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Articles 1 - 23 of 23
Full-Text Articles in Ethics and Political Philosophy
Revisiting Tocqueville's American Woman, Christine Dunn Henderson
Revisiting Tocqueville's American Woman, Christine Dunn Henderson
Research Collection College of Integrative Studies
This paper revisits Tocqueville’s famous portrait of the American female, which begins with assertions of her equality to males but ends with her self-cloistering in the domestic sphere. Taking a cue from Tocqueville’s extended sketch of the “faded” pioneer wife in “A Fortnight in the Wilderness” and drawing connections to Tocqueville’s criticisms of the division of industrial labor, I argue that the American girl’s ostensibly free choice to remove herself from public life is not an act of freedom. Rather, it is a manifestation of a particular type of unfreedom that reveals underappreciated connections between the two great dangers about …
Beyond The "Formidable Circle": Race And The Limits Of Democratic Inclusion In Tocqueville's Democracy In America, Christine Dunn Henderson
Beyond The "Formidable Circle": Race And The Limits Of Democratic Inclusion In Tocqueville's Democracy In America, Christine Dunn Henderson
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
Despite his assertion that the first volume of Democracy in America (1835) would concentrate upon institutions, Tocqueville found himself finishing the draft manuscript in 1834 and unable to conclude his study without discussing race relations in the United States. In the end, he quickly penned a final chapter. That chapter—by far the book’s longest—offers “Some Considerations on the Present State and Probable Future of the Three Races That Inhabit the Territory of the United States.” Tocqueville begins the chapter by acknowledging that its subject “is American without being democratic” (DA, p. 516), and to the extent that it analyzes slavery …
The Intrinsic Values Of Confucian Democracy And Dewey's Pragmatist Method, Sor-Hoon Tan
The Intrinsic Values Of Confucian Democracy And Dewey's Pragmatist Method, Sor-Hoon Tan
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
Given the historical association of Confucianism, or rather the Ru school of thought, with autocratic government since the Han dynasty, one of the challenges for contemporary scholars of Confucianism is to interpret and reconstruct Confucianism to guard against authoritarian tendencies without surrendering its distinctive ethical-political vision. Confucianism is incompatible with the conventional understanding of democracy as liberal democracy best represented by the United States, focused on limiting government with checks and balances, prioritizing protection of the civil and political rights of individuals, regular elections of representatives in which partisan competition for power offers citizens very little real choice, and it …
Confucianism As Transformative Practice: Ethical Impact And Political Pitfalls, Sor-Hoon Tan
Confucianism As Transformative Practice: Ethical Impact And Political Pitfalls, Sor-Hoon Tan
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
No serious scholar today denies the close relationship between politics and ethics in Confucian thought and practice.
Humanist But Not Radical: The Educational Philosophy Of Thiruvalluvar Kural, Devin K. Joshi
Humanist But Not Radical: The Educational Philosophy Of Thiruvalluvar Kural, Devin K. Joshi
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
Humanist ideas in education have been promoted by both Western thinkers and classical wisdom texts of Asia. Exploring this connection, I examine the educational philosophy of an iconic ancient Tamil (Indian) text, the Thiruvalluvar Kural, by juxtaposing it with a contemporary humanist classic, Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed. As this comparative study reveals, both texts offer humanist visions of relevance to education, politics, and society. Notably, however, the Kural takes what might be described as a more mainstream humanist stance vis-à-vis Freire’s radical humanist approach. Nevertheless, both educational philosophies share a common humanist bond representing important breakthroughs …
The Other China Model: Daoism, Pluralism, And Political Liberalism, Devin K. Joshi
The Other China Model: Daoism, Pluralism, And Political Liberalism, Devin K. Joshi
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
While scholars often portray Chinese political thought and tradition as standing in opposition to Western notions of political liberalism, little consideration has been given to compatibility between liberalism and Daoism, a prominent religion and long-standing alternative school of thought among Chinese peoples. Addressing this gap in the literature, this study in comparative political thought compares Laozi’s Dao De Jing with John Stuart Mill’s On Liberty to illustrate certain core political ideas in the Dao De Jing and their treatment in Mill’s landmark text on political liberalism. Although the two texts diverge in terms of advocacy of popular representation, public contestation, …
The Dumb Prof Considers Intersectionality In The Age Of Trump, Justin Kh Tse
The Dumb Prof Considers Intersectionality In The Age Of Trump, Justin Kh Tse
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
Among decent, intelligent, and respectable human beings in the United States and around the world, the occupation of Donald Trump of the American presidency is the shock that never ends. Much of this has to do with how vulgar the man is. The activist-academic terms intersectionality and identity politics have in turn entered into our popular vocabulary as words that might describe how all of these aggrieved groups might resist the Trump Administration. This resistance, it is claimed, is necessary because these various groups have not only been insulted by Trump’s rhetoric, but have also been oppressed by draconian policies …
