Social Epistemology and the Politics of Omission

Episteme ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 107-118
Author(s):  
Robert B. Talisse
Keyword(s):  
Liberal Democracy ◽  
Social Epistemology ◽  
Political Stability ◽  
Reasonable Pluralism ◽  
Political Justification ◽  
Political Decisions

ABSTRACTContemporary liberal democracy employs a conception of legitimacy according to which political decisions and institutions must be at least in principle justifiable to all citizens. This conception of legitimacy is difficult to satisfy when citizens are deeply divided at the level of fundamental moral, religious, and philosophical commitments. Many have followed the later Rawls in holding that where a reasonable pluralism of such commitments persists, political justification must eschew appeal to any controversial moral, religious, or philosophical premises. In this way, the Rawlsian account of public political justification involves a politics of omission, where citizens are expected to bracket off their most fundamental commitments and seek justifications that draw only from uncontroversial premises. This politics of omission is necessary, Rawls argues, for political stability. But there is good social epistemic evidence for the view that the politics of omission encourages insularity among like-minded groups, and that this insularity in turn generates extremism. So omission is likely to lead to instability, not stability.

The State of Liberal Democracy With Regard to Elections and Political Stability in Africa: Bridging the Gap Between Theory and Practice in Tanzania and Keny

2021 ◽  
pp. 52-70
Author(s):  
Paul Mtasigazya
Keyword(s):  
Liberal Democracy ◽  
Political Stability ◽  
The State ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
East African ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Post Colonial ◽  
Liberal Democratic ◽  
Democratic Tradition ◽  
Election Violence

This study explores the state of liberal democracy and political stability in Africa. In particular it intends to assess what is said about liberal democracy in relation to free and fair election, political stability and the politics of ethnicity in Tanzania and Kenya and the reality happening on the ground (the practice) in East African countries. The rationale for undertaking this analysis is that the East African countries have experienced political transformation: for instance, for much of the post-colonial period East African countries tended to live under one-party regime, but since 1990s East African countries embraced multiparty system. This study pays attention to assessing the outcomes of liberal democracy in East African countries in particular examining the extent to which the liberal democracy promotes free and fair elections, political stability and the mitigation of the politics of ethnicity. This study employed a comparative analysis, in which it compared the extent to which liberal democracy is practiced in Tanzania and Kenya and how far the above-mentioned parameters are realized under the broad spectrum of liberal democracy. The methods of data collection were interviews and documentary review and the discussion of the findings was organized around the sub-themes of this study. The period covered in this discussion is the contemporary period from 1990’s to 2019. The findings indicate that even though African countries have adopted liberal democracy, in some of the East African countries like Kenya, political stability and free and fair elections have not been fully realized, while in Tanzania the experience indicates that political stability is relatively realized after elections. This study concludes that even if the institutions of liberal democracy have gradually developed with partial free and fair elections, the manifestations of political instability still exist in some of the East African countries, as shown by the election violence in Kenya comparatively to Tanzania. Therefore, the interface between the liberal democracy and political stability has not been sufficiently realized in the liberal democratic tradition. This study recommends that elections as one of the pillars of liberal democracy should be properly and fairly instituted, so that the role of liberal democracy is realized in fostering peace and tranquility.

scholarly journals Islam and Freedom of Religious Expression in Malaysia

2018 ◽  
pp. 1218-1224
Author(s):  
Mohd Azizuddin Mohd Sani
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Method ◽  
Islamic Law ◽  
Political Stability ◽  
Religious Expression ◽  
Political Debate ◽  
Law System ◽  
Legal Documents ◽  
Expert Interview ◽  
Civil Law System ◽  
Political Decisions

In Malaysia, Islam is the religion of the Federation, and the Islamic law system runs parallel to the civil law system. This triggers a political debate in defining Malaysia as either an Islamic or a secular state which makes the non-Muslims uneasy. The purpose of this paper is to study about the practices of Islam and religious expression in Malaysia particularly during the era of Najib Razak’s premiership before the regime collapsed on 9 May 2018. It used qualitative method via discourse analysis by assessing the legal documents and political decisions on religious expression and private speech in Malaysia. This includes in-depth expert interview with expert in Malaysian law and government leaders. This paper found that Malaysia is also a multireligious society prone to inter-group conflict. As such, care is taken not to publish articles that cast a slur on any religions in the country. Although the purposes of restriction are for political stability and national security, the ruling government has indeed manipulated the religious expression for political domination and regime security. This paper will definitely give the overview on the situation of Malaysia involving Islam and the limit of religious expression and religious freedom as well.

