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Relativism and the Foundations of Liberalism by Graham Long Pdf
Moral relativism is often regarded as both fatally flawed and incompatible with liberalism. This book aims to show why such criticism is misconceived. First, it argues that relativism provides a plausible account of moral justification. Drawing on the contemporary relativist and universalist analyses of thinkers such as Harman, Nagel and Habermas, it develops an alternative account of ‘coherence relativism'. Turning to liberalism, the book argues that moral relativism is not only consistent with the claims of contemporary liberalism, but underpins those claims. The political liberalism of Rawls and Barry is founded on an unacknowledged commitment to a relativist account of justification. In combining these two elements, the book offers a new understanding of relativism, and demonstrates its relevance for contemporary liberal thought.
Relativism and the Foundations of Liberalism by Graham Long Pdf
Moral relativism is often regarded as both fatally flawed and incompatible with liberalism. This book aims to show why such criticism is misconceived. First, it argues that relativism provides a plausible account of moral justification. Drawing on the contemporary relativist and universalist analyses of thinkers such as Harman, Nagel and Habermas, it develops an alternative account of ‘coherence relativism'. Turning to liberalism, the book argues that moral relativism is not only consistent with the claims of contemporary liberalism, but underpins those claims. The political liberalism of Rawls and Barry is founded on an unacknowledged commitment to a relativist account of justification. In combining these two elements, the book offers a new understanding of relativism, and demonstrates its relevance for contemporary liberal thought.
Author : Robert S. Taylor Publisher : Penn State Press Page : 362 pages File Size : 53,6 Mb Release : 2015-11-10 Category : Philosophy ISBN : 9780271056715
Reconstructing Rawls has one overarching goal: to reclaim Rawls for the Enlightenment—more specifically, the Prussian Enlightenment. Rawls’s so-called political turn in the 1980s, motivated by a newfound interest in pluralism and the accommodation of difference, has been unhealthy for autonomy-based liberalism and has led liberalism more broadly toward cultural relativism, be it in the guise of liberal multiculturalism or critiques of cosmopolitan distributive-justice theories. Robert Taylor believes that it is time to redeem A Theory of Justice’s implicit promise of a universalistic, comprehensive Kantian liberalism. Reconstructing Rawls on Kantian foundations leads to some unorthodox conclusions about justice as fairness, to be sure: for example, it yields a more civic-humanist reading of the priority of political liberty, a more Marxist reading of the priority of fair equality of opportunity, and a more ascetic or antimaterialist reading of the difference principle. It nonetheless leaves us with a theory that is still recognizably Rawlsian and reveals a previously untraveled road out of Theory—a road very different from the one Rawls himself ultimately followed.
Author : Douglas B. Rasmussen,Douglas J. Den Uyl Publisher : Edward Elgar Publishing Page : 108 pages File Size : 41,6 Mb Release : 1997 Category : Business & Economics ISBN : STANFORD:36105021004556
Liberalism Defended by Douglas B. Rasmussen,Douglas J. Den Uyl Pdf
This is one of four essays, each published separately, and also available together in one hardback edition, which survey classical liberalism and civil society. This paperback offers a defence of liberalism, covering its foundations; liberalism and ethics; and analyses and objections.
A Companion to Relativism presents original contributions from leading scholars that address the latest thinking on the role of relativism in the philosophy of language, epistemology, ethics, philosophy of science, logic, and metaphysics. Features original contributions from many of the leading figures working on various aspects of relativism Presents a substantial, broad range of current thinking about relativism Addresses relativism from many of the major subfields of philosophy, including philosophy of language, epistemology, ethics, philosophy of science, logic, and metaphysics
The Radical Critique of Liberalism by Toula Nicolacopoulos Pdf
There are many books about liberalism, but no defence of radical critique that treats liberal theory with the depth, breadth and intensity of this work. Rigorously examining Rawls, Waldron, Larmore and Kymlicka, the book demonstrates that an adequate appreciation of the deep structural ?aws of liberal theory presupposes the application of a critical philosophical methodology that has the power to reveal the systemic interconnections within and between the varieties of liberal inquiring practices.
