Neil Tennant
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199655755
- eISBN:
- 9780191742125
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199655755.003.0009
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Logic/Philosophy of Mathematics, Metaphysics/Epistemology
This chapter provides further argument justifying the claim that our use of finite dependency networks entails no loss at all of theoretical generality, as far as belief revision on the part of ...
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This chapter provides further argument justifying the claim that our use of finite dependency networks entails no loss at all of theoretical generality, as far as belief revision on the part of rational creatures is concerned. Some basic concepts in mathematical logic are defined, to lay the groundwork for the metatheorem, due to Harvey Friedman, that is proved in the next chapter.Less
This chapter provides further argument justifying the claim that our use of finite dependency networks entails no loss at all of theoretical generality, as far as belief revision on the part of rational creatures is concerned. Some basic concepts in mathematical logic are defined, to lay the groundwork for the metatheorem, due to Harvey Friedman, that is proved in the next chapter.
Paul Crowther
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199244973
- eISBN:
- 9780191697425
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199244973.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Aesthetics
Critical Aesthetics and Postmodernism (Clarendon Press, 1993) argued that art and aesthetic experiences have the capacity to humanize. In this book, the author develops this theme in ...
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Critical Aesthetics and Postmodernism (Clarendon Press, 1993) argued that art and aesthetic experiences have the capacity to humanize. In this book, the author develops this theme in much greater depth, arguing that art can bridge the gap between philosophy's traditional striving for generality and completeness, and the concreteness and contingency of humanity's basic relation to the world. As the key element in his theory, he proposes an ecological definition of art. His strategy involves first mapping out and analysing the logical boundaries and ontological structures of the aesthetic domain. He then considers key concepts from this analysis in the light of a tradition in Continental philosophy (notably the work of Kant, Heidegger, Merleau-Ponty, and Hegel) which — by virtue of the philosophical significance that it assigns to art — significantly anticipates the ecological conception. On this basis the author is able to give a full formulation of his ecological definition. Art, in making sensible or imaginative material into symbolic form, harmonizes and conserves what is unique and what is general in human experience. The aesthetic domain answers basic needs intrinsic to self-consciousness itself, and art is the highest realization of such needs. In the creation and reception of art the embodied subject is fully at home with his or her environment.Less
Critical Aesthetics and Postmodernism (Clarendon Press, 1993) argued that art and aesthetic experiences have the capacity to humanize. In this book, the author develops this theme in much greater depth, arguing that art can bridge the gap between philosophy's traditional striving for generality and completeness, and the concreteness and contingency of humanity's basic relation to the world. As the key element in his theory, he proposes an ecological definition of art. His strategy involves first mapping out and analysing the logical boundaries and ontological structures of the aesthetic domain. He then considers key concepts from this analysis in the light of a tradition in Continental philosophy (notably the work of Kant, Heidegger, Merleau-Ponty, and Hegel) which — by virtue of the philosophical significance that it assigns to art — significantly anticipates the ecological conception. On this basis the author is able to give a full formulation of his ecological definition. Art, in making sensible or imaginative material into symbolic form, harmonizes and conserves what is unique and what is general in human experience. The aesthetic domain answers basic needs intrinsic to self-consciousness itself, and art is the highest realization of such needs. In the creation and reception of art the embodied subject is fully at home with his or her environment.
Margaret Gilbert
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780199274956
- eISBN:
- 9780191603976
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199274959.003.0003
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Political Philosophy
This chapter argues that a fully satisfactory theory of political obligation will pass certain tests. It will offer an affirmative answer to the membership problem and, among other things, it will ...
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This chapter argues that a fully satisfactory theory of political obligation will pass certain tests. It will offer an affirmative answer to the membership problem and, among other things, it will show how membership in a political society gives one obligations to uphold that society’s political institutions. There are discussions of A. John Simmons’s ‘generality test’ and of some broad notions of membership: membership through residence and imputed membership.Less
This chapter argues that a fully satisfactory theory of political obligation will pass certain tests. It will offer an affirmative answer to the membership problem and, among other things, it will show how membership in a political society gives one obligations to uphold that society’s political institutions. There are discussions of A. John Simmons’s ‘generality test’ and of some broad notions of membership: membership through residence and imputed membership.