Theologies Of Word And State: Some Reflections On The Ottawa Shooting, Justin Kh Tse, Matt Sheedy
Theologies Of Word And State: Some Reflections On The Ottawa Shooting, Justin Kh Tse, Matt Sheedy
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
The shooting in Ottawa on 22 October 2014 has uncovered the remarkable way that the Canadian state remains theologically constituted. In some ways, this is a relatively uncontroversial argument. The White House press conference immediately following the attacks made a link between the Canadian support for military action against the Islamic State and the deaths of both Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent on October 20 in Quebec and Cpl. Nathan Cirillo of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders on the October 22. When one says that Ottawa shootings have a religious dimension, the gut response is that my argument will be about …
"Those Stubborn Principles": From Stoicism To Sociability In Joseph Addison’S Cato, Christine Dunn Henderson, Mark Yellin
"Those Stubborn Principles": From Stoicism To Sociability In Joseph Addison’S Cato, Christine Dunn Henderson, Mark Yellin
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
Joseph Addison’s 1713 play, Cato: A Tragedy, dramatizes the final days of Cato the Younger’s resistance to Julius Caesar before his eventual suicide at Utica in 46 BC. Although Addison initially seems to present Cato as a model for emulation, we argue that Addison is ultimately critical of both Cato and the Stoicism he embodies. Via the play’s romantic subplot and via his work as an essayist, Addison offers a revision of the Catonic model, reworking it into a gentler model that elevates qualities such as love, friendship, and sympathy and that is more appropriate to the type of peaceful …
The Labor Theory Of Justice, Chandran Kukathas
The Labor Theory Of Justice, Chandran Kukathas
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
Justice is the first virtue of social institutions as truth is of systems ofthought. So John Rawls famously proclaimed in the beginning of hismasterwork, A Theory of Justice. A theory however elegant and economical must be rejected or revised if untrue. Laws and institutions no matterhow efficient and well arranged must be reformed or abolished if unjust.Justice, perhaps unlike some other values, was not something we mightreadily trade a little of in exchange for other benefits.1In his critique ofRawls, Rescuing Justice and Equality, G. A. Cohen proposes to take justicemore seriously while at the same time conceding that justice might …
Including The Excluded: Communitarian Paths To Cosmopolitanism, Eduard Jordaan
Including The Excluded: Communitarian Paths To Cosmopolitanism, Eduard Jordaan
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
Cosmopolitanism is frequently criticised for overlooking the situatedness of morality and the importance of solidarity in their aspiration to global justice. A number of thinkers take these criticisms seriously and pursue ‘a communitarian path to cosmopolitanism’. Four such approaches are considered. All four view morality and justice as grounded in a specific social setting and hold that justice is more likely to result if there is some ‘we-feeling’ among people, but are simultaneously committed to expanding the realm of justice and moral concern to beyond national boundaries. To enable the theorisation of an expanded realm of situated justice and moral …
E Pluribus Plurum, Or, How To Fail To Back Into A State In Spite Of Really Trying, Chandran Kukathas
E Pluribus Plurum, Or, How To Fail To Back Into A State In Spite Of Really Trying, Chandran Kukathas
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
“The framework for utopia,” Robert Nozick tells us at the beginning of the fi nal section of Part iiiof Anarchy, State, and Utopia( ASU), “is equivalent to the minimal state” (p. 333). The rich andcomplex body of argumentation of Parts iand iihad produced theconclusion that the minimal, and no more than a minimal, statewas legitimate or morally justifi ed. What Part iiireveals is that theminimal state “is the one that best realizes the utopian aspirationsof untold dreamers and visionaries” (p. 333). Although this happyconvergence is surely no accident, neither, Nozick insists, is it contrived, for it is the conclusion reached …
Reconciling Modernity And Tradition In A Liberal Society, Chandran Kukathas
Reconciling Modernity And Tradition In A Liberal Society, Chandran Kukathas
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
Many modern liberals have been eager to tout the virtues of diversity, but many have equally found it difficult to tolerate customs or traditions that do not conform to liberalism’s deepest commitments to equality and individual liberty. The distinction between traditional and modern is not a very useful one for understanding the problems confronting liberal society, or for working out how to address them because the contrast does not pick out a tension or conflict about which we can usefully generalise. Chandran Kukatahs suggests that as the tension in question is not one that is capable of resolution, the best …
Understanding Hayek, Chandran Kukathas
Understanding Hayek, Chandran Kukathas
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
Although some of this will be familiar to a number of you all,I will talk a bit about Friedrich A. Hayek since I am goingfirst. I’ll say a little bit about his life, how he came to theideas that he became so famous for espousing, and then a little bitabout his liberalism and the contribution he has made to liberaltheory and to intellectual life.
