories of the creatures’ bodies. In Victor’s decision not to complete the female creature she rejects Wollstonecraft’s revisionist approach to Rousseau, and demonstrates that social contract theory cannot be rewritten to include women. Women are not defined as political subjects but do have independent wills. Therefore, they are potentially resistant to contract and a threat to political control. Contending with Wollstonecraft and Rousseau, and also Coleridge and Godwin, Shelley suggests that intertextual relations produce unpredictable results. The creatures are test cases for the social contract’s respective failures in terms of social cohesion and gender.

‘What is Established’?: Hume’s Social Philosophy of Opinion

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryu Susato
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Social Contract ◽  
Contract Theory ◽  
Social Systems ◽  
Social Contract Theory ◽  
Social Philosophy ◽  
Ancient Constitution

This chapter discusses the theoretical connection between Hume’s arguments on imagination in theTreatise and opinion in Essays, Moral and Political, through which Hume’s keen awareness of the fragility of civilisation and the changeability of our social systems is elucidated. Although commentators have tended to base their understandings of Hume as a conservative thinker on his repeated emphasis on the importance of custom and habit to consolidate our beliefs, Hume’s anti-rationalism and emphasis on custom do not necessarily lead him to defend ‘tradition’ as such indiscriminately. Rather, his point lies in revealing that what is normally considered ‘tradition’ in fact consists of nothing but public opinion concerning what is thought to be established. This chapter will also reveal that this viewpoint is consistent with Hume’s criticism of the myth of the ancient constitution and social contract theory. This point is vital for our understanding of the ‘historical’ Hume, because some of his contemporaries criticised his History not only for his alleged Toryism, but also for his inconsistency with these earlier standpoints.

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