George Klosko
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- April 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780199256204
- eISBN:
- 9780191602351
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199256209.003.0005
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
Scholars who doubt the existence of general political obligations typically criticize and reject theories of obligation on the basis of individual moral principles, for example, consent, fairness, or ...
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Scholars who doubt the existence of general political obligations typically criticize and reject theories of obligation on the basis of individual moral principles, for example, consent, fairness, or a natural duty of justice. A stronger position can result from combining different principles in a single theory. This chapter develops a multi-principle theory of political obligation, on the basis of the principle of fairness, a natural duty of justice, and what I call the ‘common good’ principle. The three principles interact in three main ways: ‘cumulation’, combining the separate state services that different principles cover; ‘mutual support’, combining the force of different principles in regard to the same state services; and simple overlap. The result is a theory that can satisfy the main criteria of a theory of political obligation.Less
Scholars who doubt the existence of general political obligations typically criticize and reject theories of obligation on the basis of individual moral principles, for example, consent, fairness, or a natural duty of justice. A stronger position can result from combining different principles in a single theory. This chapter develops a multi-principle theory of political obligation, on the basis of the principle of fairness, a natural duty of justice, and what I call the ‘common good’ principle. The three principles interact in three main ways: ‘cumulation’, combining the separate state services that different principles cover; ‘mutual support’, combining the force of different principles in regard to the same state services; and simple overlap. The result is a theory that can satisfy the main criteria of a theory of political obligation.
Karen Bennett and Dean W. Zimmerman (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199659081
- eISBN:
- 9780191745201
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199659081.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Metaphysics/Epistemology
Oxford Studies in Metaphysics is dedicated to the timely publication of new work in metaphysics, broadly construed. These volumes provide a forum for the best new work in this flourishing field. They ...
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Oxford Studies in Metaphysics is dedicated to the timely publication of new work in metaphysics, broadly construed. These volumes provide a forum for the best new work in this flourishing field. They offer a broad view of the subject, featuring not only the traditionally central topics such as existence, identity, modality, time, and causation, but also the rich clusters of metaphysical questions in neighbouring fields, such as philosophy of mind and philosophy of science. This book is the seventh volume in the series. Topics covered include counterpart theory, the idea of absolute generality, humean supervenience, coincident objects, open future, presentism, laws, and identity.Less
Oxford Studies in Metaphysics is dedicated to the timely publication of new work in metaphysics, broadly construed. These volumes provide a forum for the best new work in this flourishing field. They offer a broad view of the subject, featuring not only the traditionally central topics such as existence, identity, modality, time, and causation, but also the rich clusters of metaphysical questions in neighbouring fields, such as philosophy of mind and philosophy of science. This book is the seventh volume in the series. Topics covered include counterpart theory, the idea of absolute generality, humean supervenience, coincident objects, open future, presentism, laws, and identity.
Denis McManus
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- January 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199288021
- eISBN:
- 9780191713446
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199288021.003.0012
- Subject:
- Philosophy, History of Philosophy
This chapter examines how Wittgenstein envisaged the analysis of some important kinds of proposition that, at least superficially, do not fit the requirements of the general form of the proposition. ...
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This chapter examines how Wittgenstein envisaged the analysis of some important kinds of proposition that, at least superficially, do not fit the requirements of the general form of the proposition. General propositions represent a fundamental and central case in point and an explanation is offered of how Wittgenstein might have imagined their analysis. This explanation draws on ideas set out earlier in the book concerning the articulation of how particular languages and models ‘make sense’, the character of ‘logical types’ and ‘the illogical’, and Wittgenstein’s philosophical ambitions for notational reforms.Less
This chapter examines how Wittgenstein envisaged the analysis of some important kinds of proposition that, at least superficially, do not fit the requirements of the general form of the proposition. General propositions represent a fundamental and central case in point and an explanation is offered of how Wittgenstein might have imagined their analysis. This explanation draws on ideas set out earlier in the book concerning the articulation of how particular languages and models ‘make sense’, the character of ‘logical types’ and ‘the illogical’, and Wittgenstein’s philosophical ambitions for notational reforms.
