Terence Ball
- Published in print:
- 1994
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198279952
- eISBN:
- 9780191598753
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198279957.003.0008
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
Here, I re‐examine the sources of John Stuart Mill's feminist sympathies. After looking closely at two oft‐touted candidates—Jeremy Bentham and Harriet Taylor Mill—I conclude that neither played the ...
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Here, I re‐examine the sources of John Stuart Mill's feminist sympathies. After looking closely at two oft‐touted candidates—Jeremy Bentham and Harriet Taylor Mill—I conclude that neither played the role attributed to them by some modern feminists. A third and heretofore unsuspected thinker—namely his own father, James Mill—proves to be a much more plausible and probable source of the younger Mill's feminist views.Less
Here, I re‐examine the sources of John Stuart Mill's feminist sympathies. After looking closely at two oft‐touted candidates—Jeremy Bentham and Harriet Taylor Mill—I conclude that neither played the role attributed to them by some modern feminists. A third and heretofore unsuspected thinker—namely his own father, James Mill—proves to be a much more plausible and probable source of the younger Mill's feminist views.
Chandran Kukathas
- Published in print:
- 1989
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198273264
- eISBN:
- 9780191684029
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198273264.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
In the history of modern liberal political thought the work of F. A. Hayek stands out as one of the most significant contributions to liberal theory since J. S. Mill. This book critically examines ...
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In the history of modern liberal political thought the work of F. A. Hayek stands out as one of the most significant contributions to liberal theory since J. S. Mill. This book critically examines the nature and coherence of Hayek's defence of liberal principles, and tries both to identify its weaknesses and to show why it makes such an important contribution to contemporary political theory. The book argues that Hayek's defence of liberalism is unsuccessful because it rests on presuppositions, which are philosophically incompatible. The unresolved dilemma of Hayek's political philosophy is how to mount a systematic defence of liberalism if one emphasizes the limited capacity of reason. However, this book states that Hayek's social philosophy offers us a significant theory of the nature of social processes, and is therefore an important account of how this must constrain our choice of political principles. For this reason, Hayek's work is worthy of attention both by supporters and critics of liberalism.Less
In the history of modern liberal political thought the work of F. A. Hayek stands out as one of the most significant contributions to liberal theory since J. S. Mill. This book critically examines the nature and coherence of Hayek's defence of liberal principles, and tries both to identify its weaknesses and to show why it makes such an important contribution to contemporary political theory. The book argues that Hayek's defence of liberalism is unsuccessful because it rests on presuppositions, which are philosophically incompatible. The unresolved dilemma of Hayek's political philosophy is how to mount a systematic defence of liberalism if one emphasizes the limited capacity of reason. However, this book states that Hayek's social philosophy offers us a significant theory of the nature of social processes, and is therefore an important account of how this must constrain our choice of political principles. For this reason, Hayek's work is worthy of attention both by supporters and critics of liberalism.
Terence Ball
- Published in print:
- 1994
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198279952
- eISBN:
- 9780191598753
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198279957.003.0006
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
This chapter compares and contrasts the schemes for a civil religion advanced by Auguste Comte and James Mill, which contrasts the former's illiberal and priestly views with the latter's liberal and ...
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This chapter compares and contrasts the schemes for a civil religion advanced by Auguste Comte and James Mill, which contrasts the former's illiberal and priestly views with the latter's liberal and low‐church conception of the role of religion in a modern and largely secular society. The purpose of Mill's civil religion is pedagogical: it seeks to impart civically useful knowledge and to instil a sense of civic responsibility and restraint. This stands in stark contrast to Comte's civil religion, which seeks to stifle criticism, manipulate the emotions, and procure assent to an authoritarian and undemocratic system of priestly rule.Less
This chapter compares and contrasts the schemes for a civil religion advanced by Auguste Comte and James Mill, which contrasts the former's illiberal and priestly views with the latter's liberal and low‐church conception of the role of religion in a modern and largely secular society. The purpose of Mill's civil religion is pedagogical: it seeks to impart civically useful knowledge and to instil a sense of civic responsibility and restraint. This stands in stark contrast to Comte's civil religion, which seeks to stifle criticism, manipulate the emotions, and procure assent to an authoritarian and undemocratic system of priestly rule.