Hans Kelsen is commonly associated with legal theory and philosophy of law. Democracy in Its Essence: Hans Kelsen as a Political Thinker instead investigates Kelsen’s democratic theory as it developed between the 1920s and 1950s, which challenged the existence of democracies in many different respects. Kelsen provided a critical reflection on the strengths and problems of living within a democratic system, while also defending it against a series of specific targets: from the Soviet regime and Bolshevism to European Fascisms, from religious-based conceptions of politics to those claiming a perfect identity between capitalism and classical liberal institutions, and chiefly against all those ideologies claiming to possess objective understanding of what true freedom and true democracy signify. By seeking what he defined as the “essence” and “value” of democracy, Kelsen elaborated a pluralist, relativist, constitutional, proceduralist, and liberal theory of representative democracy, characterized by a strong recall to the values of tolerance, responsibility, and respect toward “the other” as well as to the idea of politics as space for compromise. In this book, Sara Lagi reconstructs his political theory as a relevant contribution to the twentieth-century liberal-democratic tradition of thought, while representing a stimulating reflection on the meaning and implication of democracy both as a political system and as a form of co-existence.
Author : Richard A. Epstein Publisher : University of Chicago Press Page : 324 pages File Size : 47,5 Mb Release : 2003-06 Category : Law ISBN : 0226213048
With this book, Richard A. Epstein provides a spirited and systematic defense of classical liberalism against the critiques mounted against it over the past thirty years. One of the most distinguished and provocative legal scholars writing today, Epstein here explains his controversial ideas in what will quickly come to be considered one of his cornerstone works. He begins by laying out his own vision of the key principles of classical liberalism: respect for the autonomy of the individual, a strong system of private property rights, the voluntary exchange of labor and possessions, and prohibitions against force or fraud. Nonetheless, he not only recognizes but insists that state coercion is crucial to safeguarding these principles of private ordering and supplying the social infrastructure on which they depend. Within this framework, Epstein then shows why limited government is much to be preferred over the modern interventionist welfare state. Many of the modern attacks on the classical liberal system seek to undermine the moral, conceptual, cognitive, and psychological foundations on which it rests. Epstein rises to this challenge by carefully rebutting each of these objections in turn. For instance, Epstein demonstrates how our inability to judge the preferences of others means we should respect their liberty of choice regarding their own lives. And he points out the flaws in behavioral economic arguments which, overlooking strong evolutionary pressures, claim that individual preferences are unstable and that people are unable to adopt rational means to achieve their own ends. Freedom, Epstein ultimately shows, depends upon a skepticism that rightly shuns making judgments about what is best for individuals, but that also avoids the relativistic trap that all judgments about our political institutions have equal worth. A brilliant defense of classical liberalism, Skepticism and Freedom will rightly be seen as an intellectual landmark.
Relativism and Religion by Carlo Invernizzi Accetti Pdf
Moral relativism is deeply troubling for those who believe that, without a set of moral absolutes, democratic societies will devolve into tyranny or totalitarianism. Engaging directly with this claim, Carlo Invernizzi Accetti traces the roots of contemporary anti-relativist fears to the antimodern rhetoric of the Catholic Church and then rescues a form of philosophical relativism for modern, pluralist societies, arguing that this viewpoint provides the firmest foundation for an allegiance to democracy. In his analyses of the relationship between religious arguments and political authority and the implications of philosophical relativism for democratic theory, Accetti makes a far-ranging contribution to contemporary debates over the revival of religion in politics and the conceptual grounds for a commitment to democracy. He presents the first comprehensive genealogy of anti-relativist discourse and reclaims for English-speaking readers the overlooked work of Hans Kelsen on the connection between relativism and democracy. By engaging with contemporary attempts to replace the religious foundation of democratic values with a neo-Kantian conception of reason, Accetti also makes a powerful case for relativism as the best basis for a civic ethos that integrates different perspectives into democratic politics.
This book is an original critique of contemporary liberal theories of justice, focusing on the problem of how to relate the personal point of view of the individual to the impartial perspective of justice. Margaret Moore's examination of prominent contemporary arguments for liberal justice reveals that individualist theories are subject to two serious difficulties: the motivation problem and the integrity problem. Individualists cannot explain why the individual should be motivated to act in accordance with the dictates of liberal justice, and–related to this–offer radically incoherent accounts of the person. Revisionist liberal attempts to ground liberalism in contextual and perfectionist terms offer more defensible foundations, but Dr Moore argues that such theories do not support liberal political principles. She concludes by sketching a historical and concrete approach to political and ethical theorizing which reformulates the relation between self-interest and morality, and is not subject to the problems that beset liberal individualist theories of justice. Her book advances the debate between communitarians and liberals about the kind of moral foundation which a liberal society requires.