Marcus Giaquinto
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199285945
- eISBN:
- 9780191713811
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199285945.003.0010
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Logic/Philosophy of Mathematics
This chapter explores the nature and uses of visual thinking with symbols in mathematics. It examines visual symbolic thinking, which is more varied than one might expect, to see how it can ...
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This chapter explores the nature and uses of visual thinking with symbols in mathematics. It examines visual symbolic thinking, which is more varied than one might expect, to see how it can contribute to discovery, security, illumination, and generality. It also looks at the roles of symbolic thinking in certain algebraic examples.Less
This chapter explores the nature and uses of visual thinking with symbols in mathematics. It examines visual symbolic thinking, which is more varied than one might expect, to see how it can contribute to discovery, security, illumination, and generality. It also looks at the roles of symbolic thinking in certain algebraic examples.
Quassim Cassam
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199208319
- eISBN:
- 9780191708992
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199208319.003.0002
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Metaphysics/Epistemology
This chapter examines the proposal that the best way to answer an epistemological how-possible question is by means of a transcendental argument. Although it might appear that transcendental ...
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This chapter examines the proposal that the best way to answer an epistemological how-possible question is by means of a transcendental argument. Although it might appear that transcendental arguments are closely related to the multi-levels response to how-possible questions, it is argued that they are different from each other and that the latter response is better. It remains to be seen whether transcendental arguments have any legitimate role in epistemology, but the point is that it is a mistake to think that their role is to explain how knowledge is possible. Transcendental arguments aren't necessary if the object of the exercise is to answer an epistemological how-possible question, and they aren't sufficient either.Less
This chapter examines the proposal that the best way to answer an epistemological how-possible question is by means of a transcendental argument. Although it might appear that transcendental arguments are closely related to the multi-levels response to how-possible questions, it is argued that they are different from each other and that the latter response is better. It remains to be seen whether transcendental arguments have any legitimate role in epistemology, but the point is that it is a mistake to think that their role is to explain how knowledge is possible. Transcendental arguments aren't necessary if the object of the exercise is to answer an epistemological how-possible question, and they aren't sufficient either.
Jan Westerhoff
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- May 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199285044
- eISBN:
- 9780191713699
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199285044.003.0003
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Metaphysics/Epistemology
This chapter examines the different definitions of ontological categories which have been proposed. Two positions, one declaring the problem to be inherently unsolvable, and the other taking recourse ...
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This chapter examines the different definitions of ontological categories which have been proposed. Two positions, one declaring the problem to be inherently unsolvable, and the other taking recourse to lists of categories can be dismissed relatively quickly. The more successful approaches are grouped into three main kinds, relative to the intuitions about ontological categories they exploit. The first intuition is that ontological categories are more general than other categories. The second that objects belonging to the same ontological category can be intersubstituted in certain contexts. The third that objects of the same category have the same identity criteria. Four major accounts based on the notion of generality are discussed.Less
This chapter examines the different definitions of ontological categories which have been proposed. Two positions, one declaring the problem to be inherently unsolvable, and the other taking recourse to lists of categories can be dismissed relatively quickly. The more successful approaches are grouped into three main kinds, relative to the intuitions about ontological categories they exploit. The first intuition is that ontological categories are more general than other categories. The second that objects belonging to the same ontological category can be intersubstituted in certain contexts. The third that objects of the same category have the same identity criteria. Four major accounts based on the notion of generality are discussed.