Javed Majeed
- Published in print:
- 1992
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198117865
- eISBN:
- 9780191671098
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198117865.001.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, 18th-century Literature, 19th-century and Victorian Literature
Drawing on contemporary critical work on colonialism and the cross-cultural encounter, this book is a study of the emergence of utilitarianism as a new political language in Britain in the late-18th ...
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Drawing on contemporary critical work on colonialism and the cross-cultural encounter, this book is a study of the emergence of utilitarianism as a new political language in Britain in the late-18th and early-19th centuries. It focuses on the relationship between this language and the complexities of British Imperial experience in India at the time. Examining the work of James Mill and Sir William Jones, and also that of the poets Robert Southey and Thomas Moore, the book highlights the role played by aesthetic and linguistic attitudes in the formulation of British views on India, and reveals how closely these attitudes were linked to the definition of cultural identities. To this end, Mill's utilitarian study of India is shown to function both as an attack on the conservative orientalism of the period, and as part of a larger critique of British society itself. In so doing, the book demonstrates how complex British attitudes to India were in the late 18th and early 19th centuries and how this might be explained in the light of domestic and imperial contexts.Less
Drawing on contemporary critical work on colonialism and the cross-cultural encounter, this book is a study of the emergence of utilitarianism as a new political language in Britain in the late-18th and early-19th centuries. It focuses on the relationship between this language and the complexities of British Imperial experience in India at the time. Examining the work of James Mill and Sir William Jones, and also that of the poets Robert Southey and Thomas Moore, the book highlights the role played by aesthetic and linguistic attitudes in the formulation of British views on India, and reveals how closely these attitudes were linked to the definition of cultural identities. To this end, Mill's utilitarian study of India is shown to function both as an attack on the conservative orientalism of the period, and as part of a larger critique of British society itself. In so doing, the book demonstrates how complex British attitudes to India were in the late 18th and early 19th centuries and how this might be explained in the light of domestic and imperial contexts.
Robert Audi
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195312942
- eISBN:
- 9780199851188
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195312942.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy
This short book is designed for those learning about the search for ethical rules that can apply despite cultural differences. The author looks at several such attempts – Aristotle, Kant, Mill – and ...
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This short book is designed for those learning about the search for ethical rules that can apply despite cultural differences. The author looks at several such attempts – Aristotle, Kant, Mill – and the movement known as “common-sense” ethics associated with W.D. Ross. He shows how each attempt grew out of its own time and place, yet has some universal qualities that can be used for an ethical framework.Less
This short book is designed for those learning about the search for ethical rules that can apply despite cultural differences. The author looks at several such attempts – Aristotle, Kant, Mill – and the movement known as “common-sense” ethics associated with W.D. Ross. He shows how each attempt grew out of its own time and place, yet has some universal qualities that can be used for an ethical framework.
Ann E. Cudd
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- May 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780195187434
- eISBN:
- 9780199786213
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195187431.003.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Political Philosophy
This chapter examines the use of the concept of oppression in political and philosophical discussions, and theories that attempt to explain it. From the genealogy of the concept, a general ...
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This chapter examines the use of the concept of oppression in political and philosophical discussions, and theories that attempt to explain it. From the genealogy of the concept, a general description of the harm of oppression and a set of paradigm cases are formulated. From a survey of theories that attempt to explain oppression, a set of questions that should be answered by a theory of oppression, and a survey of possible methodologies to employ in answering those questions are developed. An overview of the subsequent chapters is presented.Less
This chapter examines the use of the concept of oppression in political and philosophical discussions, and theories that attempt to explain it. From the genealogy of the concept, a general description of the harm of oppression and a set of paradigm cases are formulated. From a survey of theories that attempt to explain oppression, a set of questions that should be answered by a theory of oppression, and a survey of possible methodologies to employ in answering those questions are developed. An overview of the subsequent chapters is presented.
Jeff Jordan
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- January 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199291328
- eISBN:
- 9780191710698
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199291328.003.0006
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Religion
There are pragmatic theistic arguments different from Pascal's Wager. Some of these pragmatic arguments are found in James Beattie, J. S. Mill, William James, and Jules Lachelier. Some of these ...