Dialogic Cosmopolitanism And Global Justice, Eduard Christiaan Jordaan
Dialogic Cosmopolitanism And Global Justice, Eduard Christiaan Jordaan
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
Although the term “cosmopolitan-communitarian debate” never really caught on, a national-global fault line remains prominent in debates about global justice. “Dialogic cosmopolitanism” holds the promise of bridging this alleged fault line by accepting many of the communitarian criticisms against cosmopolitanism and following what can be described as a communitarian path to cosmopolitanism. This article identifies and describes four key elements that distinguish dialogic cosmopolitanism: a respect for difference; a commitment to genuine dialogue; an open, hesitant and self-problematising attitude on the part of the moral subject; and an undertaking to expand the boundaries of moral concern to the point of …
Dialogic Cosmopolitanism And Global Justice, Eduard Jordaan
Dialogic Cosmopolitanism And Global Justice, Eduard Jordaan
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
Although the term “cosmopolitan-communitarian debate” never really caught on, a national-global fault line remains prominent in debates about global justice. “Dialogic cosmopolitanism” holds the promise of bridging this alleged fault line by accepting many of the communitarian criticisms against cosmopolitanism and following what can be described as a communitarian path to cosmopolitanism. This article identifies and describes four key elements that distinguish dialogic cosmopolitanism: a respect for difference; a commitment to genuine dialogue; an open, hesitant and self-problematising attitude on the part of the moral subject; and an undertaking to expand the boundaries of moral concern to the point of …
Richard Rorty And Moral Progress In Global Relations, Eduard Jordaan
Richard Rorty And Moral Progress In Global Relations, Eduard Jordaan
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
Richard Rorty's navigation of the pitfalls of the cosmopolitan-communitarian debate, concern with human suffering, recognition of the contingency of communal identities and relationships, and his endorsement of liberal societies, by definition inclusive and always in search of a greater justice, make it appear as though his thought can guide us towards greater concern for the world's poor. However, this article questions the progressive potential of Rorty's thought. Obstacles to such (global) moral progress include Rorty's unquestioned statism and his focus on internal outsiders who are suffering and/or oppressed, instead of external outsiders beyond national borders; his insistence on a public-private …
Pierre Bayle's Philosophical Commentary On The Words Of Jesus Christ: Compel Them To Come In, John Kilcullen, Chandran Kukathas
Pierre Bayle's Philosophical Commentary On The Words Of Jesus Christ: Compel Them To Come In, John Kilcullen, Chandran Kukathas
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
In this defence of religious toleration, Bayle discusses the words attributed to Jesus Christ in Luke 14:23, “And the Lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be full.” Bayle contends that the word compel cannot mean “force.” From this perspective, he constructs his doctrine of toleration based on the singular importance of conscience. Bayle argues that if the orthodox have the right and duty to persecute, then every sect will persecute since every sect considers itself orthodox. The result will be mutual slaughter, something God …
Trust (And Social Capital) In Cultural Theory, Marco Verweij
Trust (And Social Capital) In Cultural Theory, Marco Verweij
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
No abstract provided.
The Case For Open Immigration, Chandran Kukathas
The Case For Open Immigration, Chandran Kukathas
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
People favor or are opposed to immigration for a variety of reasons. It is therefore difficult to tie views about immigration to ideological positions. While it seems obviousthat political conservatives are the most unlikely to defend freedom of movement,and that socialists and liberals (classical and modern) are very likely to favor more openborders, in reality wariness (if not outright hostility) to immigration can be foundamong all groups. Even libertarian anarchists have advanced reasons to restrict themovement of peoples.
Nationalism And Multiculturalism, Chandran Kukathas
Nationalism And Multiculturalism, Chandran Kukathas
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
If any issue dominates contemporary political theory, it is how to deal with cultural diversity and the claims –moral, legal, and political – made in the name of ethnic, religious, linguistic, or national allegiance (Kymlicka,2001: 17). Today, governments are confronted by demands from cultural minorities for recognition, protection,preferential treatment, and political autonomy within the boundaries of the state. Equally, international societyand its political institutions, as well as states themselves, have had to deal with demands from various peoplesfor political recognition as independent nations, and for national self-determination. The turbulent politics ofthe contemporary world may account in part for this development: …
Tolerating The Intolerable, Chandran Kukathas
Tolerating The Intolerable, Chandran Kukathas
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
Presenting a lecture[1] on the virtue of toleration anywhere, let alone in the chambers of the Australian Senate department, should strike most people as a peculiarly pointless kind of exercise. Would anyone not in favour of toleration bother to turn up? (And what is the point of preaching to the converted? Would anyone against it bother to listen? And could such a person be converted?) In truth, it might not be easy to find anyone who openly professed intolerance. Almost everyone is in favour of tolerance; though of course, each will hasten to add, this does not mean that ‘anything …
Welfare, Contract, And The Language Of Charity, Chandran Kukathas
Welfare, Contract, And The Language Of Charity, Chandran Kukathas
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
No abstract provided.