scholarly journals Preface

2020 ◽  
pp. vii-xiii
Author(s):  
Christiane Frey
Keyword(s):  
Political Philosophy ◽  
14Th Century ◽  
Political Modernity ◽  
New Directions ◽  
History Of

‘Dante’s Modernity’ pursues ambitions that go far beyond its ostensible editorial function as a preface to the medieval author’s early 14th-century political treatise. The text exemplifies Lefort’s signature method of taking political philosophy in new directions by drawing on the fundamental indeterminacy and openness of key works from the history of political philosophy. The result is as much an interpretation of the Monarchia as it is of political modernity itself.

scholarly journals Rousseau’s contractualism under Rawl’s perspective on his conferences about the political philosophy’s history

2017 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 39
Author(s):  
Delmo Mattos Da Silva
Keyword(s):  
Political Philosophy ◽  
Harvard University ◽  
General Will ◽  
Political Modernity ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Pact ◽  
History Of ◽  
Conditions Of Possibility ◽  
Do So

O CONTRATUALISMO DE ROUSSEAU SOB A PERSPECTIVA DE RAWLS NAS CONFERÊNCIAS SOBRE A HISTÓRIA DA FILOSOFIA POLÍTICA (1960-1995) Resumo: a proposta da presente comunicação consiste em explorar os argumentos de Rawls sobre o contratualismo de Rousseau, em especial, o papel representativo da vontade geral e do pacto social no contexto do seu pensamento político. Para tanto, utiliza-se como pano de fundo as discussões proferidas pelo filósofo americano em uma série de cursos ministrados na Universidade de Harvard, entre 1960 a 1995, e reunidos na obra: Lectures on The History of Political Philosophy (Conferências sobre a História da Filosofia Política). Nesse curso, além de uma análise das condições de possibilidade do argumento do contrato no âmbito da modernidade política, Rawls, na parte destinada a Rousseau questiona, redefine e problematiza várias questões apresentadas pelo filósofo genebrino nas suas obras principais de filosofia política. Por uma questão de objetivo, o propósito definido será o de expor a problematização da vontade geral baseado na exposição de Rawls, especialmente aquelas inquietações teóricas sobre a legitimidade, função e promoção da justiça, liberdade e da igualdade em relação à vontade geral. Palavras-chave: Contratualismo. Vontade geral. Liberdade. Pacto social. Justiça. Abstract: the purpose of this paper is to explore Rawls's arguments about Rousseau's contractualism, in particular, about the representative role of the general will and the social pact in the context of his political thinking. To do so, use as background as discussions by the American philosopher in a series of courses taught at Harvard University from 1960 to 1995, and gathered in the work: Lectures on The History of Political Philosophy. In this course, in addition to an analysis of the conditions of possibility of the contract argument in the context of political modernity, Rawls in the part destined to Rousseau questions, redefines and problematizes several questions presented by the Genevan philosopher in his main works of political philosophy. For the sake of purpose, the definite purpose will be to expose the problematization of the general will based on Rawls's exposition, especially those theoretical concerns about the legitimacy, function and promotion of justice, freedom, and equality in relation to the general will. Keywords: Contractualism. General will. Freedom. Social pact. Justice.

Utopophobia

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Estlund
Keyword(s):  
Political Philosophy ◽  
Social Justice ◽  
Political Thought ◽  
Political Action ◽  
Ideal Theory ◽  
Theory Of Justice ◽  
Sound Theory ◽  
Theory Versus ◽  
History Of ◽  
Practical Guidance