Ronald W. Langacker
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195331967
- eISBN:
- 9780199868209
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195331967.003.0008
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Syntax and Morphology
Language is both cognitive and sociocultural, consisting in conventionally sanctioned patterns of communicative activity. These patterns take the form of schemas abstracted from usage events by the ...
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Language is both cognitive and sociocultural, consisting in conventionally sanctioned patterns of communicative activity. These patterns take the form of schemas abstracted from usage events by the reinforcement of recurring commonalities. Conventional linguistic units are linked by relationships of composition and categorization (either elaboration or extension) and thus form intersecting networks of great complexity. Expressions are interpreted and assessed for well-formedness through categorization by linguistic units. Through a process of interactive activation, particular units are selected to categorize particular facets of an expression. The total set of categorizing relationships constitutes the expression's structural description, and whether the categorizations involve elaboration or extension determines its degree of conventionality. Despite the absence of explicit prohibitions, this model affords an account of distribution, restrictions, and judgments of ungrammaticality. One aspect of grammatical constructions is their characterization at different levels of specificity, including constructional subschemas incorporating specific lexical items. And since one aspect of lexical items is their occurrence in particular constructions, lexicon and grammar are overlapping rather than disjoint. The model accommodates degrees and kinds of regularity, which decomposes into generality, productivity, and compositionality. Regularities include higher-order generalizations, where sets of categorizations or lexical behaviors are themselves schematized to form productive patterns. Among the phenomena described in this manner are patterns of phonological extension (phonological rules), patterns of semantic extension (e.g. general metonymies), and patterns of morphological realization (like conjugation classes).Less
Language is both cognitive and sociocultural, consisting in conventionally sanctioned patterns of communicative activity. These patterns take the form of schemas abstracted from usage events by the reinforcement of recurring commonalities. Conventional linguistic units are linked by relationships of composition and categorization (either elaboration or extension) and thus form intersecting networks of great complexity. Expressions are interpreted and assessed for well-formedness through categorization by linguistic units. Through a process of interactive activation, particular units are selected to categorize particular facets of an expression. The total set of categorizing relationships constitutes the expression's structural description, and whether the categorizations involve elaboration or extension determines its degree of conventionality. Despite the absence of explicit prohibitions, this model affords an account of distribution, restrictions, and judgments of ungrammaticality. One aspect of grammatical constructions is their characterization at different levels of specificity, including constructional subschemas incorporating specific lexical items. And since one aspect of lexical items is their occurrence in particular constructions, lexicon and grammar are overlapping rather than disjoint. The model accommodates degrees and kinds of regularity, which decomposes into generality, productivity, and compositionality. Regularities include higher-order generalizations, where sets of categorizations or lexical behaviors are themselves schematized to form productive patterns. Among the phenomena described in this manner are patterns of phonological extension (phonological rules), patterns of semantic extension (e.g. general metonymies), and patterns of morphological realization (like conjugation classes).
Pierre Rosanvallon
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691149486
- eISBN:
- 9781400838745
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691149486.003.0003
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
This chapter turns to an approach that was at once more modest and more effective in countering the dysfunctions of the electoral-representative system and its unrequited need for legitimacy than the ...
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This chapter turns to an approach that was at once more modest and more effective in countering the dysfunctions of the electoral-representative system and its unrequited need for legitimacy than the concept of unanimity—the bureaucracy. The idea of the bureaucracy was to create an institution capable of embodying the general interest. Thus, the chapter traces the development of the government bureaucracy through the emergence of a corporatism of the universal and through the constitution of an objective administrative power not subject to any particular influence and absolutely identified with its task. The chapter studies both to reveal how precisely they can be useful instruments for legitimation and for serving the general interest.Less
This chapter turns to an approach that was at once more modest and more effective in countering the dysfunctions of the electoral-representative system and its unrequited need for legitimacy than the concept of unanimity—the bureaucracy. The idea of the bureaucracy was to create an institution capable of embodying the general interest. Thus, the chapter traces the development of the government bureaucracy through the emergence of a corporatism of the universal and through the constitution of an objective administrative power not subject to any particular influence and absolutely identified with its task. The chapter studies both to reveal how precisely they can be useful instruments for legitimation and for serving the general interest.
