Some Questions about the Legitimacy of Political Power in Chŏng Yagyong’s Political Philosophy

2008 ◽  
Vol null (29) ◽  
pp. 3-42
Author(s):  
Baek, Min-Jeong
Keyword(s):  
Political Philosophy ◽  
Political Power

Toward a Tradition of Ghanaian Political Philosophy

2019 ◽  
pp. 124-145
Author(s):  
Martin Odei Ajei
Keyword(s):  
Political Philosophy ◽  
Political Power ◽  
African Philosophy ◽  
Philosophical Discourse ◽  
Kwame Nkrumah ◽  
Relative Status ◽  
Convergence And Divergence

This chapter discusses the contributions of Kwame Nkrumah, Kwasi Wiredu, William. E. Abraham, and Kwame Gyekye to the corpus of African philosophy. It elaborates their normative perspectives on three themes: the relevance of tradition to modernity, the appropriate form of democracy as means of legitimating political power in Africa, and the relative status of person and community; it also reflects on the significance of these themes in postcolonial African social and political philosophical discourse. The chapter then points out points of convergence and divergence among these individuals and how they relate with Western philosophical perspectives and argues that their work configures a coherent discourse that justifies joining them in a tradition of Ghanaian political philosophy.

scholarly journals The crisis of modernity as the crisis of the political: Towards a critique of the reason of the ethos

2003 ◽  
pp. 61-85
Author(s):  
Simo Elakovic
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Political Philosophy ◽  
Political Action ◽  
Political Power ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Decision ◽  
The World ◽  
Political Act ◽  
Crisis Of Modernity ◽  
Political Decision Making

The crisis of modernity as the crisis of the political is seen by the author primarily as a crisis of the "measure" of the criterion of political decision making and action. This crisis is understood in the first place as a crisis of self-awareness and practice of the ethos. Machiavelli was the first to attempt a solution to this problem by introducing the concept of virtus, which became the fundamental principle of modern political philosophy. However, many modern and contemporary interpreters of Machiavelli's thought often ignore the social and political context in which the political doctrine of the Florentine thinker arose. Namely, Machiavelli's effort to find an authentic form of the political act that would make possible a harmonization and stabilization of the dramatic political circumstances then prevailing in Italian cities required a reliable diagnosis and adequate means for a successful therapy of the sick organism of the community. The epochal novelty in Machiavelli's political theory was the shift from the ancient theorization of virtue to its modern operationalization. Nevertheless, this shift is often interpreted as a radical opposing of the Greek concept of arete to the Roman virtus, which is crudely and simplistically reduced to bravery and strength necessary for taking and keeping political power. Hegel in his political philosophy travels an important part of the road - unconsciously rather than consciously - along with Machiavelli and Shelling. This particularly holds for his understanding of the necessity of strength and bravery in the process of operationalizing the spirit of freedom in history through the mediation of "negation" as "the power of evil". The mediation of subjectivity and substantiality, according to Hegel, takes place in the state by the brutal bridling of the world spirit where not just individuals but whole peoples are sacrificed - toward freedom, i.e. its realization in the community of the ethos. The "trouble of the times" is a consequence of the separation between I and the world (Entzeiung) and stems from a reduced political reason which lacks the criterion of the ethical totality for political action and decision making. By the separation of the ethos this reason get routinized and political action is reduced to naked technique of winning and keeping political power. In the concluding segment of the paper the author points to some global consequences of the crisis of political decision making in the historical reality at the end of 20th century.

scholarly journals Ideology, Rhetoric and Argument

1993 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Weiler
Keyword(s):  
Political Philosophy ◽  
Human Nature ◽  
Social Order ◽  
Political Power ◽  
Rhetorical Criticism ◽  
Political Authority

Rhetorical criticism examines ideology as a form of strategic argumentation that functions to legitimize political authority. Ideology presents itself as political philosophy in a way that calls attention to its argumentation. Ideological arguments support claims (1) that those who wield political power represent the interests of all, and (2) that the existing social order is natural and inevitable in light of human nature. Functionally, ideology is indispensible, but perverse. Formally, ideology is argumentation that obscures its partiality under claims to universality.