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There are pragmatic theistic arguments different from Pascal's Wager. Some of these pragmatic arguments are found in James Beattie, J. S. Mill, William James, and Jules Lachelier. Some of these arguments support the propriety of hoping that theism is true, while others are arguments in support of theistic belief being rational. The permissibility conditions of hope differ from those of belief, and that is a topic of this chapter.Less
There are pragmatic theistic arguments different from Pascal's Wager. Some of these pragmatic arguments are found in James Beattie, J. S. Mill, William James, and Jules Lachelier. Some of these arguments support the propriety of hoping that theism is true, while others are arguments in support of theistic belief being rational. The permissibility conditions of hope differ from those of belief, and that is a topic of this chapter.
Axel Hadenius
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199246663
- eISBN:
- 9780191599392
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199246661.003.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Democratization
Illuminates broadly the relationship between active democratic citizenship and institutions conditions. It draws in particular on Tocqueville's comparison between the conditions in USA and France. ...
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Illuminates broadly the relationship between active democratic citizenship and institutions conditions. It draws in particular on Tocqueville's comparison between the conditions in USA and France. Other contributors to the institutionalist‐cum‐republican tradition, such as Rousseau, Mill, Kornhauser, and Putnam are presented.Less
Illuminates broadly the relationship between active democratic citizenship and institutions conditions. It draws in particular on Tocqueville's comparison between the conditions in USA and France. Other contributors to the institutionalist‐cum‐republican tradition, such as Rousseau, Mill, Kornhauser, and Putnam are presented.
Joel Feinberg
- Published in print:
- 1987
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195046649
- eISBN:
- 9780199868728
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195046641.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy
Harm to Others is the first volume in a four‐volume work entitled The Moral Limits of the Criminal Law that addresses the question, What acts may the state rightly make criminal? ...
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Harm to Others is the first volume in a four‐volume work entitled The Moral Limits of the Criminal Law that addresses the question, What acts may the state rightly make criminal? Feinberg identifies four liberty‐limiting, or coercion‐legitimizing, principles, each of which is the subject of a volume of his book. In the first volume, Feinberg looks at the principle of harm to others – or the harm principle – which John Stuart Mill identified as the only liberty‐limiting principle. The other principles that Feinberg considers in subsequent volumes are (1) the offense principle: it is necessary to prevent hurt or offense (as opposed to harm) to others; (2) legal paternalism: it is necessary to prevent harm to the actor herself; and (3) legal moralism: it is necessary to prevent immoral conduct whether or not it harms anyone. As a thinker who favors liberalism, Feinberg rejects legal paternalism and legal moralism, maintaining that the harm principle and the offense principle exhaust the class of morally relevant reasons for criminal prohibitions. Feinberg's examination of the harm principle begins with an account of the concept of harm and its relation to other concepts like interests, wants, hurts, offenses, rights, and consent. After addressing difficult examples such as moral harm, vicious harm, prenatal harm, and posthumous harm, Feinberg considers both the moral status of a failure to prevent harm and the problems related to assessing, comparing, and imputing harms.Less
Harm to Others is the first volume in a four‐volume work entitled The Moral Limits of the Criminal Law that addresses the question, What acts may the state rightly make criminal? Feinberg identifies four liberty‐limiting, or coercion‐legitimizing, principles, each of which is the subject of a volume of his book. In the first volume, Feinberg looks at the principle of harm to others – or the harm principle – which John Stuart Mill identified as the only liberty‐limiting principle. The other principles that Feinberg considers in subsequent volumes are (1) the offense principle: it is necessary to prevent hurt or offense (as opposed to harm) to others; (2) legal paternalism: it is necessary to prevent harm to the actor herself; and (3) legal moralism: it is necessary to prevent immoral conduct whether or not it harms anyone. As a thinker who favors liberalism, Feinberg rejects legal paternalism and legal moralism, maintaining that the harm principle and the offense principle exhaust the class of morally relevant reasons for criminal prohibitions. Feinberg's examination of the harm principle begins with an account of the concept of harm and its relation to other concepts like interests, wants, hurts, offenses, rights, and consent. After addressing difficult examples such as moral harm, vicious harm, prenatal harm, and posthumous harm, Feinberg considers both the moral status of a failure to prevent harm and the problems related to assessing, comparing, and imputing harms.