Inadvisable Concession: Kant’s Critique of the Political Philosophy of Christian Garve

2020 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 58-76
Author(s):  
Andrey S. Zilber
Keyword(s):  
Political Stability ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Detailed Comparison ◽  
Alternative Interpretation ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Perpetual Peace ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
The Common ◽  
Political Decisions

The starting point of my study is Kant’s remark to the effect that Garve in his treatise on the connection between morality and politics presents arguments in defence of unjust principles. Recognition of these principles is, according to Kant, an inadvisable concession to those who are inclined to abuse it. I interpret this judgement by making a detailed comparison of the texts of the two treatises. I demonstrate that Garve’s work is an eclectic attempt to combine in one concept the lessons of historical experience with the ideas drawn from British empiricism and German rationalism. These ideas were criticised by Kant in his “critical” period. There is a consensus among researchers that Garve condoned the expansionist policy of Frederick II of Prussia, totally denied that legality in international relations was possible and in general deserved the reputation of an (ultra-)conservative. From that point of view the key values for Garve were the security and well-being of the state. I offer an alternative interpretation of Garve’s position because I believe that the value of political stability plays an important role in it. Such an interpretation makes it possible to treat Garve’s narrative as it was assessed by Kant, i.e. as a concession to the common principles of political practice as a result of a failure to find the guiding theory. My study has established that the role of Garve’s work in the writing of Kant’s treatise Toward Perpetual Peace was more significant than Kant’s own words suggest. Besides, I show that it was under Garve’s influence that Kant turned to the problem of excessive complexity of the principles involved in the search for concrete political decisions. Garve obviously laments this complexity and yet makes these principles still more complex. Kant offers a simpler solution of the problem on the basis of his theory of morals and right.

The Practice of Asian Democracy in Kelantan State, Malaysia, 1959–2013

2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 105-121 ◽  
Author(s):  
AMER SAIFUDE GHAZALI ◽  
ABU HANIFAH HARIS ◽  
ZULKANAIN ABDUL RAHMAN
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Liberal Democracy ◽  
Political Stability ◽  
Asian Countries ◽  
Asian Values ◽  
Western Countries ◽  
The People ◽  
Western Values ◽  
Islamic Party

AbstractThe debates on Asian democracy began 30 years ago. Western countries have often promoted liberal democracy as being the genuine democracy, giving justice to the people and being able to meet the needs of their communities. However, at the same time, some Asian countries practice democracy that promotes Asian values, which are very different from Western values. Western countries describe Asian democracy as an excuse for some leaders to maintain power in their respective countries, for example Malaysia. Critics have pointed out that some Asian leaders have used authoritarianism or despotism in order to mitigate the weaknesses of their rule. Asian democracy is practiced in Kelantan where the PAS (Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party) continued to maintain power for 23 years, from 1990 to 2013. Factors that have contributed to the long rule of the PAS party include socio-political stability, including political parties who were clean and competent and leaders who are knowledgeable and pious.

scholarly journals Public reason as a political ideal: John Rawls’s conception

2007 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 209-234
Author(s):  
Djordje Pavicevic
Keyword(s):  
Liberal Democracy ◽  
Public Reason ◽  
Political Liberalism ◽  
Major Elements ◽  
The Other ◽  
Political Justification ◽  
Convergence Point ◽  
Political Ideal ◽  
Moral Superiority

The article dealt with Rawlsian idea of public reason as a convergence point of his conception of political liberalism. The idea of public reason is taken as a norm of political justification a as well as a political ideal. Major lines of criticism of the Rawls' conception are also discussed in the article. The conclusion is that is possible to defend major elements of Rawls' conception against criticism along Rawlsian lines of argumentation. The thesis advocated through the text is that it is significant legacy of Rawls' conception of public reason that it discloses limitations of political ideal of liberal democracy. It is argued that one important consequence is that liberalism has to disclaim its own moral superiority in order to make political ideal viable. The other is that any particular society has to find its moral bases in public reason of particular society, that is burdened with peculiar culture and history. .

