Larry Arnhart
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- March 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780814771228
- eISBN:
- 9780814737828
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9780814771228.003.0008
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
This chapter presents a theoretical framework for a biopolitical science that resolves some of the defects in contemporary political science. Critics of the contemporary state of political science ...
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This chapter presents a theoretical framework for a biopolitical science that resolves some of the defects in contemporary political science. Critics of the contemporary state of political science have identified at least seven deficiencies—deficiencies that come from downplaying the importance in political science of history, morality, judgment, emotion, religion, ambition, and liberal education. The fundamental framework for biopolitical science is the theoretical analysis of political behavior as conforming to a nested hierarchy of three levels of deep history—the universal history of species, the cultural history of the group, and the individual history of animals within the group. To fully comprehend the human nature of politics, one must understand the unity of political universals, the diversity of political cultures, and the individuality of political judgments.Less
This chapter presents a theoretical framework for a biopolitical science that resolves some of the defects in contemporary political science. Critics of the contemporary state of political science have identified at least seven deficiencies—deficiencies that come from downplaying the importance in political science of history, morality, judgment, emotion, religion, ambition, and liberal education. The fundamental framework for biopolitical science is the theoretical analysis of political behavior as conforming to a nested hierarchy of three levels of deep history—the universal history of species, the cultural history of the group, and the individual history of animals within the group. To fully comprehend the human nature of politics, one must understand the unity of political universals, the diversity of political cultures, and the individuality of political judgments.
Daniel Lord Smail
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- March 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780814771228
- eISBN:
- 9780814737828
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9780814771228.003.0009
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
This chapter comments on the previous chapter's essay by Professor Larry Arnhart, suggesting that the question is not whether biology and neuroscience are relevant to fields like politics, economics, ...
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This chapter comments on the previous chapter's essay by Professor Larry Arnhart, suggesting that the question is not whether biology and neuroscience are relevant to fields like politics, economics, and history, but how they are going to be relevant. At the outset, Arnhart notes that some political scientists have been complaining about the deficiencies of their discipline, and the main target of the seven-point critique that follows is the principle of the rational maximization of self-interest. The implication of this critique is that the principle would do a poor job of accounting for Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation of January 1, 1863, which Arnhart hopes to explain. Hence the need for a biopolitical science and the more robust understanding of human nature that such a science can offer.Less
This chapter comments on the previous chapter's essay by Professor Larry Arnhart, suggesting that the question is not whether biology and neuroscience are relevant to fields like politics, economics, and history, but how they are going to be relevant. At the outset, Arnhart notes that some political scientists have been complaining about the deficiencies of their discipline, and the main target of the seven-point critique that follows is the principle of the rational maximization of self-interest. The implication of this critique is that the principle would do a poor job of accounting for Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation of January 1, 1863, which Arnhart hopes to explain. Hence the need for a biopolitical science and the more robust understanding of human nature that such a science can offer.
Richard A. Richards
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- March 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780814771228
- eISBN:
- 9780814737828
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9780814771228.003.0010
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
This chapter further comments on Professor Arnhart's “Biopolitical Science.” It endorses both the substance and the method of Arnhart's biopolitical approach. The substance of his approach lies in ...
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This chapter further comments on Professor Arnhart's “Biopolitical Science.” It endorses both the substance and the method of Arnhart's biopolitical approach. The substance of his approach lies in its reliance on what one knows from science to understand human political behavior. The method of his approach is pluralistic and empirical. It is pluralistic in terms of the “explananda”—what is being explained—the political history of the species, the cultural political history, and the individual political history. It is also pluralistic in terms of the “explanans”—the causal factors employed in explanation. Finally, Arnhart's approach is empirical in that he advocates reliance on the observationally based methods of science.Less
This chapter further comments on Professor Arnhart's “Biopolitical Science.” It endorses both the substance and the method of Arnhart's biopolitical approach. The substance of his approach lies in its reliance on what one knows from science to understand human political behavior. The method of his approach is pluralistic and empirical. It is pluralistic in terms of the “explananda”—what is being explained—the political history of the species, the cultural political history, and the individual political history. It is also pluralistic in terms of the “explanans”—the causal factors employed in explanation. Finally, Arnhart's approach is empirical in that he advocates reliance on the observationally based methods of science.
James E. Fleming and Sanford Levinson (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- March 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780814771228
- eISBN:
- 9780814737828
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9780814771228.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
Can theories of evolution explain the development of our capacity for moral judgment and the content of morality itself? If bad behavior punished by the criminal law is attributable to physical ...
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Can theories of evolution explain the development of our capacity for moral judgment and the content of morality itself? If bad behavior punished by the criminal law is attributable to physical causes, rather than being intentional or voluntary as traditionally assumed, what are the implications for rethinking the criminal justice system? Is evolutionary theory and “nature talk,” at least as practiced to date, inherently conservative and resistant to progressive and feminist proposals for social changes to counter subordination and secure equality? This book addresses many of the philosophical, legal, and political issues raised by such questions. It examines the possibilities of a naturalistic ethics, the implications of behavioral morality for reform of the criminal law, the prospects for a biopolitical science, and the relationship between nature, culture, and social engineering.Less
Can theories of evolution explain the development of our capacity for moral judgment and the content of morality itself? If bad behavior punished by the criminal law is attributable to physical causes, rather than being intentional or voluntary as traditionally assumed, what are the implications for rethinking the criminal justice system? Is evolutionary theory and “nature talk,” at least as practiced to date, inherently conservative and resistant to progressive and feminist proposals for social changes to counter subordination and secure equality? This book addresses many of the philosophical, legal, and political issues raised by such questions. It examines the possibilities of a naturalistic ethics, the implications of behavioral morality for reform of the criminal law, the prospects for a biopolitical science, and the relationship between nature, culture, and social engineering.