In contemporary liberal thought, "tolerance" has come to be redefined as a synonym for ethical neutrality: refusal to judge among competing views of goods and evils. The result of this extreme relativism has been a foundations crisis in law, politics, education, and other areas of social life. In this lucidly written and brilliantly argued volume, J. Budziszewski attempts to reserve the self-destruction of modern liberalism by showing that true tolerance is not only consistent with taking stands about objective goods and evils, but actually requires doing so.Tolerance, falsely understood as ethical neutrality, has the paradoxical effect of crippling policy choice by divesting it of the moral and practical framework on which it depends. By painstakingly and exhaustively dissecting each of the many neutralist arguments, Budziszewski demonstrates that real neutrality is logically impossible. Confronted by alternative views, the neutralist at best obscures his own underlying judgments, and at worst abandons all possible defense against fanatics who oppose both true equality and true tolerance.True Tolerance is both a rigorous critique, and a polemic undertaken in the name of a positive, twenty-first century vision of liberalism. Budziszewsky outlines a view of true tolerance that assumes a relationship with an older liberal tradition and a codependence with other virtues, including humility, mercy, charity, respect, and courtesy. This vision is rooted in historical experience and rational conviction about what is good. In the spirit of liberal and classical theorists of virtue from Aristotle to John Locke to Alasdair MacIntyre, the virtue of true tolerance is much more than a readiness to follow known rules; it includes a developed ability to distinguish good rules from bad, and to choose rightly even where there are no rules or where rules seem to contradict each other. Accessibly written and intended for a wide readership, True Tolerance will be of special interest to political theorists and activists, and to sociologists and philosophers.
‘I am passionate about my country and angry at the mendacity that has led to the appalling situation in which the UK and our people are heading for relative poverty and insignificance while our politics is offering bitter, unpalatable extremes. There has to be something better. In the absence of something better, we will have to build it.’ Tim Farron Writing with warmth, humour and compelling honesty, Tim Farron charts his rise to the leadership of the Liberal Democrats – from his childhood in Preston to his central role during the Conservative–Lib Dem coalition of 2010–15. Farron speaks openly about his role as Party President and the intense experience of leading his party through the 2016 EU referendum and the snap general election of 2017. He also reflects on the scrutiny he received because of his religious beliefs. So, having reached the top of his career, what made him voluntarily relinquish that honour? What does Tim Farron’s experience mean for those who hold to a liberal vision? Are there lessons to be learned about the role of religion in public life? And what are the prospects for true liberalism in the UK today?
Author : Frank S. Smith Publisher : THE LIBERAL MANIFESTO Page : 250 pages File Size : 45,5 Mb Release : 2012-08-28 Category : Political Science ISBN : 9780985574727
AMERICA HAS REACHED AN UNPRECEDENTED TIME IN HISTORY WITH THE SAFETY, LIBERTY, AND PROSPERITY OF EVERY AMERICAN IN JEOPARDY. The moral fabric of America and the individual liberty of Americans continue to suffer unrelenting attacks. In his definitive new book, The Liberal Manifesto, Frank S. Smith presents a convincing case that America’s decline is due to the unsustainable nature of the liberal ideology and a hidden agenda behind the liberal movement. He provides numerous examples of past and present efforts by liberal elites to manufacture circumstances and manipulate American ideals to conform to expectations that are unsustainable. These examples substantiate their abuse of power, breaking of laws, and socialistic efforts to precipitate an environment that is forcing Americans to become dependent on, and submissive to, government control. The Liberal Manifesto identifies six Convenience Doctrines (philosophies developed for the sake of convenience) that characterize the pretense of the liberal movement, and the motive behind each one. It shows how these philosophies, which appeal to the emotions of unwitting Americans, are spurious and unsustainable. The evidence in this book suggests that the more liberalism prevails, the more Americans will suffer. From socialist and communist parallels to the unsustainable nature of big government, The Liberal Manifesto illustrates the source of the problem. Thomas Jefferson advocated for a broadly educated citizenry because he believed that well-informed citizens “are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty.” If Americans wish to retain America’s exceptionalism it will require citizens getting informed and getting involved.
Today the issue of relativism is not only an academic subject, it has become a vital concern in sociology and politics, along with the issue of globalisation. This book studies ethical relativism in its most profound and recent forms, and argues that a non-relativist account of morality is capable of validating our moral experiences without undesirable implications. The author demonstrates that unlike during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, support for ethical relativism is now in decline. He proposes that the most promising strategy is first to settle the issue of the foundations of morality, and then to develop a new theory of morality based on self-love, moral ideas and the process of decision-making. This book brings a fresh perspective to the on-going debate on post-modernism and relativism, and should be of interest to all who study philosophy, theology and cultural studies, and those interested in spirituality.