Michael Freeden
- Published in print:
- 1998
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198294146
- eISBN:
- 9780191599323
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019829414X.003.0005
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
From the vantage point of the end of the twentieth century, the author has selected four case‐studies of clusters of thought claiming to be liberal, in order to perform the twofold task of assembling ...
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From the vantage point of the end of the twentieth century, the author has selected four case‐studies of clusters of thought claiming to be liberal, in order to perform the twofold task of assembling the units of liberalism into an identifiable structure, and of testing concrete instances against whatever dominant morphological configuration may emerge. First, there is what is misleadingly known as classical liberalism, an early‐ to mid‐nineteenth‐century creed associated in Britain with J. S. Mill; some of its tenets are examined while being careful not to fall into the trap of assigning lexical correctness to its conceptual definitions and merely secondary or derivative status to its successors. Second, there are versions of reformist (or new) liberalism, such as those associated with T. H. Green, the British new liberalism, and their German and French counterparts; here, an assessment is made of both the question of family continuity and the boundary problems these permutations have, particularly with socialism; the analysis of new liberalism is taken further in the next chapter. Third, there is a recent genre of philosophical liberalism, much in fashion in the American academic world but achieving success abroad through the prominence of American political philosophy; an inquiry is made into whether this school produces a possibly innovative but stipulative model and whether it is reconcilable with mainstream American liberal traditions; the ideological elements in this philosophical position are also examined; the analysis of philosophical liberalism is taken further in Ch. 6. Finally, there is a variant broadly known as libertarianism, with both nineteenth‐century and contemporary instances; an exploration is made of its claim to be representative of a (or the) legitimate strand of liberalism, and of the extent to which it is situated within or outside the accepted boundaries of liberalism; the analysis of libertarianism is taken further in Ch. 7.Less
From the vantage point of the end of the twentieth century, the author has selected four case‐studies of clusters of thought claiming to be liberal, in order to perform the twofold task of assembling the units of liberalism into an identifiable structure, and of testing concrete instances against whatever dominant morphological configuration may emerge. First, there is what is misleadingly known as classical liberalism, an early‐ to mid‐nineteenth‐century creed associated in Britain with J. S. Mill; some of its tenets are examined while being careful not to fall into the trap of assigning lexical correctness to its conceptual definitions and merely secondary or derivative status to its successors. Second, there are versions of reformist (or new) liberalism, such as those associated with T. H. Green, the British new liberalism, and their German and French counterparts; here, an assessment is made of both the question of family continuity and the boundary problems these permutations have, particularly with socialism; the analysis of new liberalism is taken further in the next chapter. Third, there is a recent genre of philosophical liberalism, much in fashion in the American academic world but achieving success abroad through the prominence of American political philosophy; an inquiry is made into whether this school produces a possibly innovative but stipulative model and whether it is reconcilable with mainstream American liberal traditions; the ideological elements in this philosophical position are also examined; the analysis of philosophical liberalism is taken further in Ch. 6. Finally, there is a variant broadly known as libertarianism, with both nineteenth‐century and contemporary instances; an exploration is made of its claim to be representative of a (or the) legitimate strand of liberalism, and of the extent to which it is situated within or outside the accepted boundaries of liberalism; the analysis of libertarianism is taken further in Ch. 7.
Michael Freeden
- Published in print:
- 1998
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198294146
- eISBN:
- 9780191599323
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019829414X.003.0006
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
An examination of J. S. Mill's ideational legatees offers a useful insight into ideological variation, since later liberals constantly alluded to Mill as a yardstick by which to measure their own ...