Michael Potter
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199215836
- eISBN:
- 9780191721243
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199215836.003.0021
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Logic/Philosophy of Mathematics
The discussion of Wittgenstein's account of quantification in Chapter 20 left unaddressed what sort of theory of types it commits us to. To answer this question we need to look in more detail at the ...
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The discussion of Wittgenstein's account of quantification in Chapter 20 left unaddressed what sort of theory of types it commits us to. To answer this question we need to look in more detail at the motivation for believing in logical types at all. That motivation derives from Russell's paradox, the problem which had originally attracted Wittgenstein's notice back in 1909. This chapter discusses Russell's theory of types, Wittgenstein's vicious circle principle, types as classes of propositions, types and molecular propositions, types and generality, uniting generality and truth-functions, the general form of proposition, and unsayability.Less
The discussion of Wittgenstein's account of quantification in Chapter 20 left unaddressed what sort of theory of types it commits us to. To answer this question we need to look in more detail at the motivation for believing in logical types at all. That motivation derives from Russell's paradox, the problem which had originally attracted Wittgenstein's notice back in 1909. This chapter discusses Russell's theory of types, Wittgenstein's vicious circle principle, types as classes of propositions, types and molecular propositions, types and generality, uniting generality and truth-functions, the general form of proposition, and unsayability.
Peter White
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195388510
- eISBN:
- 9780199866717
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195388510.003.0004
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Literary Studies: Classical, Early, and Medieval
Cicero's own letters may be characterized as "literary" to the degree that they passed into public circulation, or treated topics of general interest, or employed a more elevated language than ...
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Cicero's own letters may be characterized as "literary" to the degree that they passed into public circulation, or treated topics of general interest, or employed a more elevated language than ordinary letters. But literature proper has a limited place among his epistolary interests. References to classical or contemporary works occur in letters to only about a third of his correspondents. The range of authors cited is restricted, and they are invoked in relation to practical concerns of the writer or the addressee, for purposes of ingratiation, criticism, or motivation.Less
Cicero's own letters may be characterized as "literary" to the degree that they passed into public circulation, or treated topics of general interest, or employed a more elevated language than ordinary letters. But literature proper has a limited place among his epistolary interests. References to classical or contemporary works occur in letters to only about a third of his correspondents. The range of authors cited is restricted, and they are invoked in relation to practical concerns of the writer or the addressee, for purposes of ingratiation, criticism, or motivation.
Robert Rosenthal
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195385540
- eISBN:
- 9780199869824
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195385540.003.0018
- Subject:
- Psychology, Social Psychology
In Chapter 9 a question was raised as to the generality of the effects of the experimenter's expectancy. This chapter describes experiments designed to extend the generality of these effects. It was ...
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In Chapter 9 a question was raised as to the generality of the effects of the experimenter's expectancy. This chapter describes experiments designed to extend the generality of these effects. It was felt that a major gain in the generality of the phenomenon depended on the demonstration that expectancy effects might operate with different species of subjects. Accordingly, the subjects of these experiments were rats rather than humans.Less
In Chapter 9 a question was raised as to the generality of the effects of the experimenter's expectancy. This chapter describes experiments designed to extend the generality of these effects. It was felt that a major gain in the generality of the phenomenon depended on the demonstration that expectancy effects might operate with different species of subjects. Accordingly, the subjects of these experiments were rats rather than humans.
Robert Rosenthal
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195385540
- eISBN:
- 9780199869824
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195385540.003.0025
- Subject:
- Psychology, Social Psychology
This chapter begins with a discussion of the generality of experimenter effects. It presents more formal definitions of certain operating characteristics of the experimenter. It then considers the ...