Inequality from the Perspective of the Global South

2018 ◽  
pp. 210-228
Author(s):  
Manoranjan Mohanty
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Liberal Democracy ◽  
Social Inequalities ◽  
Political Stability ◽  
Global South ◽  
Principal Objective ◽  
The World ◽  
Social Tensions

Paradoxically, at a time when people in all areas of the world have been asserting their right to equality and dignity, most governments, prodded by the global elite, have focused on achieving higher economic growth with political stability, even though such policies have generated greater inequalities and social tensions. Reducing inequality has not been their principal objective. This chapter discusses the concept of inequality and the various meanings associated with it. How the problems of economic and social inequalities have been addressed in the Global South is also discussed. The chapter examines how liberal democracy treats the issue of inequality and how it is handled in regimes governed by communist parties. It also describes the notions of deferred liberalism and acquiescent socialism.

scholarly journals Populism, liberal democracy and the ethics of peoplehood

2016 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 330-348 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabio Wolkenstein
Keyword(s):  
Liberal Democracy ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
Liberal Democratic ◽  
The People ◽  
Political Justification ◽  
Normative Standards ◽  
Democratic Principles

Populism is widely thought to be in tension with liberal democracy. This article clarifies what exactly is problematic about populism from a liberal–democratic point of view and goes on to develop normative standards that allow us to distinguish between more and less legitimate forms of populism. The point of this exercise is not to dismiss populism in toto; the article strives for a more subtle result, namely, to show that liberal democracy can accommodate populism provided that the latter conforms to particular discursive norms. What the article calls a ‘liberal ethics of populism’ turns out to be closely bound up with a broader ethics of peoplehood, understood as a way of articulating who ‘the people’ are in a way that is compatible with liberal–democratic principles of political justification. Such an ethics, concludes the article, inevitably has a much wider audience than populist political actors: its addressees are all those who seek legitimately to exercise power in the name of the people.

scholarly journals Middle class: ways of defining and the special case of China

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 102-115
Author(s):  
Gabriel Hasík
Keyword(s):  
Middle Class ◽  
Political Stability ◽  
Theoretical Concept ◽  
Historical Background ◽  
Western Countries ◽  
Literary Research ◽  
Political Compromise ◽  
Political Decisions ◽  
Special Case ◽  
Ruling Party

Many ways of classifying themiddle class more or less reflect the level of local prices, historical background or social aspects. The middle class is generally considered one of the main pillars of the market economy without which achieving and maintaining political stability would be impossible. This is based on the assumption that middle-class members prefer rational political decisions, reject political extremism and prefer political compromise. At the same time, however, the middle class has rising expectations and can therefore be a significant factor in political change. The Chinese middle class has one distinct difference over Western countries. While the middle class in the Western countries is the enemy of the regime and the trigger for democratization, the Chinese middle class has often very close relations with the ruling party. This article aims to show themajor approaches to define the middle class, respectively, thedeeper sociological meaning of the class in general and specifically in China. Thearticle is based on literary research, and apart from theoretical part defining middle class, it describes challenges Chinese middle class is facing. Themaincontribution ofthearticleis thecleardescription of the theoretical concept ofthemiddle class andtheidentification ofdifferentiatingfactors anddeterminants oftheChinese middle class.

Therapy and prevention for mental health: What if mental diseases are mostly not brain disorders?

2019 ◽  
Vol 42 ◽  
Author(s):  
John P. A. Ioannidis
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Disease ◽  
Brain Disorders ◽  
Social Stressors ◽  
Labor Education ◽  
Mental Diseases ◽  
Long Term Follow Up ◽  
Political Decisions

AbstractNeurobiology-based interventions for mental diseases and searches for useful biomarkers of treatment response have largely failed. Clinical trials should assess interventions related to environmental and social stressors, with long-term follow-up; social rather than biological endpoints; personalized outcomes; and suitable cluster, adaptive, and n-of-1 designs. Labor, education, financial, and other social/political decisions should be evaluated for their impacts on mental disease.

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