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An examination of J. S. Mill's ideational legatees offers a useful insight into ideological variation, since later liberals constantly alluded to Mill as a yardstick by which to measure their own attainments; we thus face a tradition consciously absorbed and recreated by a new generation of ideological consumers, employing common points of reference to forge a sense of ideological community through expanding horizons. The Millite paradigm of the previous chapter becomes pivotal not merely as a preference of the analyst of ideologies, but because so many shapers of liberalism believed Mill to be pivotal; assessment of their contributions on the basis of that perception is methodologically justified, and moreover, from the historical perspective, a period offering instances of both ideological continuity and change is optimally suited to studying ideological diversity and conceptual mutability. In answer to the question of how the core concepts of liberty, individualism, progress, rationality, the general interest, sociability, limited, and responsible power fared in the hands of the Millite succession, it is contended in this chapter that they all remained constituents of the liberal core, but that some underwent redecontesting owing to changing scientific fashion, new sets of ethico‐cultural beliefs, and specific events that made their mark on ideological assumptions. The final feature of liberalism—structural tolerance—was a key facilitator in that process, allowing critical distancing from the modernist project with which liberalism was associated. The eight sections of the chapter are: (a) The idealist liberalism of T. H. Green; (b) Perimeter practices and adjacent aftermaths; (c) The new liberalism: the evolution of an ideology (d) The changing adjacencies of liberty; (e) The organic analogy; (f) Fleshing out the new liberal morphology; (g) State, group, and society: the German case; and (h) state, group, and society: the French case.Less
An examination of J. S. Mill's ideational legatees offers a useful insight into ideological variation, since later liberals constantly alluded to Mill as a yardstick by which to measure their own attainments; we thus face a tradition consciously absorbed and recreated by a new generation of ideological consumers, employing common points of reference to forge a sense of ideological community through expanding horizons. The Millite paradigm of the previous chapter becomes pivotal not merely as a preference of the analyst of ideologies, but because so many shapers of liberalism believed Mill to be pivotal; assessment of their contributions on the basis of that perception is methodologically justified, and moreover, from the historical perspective, a period offering instances of both ideological continuity and change is optimally suited to studying ideological diversity and conceptual mutability. In answer to the question of how the core concepts of liberty, individualism, progress, rationality, the general interest, sociability, limited, and responsible power fared in the hands of the Millite succession, it is contended in this chapter that they all remained constituents of the liberal core, but that some underwent redecontesting owing to changing scientific fashion, new sets of ethico‐cultural beliefs, and specific events that made their mark on ideological assumptions. The final feature of liberalism—structural tolerance—was a key facilitator in that process, allowing critical distancing from the modernist project with which liberalism was associated. The eight sections of the chapter are: (a) The idealist liberalism of T. H. Green; (b) Perimeter practices and adjacent aftermaths; (c) The new liberalism: the evolution of an ideology (d) The changing adjacencies of liberty; (e) The organic analogy; (f) Fleshing out the new liberal morphology; (g) State, group, and society: the German case; and (h) state, group, and society: the French case.
Joseph V. Femia
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198280637
- eISBN:
- 9780191599231
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198280637.003.0004
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
According to the jeopardy thesis, democracy will endanger or even destroy values that we hold dear: cultural excellence, freedom, and economic prosperity. The proponents of the jeopardy thesis are ...
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According to the jeopardy thesis, democracy will endanger or even destroy values that we hold dear: cultural excellence, freedom, and economic prosperity. The proponents of the jeopardy thesis are many and various, ranging from proto‐fascists (Nietzsche, Maurras) and conservatives (T.S. Eliot, Ortega y Gasset) through to progressive liberals (J.S. Mill) and laissez‐faire liberals (Hayek). It is concluded that they were unduly alarmist and underestimated democracy's ability to adapt to other values.Less
According to the jeopardy thesis, democracy will endanger or even destroy values that we hold dear: cultural excellence, freedom, and economic prosperity. The proponents of the jeopardy thesis are many and various, ranging from proto‐fascists (Nietzsche, Maurras) and conservatives (T.S. Eliot, Ortega y Gasset) through to progressive liberals (J.S. Mill) and laissez‐faire liberals (Hayek). It is concluded that they were unduly alarmist and underestimated democracy's ability to adapt to other values.
Isaiah Berlin
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199249893
- eISBN:
- 9780191598807
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019924989X.003.0005
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
This lecture explored the tension between liberty and one view of knowledge. Berlin presented Mill not only as an exponent of determinism and an associated consequentialism, but also as someone who ...