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This chapter begins with a discussion of the generality of experimenter effects. It presents more formal definitions of certain operating characteristics of the experimenter. It then considers the “real” world of research, with experimenters conducting experiments that, because of differences in subject sampling, instrumentation, and procedure, cannot reasonably be compared directly to any other experiments.Less
This chapter begins with a discussion of the generality of experimenter effects. It presents more formal definitions of certain operating characteristics of the experimenter. It then considers the “real” world of research, with experimenters conducting experiments that, because of differences in subject sampling, instrumentation, and procedure, cannot reasonably be compared directly to any other experiments.
Pierre Rosanvallon
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691149486
- eISBN:
- 9781400838745
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691149486.003.0006
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
This chapter asks whether independent authorities are representative in character, whether society can exert control over them, and whether they meet standards of establishment and accountability. It ...
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This chapter asks whether independent authorities are representative in character, whether society can exert control over them, and whether they meet standards of establishment and accountability. It also considers what type of generality these independent bodies implement. These authorities are, after all, created by law and consequently enjoy what might be called a derivative legitimacy. But that legitimacy does not flow directly from the citizens of the state, because these are not elective bodies. Nevertheless, a different type of relation exists between them, having to do with the importance and quality of the services they render, though the chapter goes further to consider whether or not these independent authorities can be endowed with a certain kind of democratic legitimacy in their own right.Less
This chapter asks whether independent authorities are representative in character, whether society can exert control over them, and whether they meet standards of establishment and accountability. It also considers what type of generality these independent bodies implement. These authorities are, after all, created by law and consequently enjoy what might be called a derivative legitimacy. But that legitimacy does not flow directly from the citizens of the state, because these are not elective bodies. Nevertheless, a different type of relation exists between them, having to do with the importance and quality of the services they render, though the chapter goes further to consider whether or not these independent authorities can be endowed with a certain kind of democratic legitimacy in their own right.
Pierre Rosanvallon
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691149486
- eISBN:
- 9781400838745
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691149486.003.0007
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
This chapter examines conceptions of impartiality and looks at how impartiality itself is approached in a political context. In doing so the chapter asks if the shift from positive to negative ...
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This chapter examines conceptions of impartiality and looks at how impartiality itself is approached in a political context. In doing so the chapter asks if the shift from positive to negative generality reflects a decline in the democratic–republican ideal and a greater role for law. From here, the chapter turns to the idea of a democratic impartiality—an active impartiality whose intervention helps to build a political community. Impartiality has established itself in the political order as the vector of aspirations to construct a more deliberative and transparent public space. It is also a key to understanding new ways of thinking about the social.Less
This chapter examines conceptions of impartiality and looks at how impartiality itself is approached in a political context. In doing so the chapter asks if the shift from positive to negative generality reflects a decline in the democratic–republican ideal and a greater role for law. From here, the chapter turns to the idea of a democratic impartiality—an active impartiality whose intervention helps to build a political community. Impartiality has established itself in the political order as the vector of aspirations to construct a more deliberative and transparent public space. It is also a key to understanding new ways of thinking about the social.
Pierre Rosanvallon
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691149486
- eISBN:
- 9781400838745
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691149486.003.0008
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
This chapter discusses reflexive democracy, which is democracy's attempt to correct and compensate for three flawed assumptions, thus giving rise to a “generality of multiplication.” In contrast to ...
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This chapter discusses reflexive democracy, which is democracy's attempt to correct and compensate for three flawed assumptions, thus giving rise to a “generality of multiplication.” In contrast to negative generality, which depends on creating a new position from which the demand for unanimity can be satisfied, here the method is to multiply various more limited approaches so as to achieve a relatively comprehensive vision of the whole. The strategy is one of pluralization rather than detachment and has two components: adding complexity to democratic forms and subjects on the one hand and regulating the mechanisms of the majoritarian system on the other. To describe this reflexive effort of democracy on itself, the chapter first establishes that electoral-representative democracy is itself a disciplined and chastened version of “immediate democracy.” It then describes the effects of multiplication.Less
This chapter discusses reflexive democracy, which is democracy's attempt to correct and compensate for three flawed assumptions, thus giving rise to a “generality of multiplication.” In contrast to negative generality, which depends on creating a new position from which the demand for unanimity can be satisfied, here the method is to multiply various more limited approaches so as to achieve a relatively comprehensive vision of the whole. The strategy is one of pluralization rather than detachment and has two components: adding complexity to democratic forms and subjects on the one hand and regulating the mechanisms of the majoritarian system on the other. To describe this reflexive effort of democracy on itself, the chapter first establishes that electoral-representative democracy is itself a disciplined and chastened version of “immediate democracy.” It then describes the effects of multiplication.