Throughout the history of political philosophy and politics, there has been continual debate about the roles of idealism versus realism. For contemporary political philosophy, this debate manifests in notions of ideal theory versus nonideal theory. Nonideal thinkers shift their focus from theorizing about full social justice, asking instead which feasible institutional and political changes would make a society more just. Ideal thinkers, on the other hand, question whether full justice is a standard that any society is likely ever to satisfy. And, if social justice is unrealistic, are attempts to understand it without value or importance, and merely utopian? This book argues against thinking that justice must be realistic, or that understanding justice is only valuable if it can be realized. The book does not offer a particular theory of justice, nor does it assert that justice is indeed unrealizable—only that it could be, and this possibility upsets common ways of proceeding in political thought. The book's author engages critically with important strands in traditional and contemporary political philosophy that assume a sound theory of justice has the overriding, defining task of contributing practical guidance toward greater social justice. Along the way, it counters several tempting perspectives, including the view that inquiry in political philosophy could have significant value only as a guide to practical political action, and that understanding true justice would necessarily have practical value, at least as an ideal arrangement to be approximated. Demonstrating that unrealistic standards of justice can be both sound and valuable to understand, the book stands as a trenchant defense of ideal theory in political philosophy.

Between Specters of War and Visions of Peace

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerald M. Mara
Keyword(s):  
Political Philosophy ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Political Theory ◽  
Democratic Theory ◽  
First Century ◽  
Political Life ◽  
Frames Of Reference ◽  
War And Peace ◽  
History Of ◽  
Western Democracies

This book examines how ideas of war and peace have functioned as organizing frames of reference within the history of political theory. It interprets ten widely read figures in that history within five thematically focused chapters that pair (in order) Schmitt and Derrida, Aquinas and Machiavelli, Hobbes and Kant, Hegel and Nietzsche, and Thucydides and Plato. The book’s substantive argument is that attempts to establish either war or peace as dominant intellectual perspectives obscure too much of political life. The book argues for a style of political theory committed more to questioning than to closure. It challenges two powerful currents in contemporary political philosophy: the verdict that premodern or metaphysical texts cannot speak to modern and postmodern societies, and the insistence that all forms of political theory be some form of democratic theory. What is offered instead is a nontraditional defense of the tradition and a democratic justification for moving beyond democratic theory. Though the book avoids any attempt to show the immediate relevance of these interpretations to current politics, its impetus stems very much from the current political circumstances. Since the beginning of the twenty-first century , a series of wars has eroded confidence in the progressively peaceful character of international relations; citizens of the Western democracies are being warned repeatedly about the threats posed within a dangerous world. In this turbulent context, democratic citizens must think more critically about the actions their governments undertake. The texts interpreted here are valuable resources for such critical thinking.

scholarly journals The Struggle Against Torture: Challenges, Assumptions and New Directions

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 324-333
Author(s):  
Tobias Kelly
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Multiple Forms ◽  
Marginalized Groups ◽  
Current State ◽  
New Directions ◽  
History Of ◽  
Emerging Themes ◽  
Short Essay ◽  
Forms Of Violence

Abstract This short essay offers a broad and necessarily incomplete review of the current state of the human rights struggle against torture and ill-treatment. It sketches four widespread assumptions in that struggle: 1) that torture is an issue of detention and interrogation; 2) that political or security detainees are archetypal victims of torture; 3) that legal reform is one of the best ways to fight torture; and 4) that human rights monitoring helps to stamp out violence. These four assumptions have all played an important role in the history of the human rights fight against torture, but also resulted in limitations in terms of the interventions that are used, the forms of violence that human rights practitioners respond to, and the types of survivors they seek to protect. Taken together, these four assumptions have created challenges for the human rights community in confronting the multiple forms of torture rooted in the deep and widespread inequality experienced by many poor and marginalized groups. The essay ends by pointing to some emerging themes in the fight against torture, such as a focus on inequality, extra-custodial violence, and the role of corruption.