Legitimacy

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Beetham
Keyword(s):  
Political Philosophy ◽  
Political Discourse ◽  
Political Power ◽  
Central Issue ◽  
Necessary Condition ◽  
Sufficient Condition ◽  
Adequate Account ◽  
Philosophical Debate ◽  
Legal Validity

Legitimacy refers to the rightfulness of a powerholder or system of rule. The term originated in controversies over property and succession, and was used to differentiate children born of a lawful marriage from those who were ‘illegitimate’. From thence the term entered political discourse via controversies over the rightful succession to the restored French throne after the Napoleonic period. However, questions about what makes government rightful have been a central issue of philosophical debate since the ancient Greeks, and in this sense the concept, if not the term, ‘legitimacy’ is as old as political philosophy itself. Its significance lies in the moral, as opposed to merely prudential, grounds for obedience which follow for subjects where power is rightfully acquired and exercised, and in the depth of allegiance which such political authorities can call upon in times of difficulty. What, then, makes government legitimate? Most thinkers agree that a necessary condition is that power should be acquired and exercised according to established rules, whether these are conventionally or legally defined. However, legal validity cannot be a sufficient condition of legitimacy, since both the rules and the power exercised under them also have to be morally justifiable. Two broad criteria for moral justifiability can be distinguished: (1) political power should derive from a rightful source of authority; (2) it should satisfy the rightful ends or purposes of government. Most philosophical disputes about legitimacy take place either within or between these two broad positions; any adequate account of it must embrace both however.

Reflections on the Eclipse of Europe

1952 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 293-303 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. E. Black
Keyword(s):  
Political Philosophy ◽  
Political Power ◽  
Turn Of The Century ◽  
The Future

It is doubtless a truism to state that Europe is on the wane, at least as a center of political power. Few would deny that a change of major proportions has taken place since the turn of the century in Europe's role in world affairs. But once this is stated, agreement ceases. The causes and mechanism of Europe's decline have received the most varied interpretations, and the bearing of this change on the future is so profound that each school of thought tends to evaluate the destiny of Europe in terms of its own political philosophy. The widest assortment of scholars and prophets have been drawn to this problem by the fascination of its perplexities, and their treatises already comprise a formidable library. Yet the solutions proposed can scarcely be said to have resulted in a clarification of the problem of Europe, and even the most distinguished and influential of these writers have found relatively few areas of agreement.

The Biblical Politics of John Locke

2005 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 513-514
Author(s):  
Eldon J. Eisenach
Keyword(s):  
Political Philosophy ◽  
Political Theory ◽  
John Locke ◽  
Political Power ◽  
Original Sin ◽  
Philosophical Argument ◽  
Creation Story ◽  
The Creation

The Biblical Politics of John Locke, Kim Ian Parker, Editions SR, Volume 29; Waterloo, Ontario: Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2004, pp. ix, 211.Parker's study is on the foundational role played by the creation story of Genesis in Locke's moral and political philosophy. Locke's First Treatise against patriarchalism was not only a refutation of Filmer's reading of Adam and original sin, it was a positive rereading of that story suggesting “an emancipation of humanity almost unprecedented in theological writings” (38). Locke's distinction between paternal and political power, then, is not merely a way of “scoring polemical points against Filmer” but becomes a way “to form the basis of his political theory” (120). What can too easily be read as “merely” exegetical polemic in the First Treatise is translated into philosophical argument in the Second Treatise.

scholarly journals Poder político fiduciario y soberanía popular. Libertad política, confianza y revolución en la filosofía política de Locke

Daímon ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 33-48
Author(s):  
Jordi Mundó
Keyword(s):  
Political Philosophy ◽  
Public Good ◽  
John Locke ◽  
Political Power ◽  
Political Authority ◽  
Popular Sovereignty ◽  
Political Freedom ◽  
The Political ◽  
Free People ◽  
Republican Theory