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This lecture explored the tension between liberty and one view of knowledge. Berlin presented Mill not only as an exponent of determinism and an associated consequentialism, but also as someone who came to recognize that this doctrine did not fit the facts of experience, and who emphasized, especially, free choice and the importance of negative liberty in society.Less
This lecture explored the tension between liberty and one view of knowledge. Berlin presented Mill not only as an exponent of determinism and an associated consequentialism, but also as someone who came to recognize that this doctrine did not fit the facts of experience, and who emphasized, especially, free choice and the importance of negative liberty in society.
Eamonn Callan
- Published in print:
- 1997
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198292586
- eISBN:
- 9780191598913
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198292589.003.0008
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
Moral dialogue in schools would seem necessary if we are to cultivate the respect for reasonable differences, as well as the consensus on matters of basic justice, that a liberal political education ...
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Moral dialogue in schools would seem necessary if we are to cultivate the respect for reasonable differences, as well as the consensus on matters of basic justice, that a liberal political education requires. This chapter shows how the fact of reasonable pluralism creates insuperable difficulties for the practice of moral dialogue in schools if dialogue is modelled on Noddings's ethic of care or Mill's conception of the marketplace of ideas. Rawls's notion of reasonable agreement as the object of politico‐moral dialogue is shown to represent a better alternative to Noddings or Mill, albeit one that makes dialogue a difficult and delicate endeavour that may be beyond the competence of many teachers.Less
Moral dialogue in schools would seem necessary if we are to cultivate the respect for reasonable differences, as well as the consensus on matters of basic justice, that a liberal political education requires. This chapter shows how the fact of reasonable pluralism creates insuperable difficulties for the practice of moral dialogue in schools if dialogue is modelled on Noddings's ethic of care or Mill's conception of the marketplace of ideas. Rawls's notion of reasonable agreement as the object of politico‐moral dialogue is shown to represent a better alternative to Noddings or Mill, albeit one that makes dialogue a difficult and delicate endeavour that may be beyond the competence of many teachers.
Ian Carter
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198294535
- eISBN:
- 9780191598951
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198294530.003.0003
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
It is important for liberals to make sense of claims about degrees of overall freedom because freedom is a fundamental value for liberals. Freedom is a fundamental value for liberals because liberals ...
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It is important for liberals to make sense of claims about degrees of overall freedom because freedom is a fundamental value for liberals. Freedom is a fundamental value for liberals because liberals (at least implicitly) assume freedom to have non-specific value, or value as such. Freedom has non-specific value (value as such) not only if it has intrinsic value but also if it has non-specific instrumental value (e.g. as a means to social or economic progress) or non-specific constitutive value (e.g. as a part of the value of autonomy). Assertions or assumptions of freedom’s non-specific instrumental or constitutive value are made by many representatives of the liberal tradition, including J. S. Mill, Hobhouse and Hayek.Less
It is important for liberals to make sense of claims about degrees of overall freedom because freedom is a fundamental value for liberals. Freedom is a fundamental value for liberals because liberals (at least implicitly) assume freedom to have non-specific value, or value as such. Freedom has non-specific value (value as such) not only if it has intrinsic value but also if it has non-specific instrumental value (e.g. as a means to social or economic progress) or non-specific constitutive value (e.g. as a part of the value of autonomy). Assertions or assumptions of freedom’s non-specific instrumental or constitutive value are made by many representatives of the liberal tradition, including J. S. Mill, Hobhouse and Hayek.
Terence Ball
- Published in print:
- 1994
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198279952
- eISBN:
- 9780191598753
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198279957.003.0007
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
In this chapter, I show how James Mill reworks and recycles the argument of a classic text—viz. Plato's Republic—and uses Plato's theory of justice and just punishment to legitimize Bentham's plans ...
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In this chapter, I show how James Mill reworks and recycles the argument of a classic text—viz. Plato's Republic—and uses Plato's theory of justice and just punishment to legitimize Bentham's plans for penal reform. Pace Michel Foucault, who views Bentham as the thoroughly modern doyen of the `surveillance society’, I argue that much modern political theory has classical roots and that we should therefore be wary of post‐modern genealogists’ claims about discursive continuities between discrete epistemes or systems of thought.Less
In this chapter, I show how James Mill reworks and recycles the argument of a classic text—viz. Plato's Republic—and uses Plato's theory of justice and just punishment to legitimize Bentham's plans for penal reform. Pace Michel Foucault, who views Bentham as the thoroughly modern doyen of the `surveillance society’, I argue that much modern political theory has classical roots and that we should therefore be wary of post‐modern genealogists’ claims about discursive continuities between discrete epistemes or systems of thought.
