A new understanding of political philosophy from one of its leading thinkers What is political philosophy? What are its fundamental problems? And how should it be distinguished from moral philosophy? ...In this book, Charles Larmore redefines the distinctive aims of political philosophy, reformulating in this light the basis of a liberal understanding of politics. Because political life is characterized by deep and enduring conflict between rival interests and differing moral ideals, the core problems of political philosophy are the regulation of conflict and the conditions under which the members of society may thus be made subject to political authority. We cannot assume that reason will lead to unanimity about these matters because individuals hold different moral convictions. Larmore therefore analyzes the concept of reasonable disagreement and investigates the ways we can adjudicate conflicts among people who reasonably disagree about the nature of the human good and the proper basis of political society. Challenging both the classical liberalism of Locke, Kant, and Mill, and more recent theories of political realism proposed by Bernard Williams and others, Larmore argues for a version of political liberalism that is centered on political legitimacy rather than on social justice, and that aims to be well suited to our times rather than universally valid. Forceful and thorough yet concise, What Is Political Philosophy? proposes a new definition of political philosophy and demonstrates the profound implications of that definition. The result is a compelling and distinctive intervention from a major political philosopher.
In lieu of an editorial for this issue, we interviewed our new Editor-in-Chief, Laurence Piper. In this brief conversation, he talks about his history with the journal as an editor, plans for his ...tenure as Editor-in-Chief, and the evolving role of the journal in the field of social and political theory, globally.
RESEARCH OBJECTIVE: The aim of the research is to rethink the relationship between political philosophy and political practice. The views of Michael Oakeshott, Costica Bradatan and Socrates will be ...used as premises in these analyses. A new criterion for distinguishing these two areas can be identified, partially referring to the tradition that emphasizes understatement and unrestrainedness.THE RESEARCH PROBLEM AND METHODS: The article contains metaphilosophical considerations related to the field of philosophy of politics. The primary methods used will be philosophical methods, applied at the meta level to inquiries in the field of political philosophy.THE PROCESS OF ARGUMENTATION: First, I will try to define the phrases “philosophy of politics” and “political philosophy” in the Polish language.In the following part of the article, I will present the views of Oakeshott and Bradatan regarding philosophy and politics. Finally, I will contrast these findings with the image of Socrates and show the fields of synergy.RESEARCH RESULTS: These analyses in the field of metaphilosophy, in relation primarily to political philosophy, will allow us to define the very status of philosophical reflection and the limitations related to the attempts to provide an exhaustive definition. Based on a comparison of these concepts, other metaphilosophical problems arising from the challenges of political philosophy also emerge.CONCLUSIONS, INNOVATIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS: The research shows a need for a deeper analysis of metaphilosophical issues concerning political philosophy. Such research should deepen research in both philosophy and political science.
This book argues that the major traditions in the philosophy of language have mistakenly focused on highly idealized linguistic contexts. Instead, it presents a non-ideal foundational theory of ...language that contends that the essential function of language is to direct attention for the purpose of achieving diverse social and political goals. Philosophers of language have focused primarily on highly idealized linguistic contexts in which cooperative agents are working toward the shared goal of gaining information about the world. This approach abstracts away from important issues like power, ideology, social position, and diversity of goals which are crucial to explaining linguistic phenomena both at the semantic and pragmatic levels. This book begins by examining the work of some of the pioneers of this tradition—primarily David Lewis, Paul Grice, and Robert Stalnaker. The author shows that various problems have their source in idealizations made at the foundational level of linguistic theory and proposes to rebuild from the ground-up. She presents a non-ideal foundational theory of language which retains the major insights of traditional frameworks while rejecting the social idealizations that guide them. Then, she explores the social and political applications of her account to issues such as dog whistling, propaganda, racist speech, silencing, and manipulation. Non-Ideal Foundations of Language will appeal to researchers and advanced students in philosophy of language who are interested in the social and political applications of language, as well as traditional metasemantic theory.
This symposium honors the work of David Lowenthal (1923-2022) and Paul Cantor (1945-2022), prominent scholars of political philosophy and literature, who passed away within two months of each other ...in 2022. Lowenthal and Cantor belonged to a school of thought that regarded Shakespeare as a philosophical and political thinker in the classical tradition who was keenly attuned to the challenges Christianity posed for traditional conceptions of virtue. In their view, Shakespeare's plays presented profound investigations of the good life for human beings by putting ethics and politics in dramatic form, revealing the ways different political regimes encourage rival and antagonistic virtues.
This volume showcases new and interesting ways in which the possession of civic virtues can contribute to people’s abilities to engage in public life in meaningful ways. What is the role of civic ...virtues in public life? How does possessing civic virtues affect persons and their capacities for participation in the public order? The chapters in this volume combine philosophical and empirically informed work to show how civic virtues can be informed by larger virtue ethical perspectives. The first two chapters discuss virtues of individuals that have not received significant empirical attention—authenticity and wisdom and psychological resilience. The next two chapters address education and the ways in which civic virtues can help us to better serve schoolchildren who are socially and economically disadvantaged, as well as to broaden students’ horizons with respect to character and sustainability education. The final four chapters explore the roles for virtues within various political and public realms. They offer perspectives on how virtues affect contentious politics in democratic societies, and study virtues in contexts in which democracy has been stifled or torn apart by war. Together, the chapters highlight the ever-widening impact of the virtues on our lives and in society. The Self, Civic Virtue, and Public Life will be of interest to scholars and graduate students working in ethics, political philosophy, psychology, and philosophy of education. The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 International license.
Amezcua, Melissa y David Bak Geler (coords.) (2018) Conceptos políticos. Herramientas teóricas y prácticas para el siglo xxi. Guadalajara: Universidad de Guadalajara^
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