Marie McGinn
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199691524
- eISBN:
- 9780191742262
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199691524.003.0009
- Subject:
- Philosophy, History of Philosophy
In his later work, Wittgenstein attacks the tendency to sublime the logic of our language that he finds in Russell and his own earlier philosophy. This chapter argues that this tendency should be ...
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In his later work, Wittgenstein attacks the tendency to sublime the logic of our language that he finds in Russell and his own earlier philosophy. This chapter argues that this tendency should be taken to include, not only our craving for generality, but also the temptation to picture meaning as a remarkable act of mind. The chapter then discusses the strategies employed by the later Wittgenstein to undermine both aspects of this tendency.Less
In his later work, Wittgenstein attacks the tendency to sublime the logic of our language that he finds in Russell and his own earlier philosophy. This chapter argues that this tendency should be taken to include, not only our craving for generality, but also the temptation to picture meaning as a remarkable act of mind. The chapter then discusses the strategies employed by the later Wittgenstein to undermine both aspects of this tendency.
Charles Travis
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199230334
- eISBN:
- 9780191710605
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199230334.003.0013
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Language
Gareth Evans proposed, as a constraint on thought, that anyone, to entertain any given thought, must be able to entertain a particular (thinker-relative) system of them. This chapter argues that our ...
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Gareth Evans proposed, as a constraint on thought, that anyone, to entertain any given thought, must be able to entertain a particular (thinker-relative) system of them. This chapter argues that our thinking is not constrained by the generality constraint. So there is no legitimate philosophical work that constraint can do. The constraint seems plausible only when an over-simple picture of which capacities are in play in grasp of a thought is given. Insofar as our grasp of a particular thought to the effect that a is F involves grasp of what it is for a thing to be F, it also requires exercise of a further sort of capacity which Evans ignores, and which may be present with respect to a given thought to the effect that a is F, while missing for another thought to the effect that b is F (where a and b may, or may not, be distinct). The chapter then considers Wittgenstein's idea about systems. For Wittgenstein, a system of thoughts has certain roles to play in conferring the content they have on each of its members. It may well be that systems are needed to play such roles, and hence that any thought must be understood in terms of some system of thoughts to which it belongs. If the plausibility of the generality constraint derives in part from that of Wittgenstein's idea, it is important that the two ideas are not the same.Less
Gareth Evans proposed, as a constraint on thought, that anyone, to entertain any given thought, must be able to entertain a particular (thinker-relative) system of them. This chapter argues that our thinking is not constrained by the generality constraint. So there is no legitimate philosophical work that constraint can do. The constraint seems plausible only when an over-simple picture of which capacities are in play in grasp of a thought is given. Insofar as our grasp of a particular thought to the effect that a is F involves grasp of what it is for a thing to be F, it also requires exercise of a further sort of capacity which Evans ignores, and which may be present with respect to a given thought to the effect that a is F, while missing for another thought to the effect that b is F (where a and b may, or may not, be distinct). The chapter then considers Wittgenstein's idea about systems. For Wittgenstein, a system of thoughts has certain roles to play in conferring the content they have on each of its members. It may well be that systems are needed to play such roles, and hence that any thought must be understood in terms of some system of thoughts to which it belongs. If the plausibility of the generality constraint derives in part from that of Wittgenstein's idea, it is important that the two ideas are not the same.