La teoría republicana moderna de la concepción revolucionaria de la soberanía popular tuvo un eslabón fundamental en la filosofía política de John Locke, quien elaboró un argumento en favor de la libertad natural y de la autonomía de juicio de los individuos, y en contra de la sujeción natural y la alienación de la libertad política. Concibe la autoridad política como un poder político fiduciario instituido para el fin del bien público. Cuando los gobernantes actúan para fines distintos de los encomendados, arbitrariamente o por su interés propio, la confianza se pierde y el ejercicio del poder político regresa a las manos del pueblo libre. Modern republican theory of the revolutionary conception of popular sovereignty had a fundamental link in the political philosophy of John Locke, who elaborated an argument in favour of the natural freedom and autonomy of judgment of individuals, and against the natural subjection and alienation of political freedom. He conceives of political authority as a fiduciary political power instituted for the end of public good. When the trustees act for ends other than those entrusted, arbitrarily or for his own interest, trust is forfeited and the exercise of political power returns to the hands of the free people.

Force and Freedom: Can They Co-exist?

2011 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 387-402
Author(s):  
Talia Fisher
Keyword(s):  
Political Philosophy ◽  
Political Theory ◽  
Moral Philosophy ◽  
Political Power ◽  
Academic Discourse ◽  
Legal Philosophy ◽  
Legal Writing ◽  
Complicated Nature

Force and Freedom, a new book by Professor Arthur Ripstein, offers a comprehensive and highly sophisticated articulation of Kant’s legal and political philosophy. While Kant’s thinking on metaphysics and ethics has received paramount attention in the academic discourse, his contribution to legal and political theory has been somewhat marginalized. One reason for Kant’s exclusion from the central canon of political and legal philosophy is the abstract and very complicated nature of Kantian writing on law and political power, most particularly in the Doctrine of Right. Another reason is the difficulties many writers have encountered in their attempts to reconcile Kant’s political and legal writing with his moral philosophy. Against this background, the novelty and importance of Force and Freedom cannot be overstated.

Faith, or On Religion

2020 ◽  
pp. 148-169
Author(s):  
Ryan Patrick Hanley
Keyword(s):  
Political Philosophy ◽  
Final Section ◽  
Political Power ◽  
Church And State ◽  
Religious Faith ◽  
Executive Power ◽  
The Political ◽  
Religious Institutions ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Way

Chapter 5 shifts from Fénelon’s practical writings to his writings on metaphysics, theology, and spirituality. In surveying these writings, this and the following two chapters aim not to provide exhaustive treatments of these areas of his thought, but to demonstrate their significance for Fénelon’s political philosophy. Chapter 5 begins this by presenting Fénelon’s views on the political significance of religious faith. In so doing, it focuses on his realist claims regarding how religious faith and institutions can serve as checks on political power. Its first part examines his claims regarding the connection of irreligion and tyranny. It then examines his claims regarding how religion can mitigate propensities to tyranny. Its final section turns to Fénelon’s nuanced position on the proper relationship of Church and State, which centers on the way in which religious institutions can provide useful checks on executive power.

Introduction

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Wolff
Keyword(s):  
Political Philosophy ◽  
Sexual Orientation ◽  
Global Justice ◽  
Political Power ◽  
Political Obligation ◽  
Future Generations ◽  
The Third ◽  
The People ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
The Right

This text explores the main questions of political philosophy and looks at some of the most influential answers, from the ancient Greeks to the present day. Each chapter takes on a particular question or controversy. The natural starting-point is political power, the right to command. The first chapter considers the question of what would happen in a ‘state of nature’ without government, while the second tackles the problem of political obligation. The third chapter is concerned with democracy, asking whether a state should be democratic, for example, or whether there is any rationale for preferring rule by the people to rule by an expert. The next two chapters deal with liberty and property. The text concludes by focusing on questions that have drawn greater attention in more recent decades, such as issues of gender, race, disability, sexual orientation, immigration, global justice, and justice to future generations.

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