Some Thoughts on the Socratic Method

1984 ◽  
Vol 43 ◽  
pp. 6-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ethan M. Fishman
Keyword(s):  
Political Philosophy ◽  
Higher Learning ◽  
Political Scientist ◽  
Socratic Method ◽  
Teaching Techniques ◽  
Institutions Of Higher Learning ◽  
Question And Answer ◽  
History Of ◽  
Pedagogic Tool ◽  
The University

The Socratic method was the major pedagogic tool at the first great Western university, Plato's Academy, and continues to be respected, at least in theory, by teachers at our institutions of higher learning. Yet today many of Plato's heirs in the university community seem to hold several perhaps innocent but nonetheless serious misconceptions concerning the Socratic technique. As a political scientist interested in the history of political philosophy, I have developed some thoughts on this subject in response to repeated inquiries by colleagues and students alike.One popular inaccuracy describes the Socratic method as an openended question and answer process. Actually, the Socratic approach has a singular purpose, namely the search for truth, and it is this explicit goal rather than an informal procedure of give and take which distinguishes the Socratic method from other teaching techniques.

scholarly journals RADIOCARBON DATES FROM THE MONASTERY ON KOM H IN OLD DONGOLA (SUDAN) AND THE CHRONOLOGY OF MEDIEVAL NUBIAN POTTERY

Radiocarbon ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-21
Author(s):  
Dorota Dzierzbicka ◽  
Katarzyna Danys
Keyword(s):  
Historical Research ◽  
Crucial Importance ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
14Th Century ◽  
15Th Century ◽  
History Of

ABSTRACT The paper presents and discusses a series of radiocarbon (14C) dates from a medieval Nubian monastery found on Kom H of Old Dongola, the capital of the kingdom of Makuria located in modern-day Sudan. The monastery was founded in the 6th–7th century AD and although it probably ceased to function in the 14th century, the site remained occupied until the beginning of the 15th century. The investigated courtyard of the monastery was in use from the 11th to the 14th century, as indicated by the ceramics and 14C analysis results presented here. The dates under consideration are the first published series of 14C dates from this site, which is of crucial importance for historical research on medieval Nubian Christianity and monasticism. They permit to begin building an absolute chronological framework for research on the archaeological finds from the site and region. A group of finds in particular need of such a framework are ceramics, and the implications of the 14C dates for pottery assemblages found in the dated contexts are discussed. The conclusions summarize the significance of the datings for the history of the site.

Hobbes's Concept of Representation—I

1964 ◽  
Vol 58 (2) ◽  
pp. 328-340 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanna Pitkin
Keyword(s):  
Political Philosophy ◽  
Thomas Hobbes ◽  
History Of ◽  
Standard Edition

It is not customary to regard Thomas Hobbes as a theorist particularly concerned with representation. Hardly any of the traditional commentaries on his thought even acknowledge that he mentions the term; and the index to Molesworth's standard edition of Hobbes's English works contains no reference to it. But the fact is that representation plays a central role in the Leviathan; and Hobbes's analysis of the concept is among the most serious, systematic and challenging in the history of political philosophy. It is an analysis both temptingly plausible and, as I hope to show, peculiarly wrong. And the ways in which it is wrong are intimately related to what is most characteristic and peculiar in the Hobbesian political argument.

CRITICAL NOTICE

2006 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 429-439 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesco Guala
Keyword(s):  
Political Philosophy ◽  
Political Economy ◽  
Economic Science ◽  
Neoliberal Governmentality ◽  
General Theme ◽  
Collège De France ◽  
New Directions ◽  
Contemporary Liberalism ◽  
Academic Year ◽  
Critical Notice

The title of this book is rather misleading. “Birth of neoliberal governmentality,” or something like that, would have been more faithful to its contents. In Foucault's vocabulary, “biopolitics” is the “rationalisation” of “governmentality” (p. 261): it's the theory, in other words, as opposed to the art (governmentality) of managing people. The mismatch between title and content is easily explained: the general theme of the courses at the Collège de France had to be announced at the beginning of each academic year. It is part of the mandate of every professor at the Collège, however, that his lectures should follow closely his current research. As a consequence it wasn't unusual for Foucault to take new directions while he was lecturing. In 1979, for the first and only time in his career, he took a diversion into contemporary political philosophy. His principal object of investigation became “neoliberal” political economy. More precisely, he got increasingly interested in those strands of contemporary liberalism that use economic science both as a principle of limitation and of inspiration for the management of people.

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