Jeremy Waldron
- Published in print:
- 1998
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198294962
- eISBN:
- 9780191598708
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198294964.003.0003
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
It is a pity that Sandel neglects the sociological side of John Stuart Mill’s argument in On Liberty–not just because he fails therefore to do justice to the liberal case for neutrality, but also ...
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It is a pity that Sandel neglects the sociological side of John Stuart Mill’s argument in On Liberty–not just because he fails therefore to do justice to the liberal case for neutrality, but also because the question of how traditional moral ideals fare in modern circumstances of mass society (and also global society) is in fact supposed to be a dominant theme of Sandel’s book. Sandel suggests that the liberal ideals of freedom and autonomy are sociologically not availablein modern circumstances; however, under modern circumstances, the Aristotelian ideal of a polity devoted to the inculcation of genuine full-blooded virtue may not be sociologically available either. We cannot pretend that the United States has the population of quattrocento Florence. If the scale of political organization is so different as to enable only civic agency of a different sort, then it is likely that our thinking about “the qualities of character necessary to the common good of self-government” will have to be different too. If the premises of Benjamin Constant’s discussion of the reality and the phenomenology of politics in the modern world are taken seriously, they may necessitate a rethinking of civic virtue: both of what it is and how, more structurally, it is related to the agency conditions of collective action.Less
It is a pity that Sandel neglects the sociological side of John Stuart Mill’s argument in On Liberty–not just because he fails therefore to do justice to the liberal case for neutrality, but also because the question of how traditional moral ideals fare in modern circumstances of mass society (and also global society) is in fact supposed to be a dominant theme of Sandel’s book. Sandel suggests that the liberal ideals of freedom and autonomy are sociologically not availablein modern circumstances; however, under modern circumstances, the Aristotelian ideal of a polity devoted to the inculcation of genuine full-blooded virtue may not be sociologically available either. We cannot pretend that the United States has the population of quattrocento Florence. If the scale of political organization is so different as to enable only civic agency of a different sort, then it is likely that our thinking about “the qualities of character necessary to the common good of self-government” will have to be different too. If the premises of Benjamin Constant’s discussion of the reality and the phenomenology of politics in the modern world are taken seriously, they may necessitate a rethinking of civic virtue: both of what it is and how, more structurally, it is related to the agency conditions of collective action.
Rex Martin
- Published in print:
- 1997
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198292937
- eISBN:
- 9780191599811
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198292937.003.0014
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
The internal coherence of any system of political institutions and ideas is only one of the considerations we must have in mind in an account of ultimate justification; there is also the idea of a ...
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The internal coherence of any system of political institutions and ideas is only one of the considerations we must have in mind in an account of ultimate justification; there is also the idea of a critical moral justification for it. Thus, the book turns, last of all, to the subject of the possibility and character of such vindication for a system of rights.Two principal theories are canvassed in this regard: the indirect utilitarianism of J. S. Mill and more recent utilitarian thinkers and the contractarian moral justification elaborated by John Rawls in his Theory of Justice (and for several years thereafter). The utilitarian theory is set aside first; it is fundamentally unable to provide a principled justification for the priority of basic rights over policies justified by considerations of aggregate benefit or general well being. And Rawls's contractarianism is set aside as failing in one of its own self‐appointed tasks: it cannot provide an objective basis for assessing competing political or moral theoriesThese two failures to provide, from among leading contemporary moral theories, a critical moral grounding for a democratic system of rights do not serve to establish the creditability of philosophical anarchism; but it is clear, nonetheless, that more than was initially thought to be involved will be required in order to do the job effectively.The chapter and the book, conclude with a brief survey of the tasks of political theory and of what has been accomplished to date. The idea of a system of rights is one of the great ideas of political philosophy and, unlike many of these ideas, it is still a living one; so, some suggestions are made about the way forward.Less
The internal coherence of any system of political institutions and ideas is only one of the considerations we must have in mind in an account of ultimate justification; there is also the idea of a critical moral justification for it. Thus, the book turns, last of all, to the subject of the possibility and character of such vindication for a system of rights.
Two principal theories are canvassed in this regard: the indirect utilitarianism of J. S. Mill and more recent utilitarian thinkers and the contractarian moral justification elaborated by John Rawls in his Theory of Justice (and for several years thereafter). The utilitarian theory is set aside first; it is fundamentally unable to provide a principled justification for the priority of basic rights over policies justified by considerations of aggregate benefit or general well being. And Rawls's contractarianism is set aside as failing in one of its own self‐appointed tasks: it cannot provide an objective basis for assessing competing political or moral theories
These two failures to provide, from among leading contemporary moral theories, a critical moral grounding for a democratic system of rights do not serve to establish the creditability of philosophical anarchism; but it is clear, nonetheless, that more than was initially thought to be involved will be required in order to do the job effectively.
The chapter and the book, conclude with a brief survey of the tasks of political theory and of what has been accomplished to date. The idea of a system of rights is one of the great ideas of political philosophy and, unlike many of these ideas, it is still a living one; so, some suggestions are made about the way forward.
Michael Freeden
- Published in print:
- 1998
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198294146
- eISBN:
- 9780191599323
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019829414X.003.0013
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
The ideas of liberation and emancipation were integral to the Continentalist socialist tradition, while within the British socialist tradition, as well as in non‐Marxist Continental socialism, both ...
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The ideas of liberation and emancipation were integral to the Continentalist socialist tradition, while within the British socialist tradition, as well as in non‐Marxist Continental socialism, both liberty and individuality were desirable values. The impact of British liberal ideas on socialism was also greatly amplified by J. S. Mill in remarks where he welcomed a cautious move to collective ownership, although he also cast doubt on the compatibility of socialism with the free and spontaneous development of individuals. This chapter looks at socialism in relation to liberty and choice in six sections: (a) The pursuit of liberalism by other means; (b) Equality and liberty: a partnership of equals?; (c) The fundamental nature of revisionism; (d) Continental comparisons; (e) The perimeter problem of market socialism; and (f) A note on other socialisms.Less
The ideas of liberation and emancipation were integral to the Continentalist socialist tradition, while within the British socialist tradition, as well as in non‐Marxist Continental socialism, both liberty and individuality were desirable values. The impact of British liberal ideas on socialism was also greatly amplified by J. S. Mill in remarks where he welcomed a cautious move to collective ownership, although he also cast doubt on the compatibility of socialism with the free and spontaneous development of individuals. This chapter looks at socialism in relation to liberty and choice in six sections: (a) The pursuit of liberalism by other means; (b) Equality and liberty: a partnership of equals?; (c) The fundamental nature of revisionism; (d) Continental comparisons; (e) The perimeter problem of market socialism; and (f) A note on other socialisms.
Jenifer Hart
- Published in print:
- 1992
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198201366
- eISBN:
- 9780191674860
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198201366.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History, Political History
This book is a scholarly history of the proportional representation movement. The book explores its origins in the early 19th century and analyses the contribution of political thinkers such as ...
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This book is a scholarly history of the proportional representation movement. The book explores its origins in the early 19th century and analyses the contribution of political thinkers such as Thomas Hare and John Stuart Mill. It traces the history of the early campaigns, and the progress and vicissitudes of the cause during the 20th century. A final chapter takes the account up to the present day. Based on extensive research, this study throws light on many of the questions which bedevil contemporary political commentators. The book demonstrates the inadequacy of the commonly made identification of proportional representation with liberalism, and explains the failure of its supporters to achieve its adoption in the UK, with the exception of Northern Ireland.Less
This book is a scholarly history of the proportional representation movement. The book explores its origins in the early 19th century and analyses the contribution of political thinkers such as Thomas Hare and John Stuart Mill. It traces the history of the early campaigns, and the progress and vicissitudes of the cause during the 20th century. A final chapter takes the account up to the present day. Based on extensive research, this study throws light on many of the questions which bedevil contemporary political commentators. The book demonstrates the inadequacy of the commonly made identification of proportional representation with liberalism, and explains the failure of its supporters to achieve its adoption in the UK, with the exception of Northern Ireland.
