DOCSLIB.ORG

Locke's Perfectionist Liberalism

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Locke's Perfectionist Liberalism View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by D-Scholarship@Pitt LOCKE’S PERFECTIONIST LIBERALISM: AN ARTICULATION AND DEFENSE by Evan Patrick Riley BA, Philosophy, University of Louisville, 1995 BA, Philosophy, Politics and Economics, Oxford University, 1997 Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of The College of Arts and Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Pittsburgh 2008 UNIVERSITYOF PITTSBURGH COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES This dissertation was presented by Evan Patrick Riley It was defended on December 5th, 2008 and approved by Karin Boxer, Assistant Professor, Philosophy Stephen Engstrom, Professor, Philosophy Michael Goodhart, Associate Professor, Political Science Kieran Setiya, Associate Professor, Philosophy Director: Michael Thompson, Professor, Philosophy ii Copyright © by Evan Riley 2008 iii LOCKE’S PERFECTIONIST LIBERALISM: AN ARTICULATION AND DEFENSE Evan Riley, PhD University of Pittsburgh, 2008 Locke’s view in the Two Treatises not only allows for but embraces interference with individuals on recognizably perfectionist grounds. It is plainly a form of perfectionism. Yet it is also an early paradigm of deontological liberalism for Locke sharply emphasizes the importance of moral duties to respect the basic rights of the sovereign individual. It is tempting to conclude that he is confusedly appealing to two opposed forms of moral and political theory, indeed to what we have come to see as two opposed forms of moral reasoning, viz. consequentialism on the one hand and deontology on the other. This temptation should be resisted. Perfectionism and deontology are not necessarily at odds with one another; some perfectionisms may coherently and productively also be deontological liberalisms. Locke’s is one such view. Respecting the constraints associated with justice through the exercise of practical wisdom may be held to be a constitutive element in the good life. Such a view is coherent and appealing insofar as it makes intelligible the relation of justice to flourishing without inviting the worries about tyrannizing that plague consequentialist forms of moral theorizing. This is theoretically unambitious as it rules out robustly explaining the iv nature of moral rectitude by appeal to the idea of maximizing the good. Yet it is not trivializing. Locke’s liberalism fundamentally calls for every human being to be brought into full practical reason and to be accorded a minimally decent scope for exercising that capacity in various productive ways in society with others. The dissertation culminates in a demonstration that Locke was correct to hold the kind of perfectionist liberal view that he did, rather than the standard libertarian view often still attributed to him. Standard libertarianism is especially vulnerable to a kind of collective self-defeat, for while perfectly respecting the relevant constraints of libertarian justice, the members of libertarian society may undermine the realization of one of their characteristic basic values. Such degeneration would be no accident; it is brought about through intentional actions fully morally legitimate on that conception. Locke was hence correct to defend his actual view rather than this alternative. v TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE.......................................................................................................................viii 1.0 INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................1 1.1 PERFECTIONISM SKETCHED.………………………………….......2 1.2 THE PROPER END……………………………………………………11 1.3 A WORRY DEFUSED…………………………………………………16 1.4 LIBERALISM SKETCHED…………………………………………...20 2.0 AGAINST HURKIAN PERFECTIONISM.………………………………….24 2.1 THE MISBEGOTTEN ESCHEWAL OF MORALLY EVALUATIVE CONTENT………………………………………………………………………25 2.2 AGAINST HURKA’S POSITIVE PERFECTIONISM……...............34 3.0 AGAINST RAWLSIAN ANTIPERFECTIONISM.……,..………………….39 3.1 RAWLS’S OBJECTIVISM AND THE DIFFICULTY.……..………40 3.2 THE INCONCLUSIVE ARGUMENT FROM THE BURDENS…...45 3.3 AN OBJECTION TO TREATING REASONABLE REJECTABIL- ITY AS DECISIVE……………………………………………………………..50 4.0 THE GENERAL PICTURE OF THE TWO TREATISES ON JUSTICE IN HOLDINGS.…………………………………………………………….………57 4.1 PRELIMINARIES……………………………………………………...63 vi 4.2 LOCKE’S GENERAL ANTILIBERTARIAN PRESUMPTION…..73 4.3 THE SANCTIONING OF REDISTRIBUTION….………………….84 5.0 LOCKE’S LIBERAL PERFECTIONISM POSITIVELY CONSTRUED..102 6.0 LIBERTARIAN SELF-DEFEAT....………….………………………………125 6.1 TWO VARIETIES OF LIBERAL JUSTICE REVISITED………..127 6.2 STABILITY, REASONABLENESS, AND THE REASONABLE STABILITY CRITERION……………………………………………137 6.3 MORAL LITERACY, MORAL EDUCATION AND FULLY BEARING A CONCEPTION.………………………………………..144 6.4 THE SELF-DEFEAT....……………………………………................152 6.5 CONCLUSION………………………………………………………..159 BIBLIOGRAPHY………………………………………………………….................166 vii PREFACE I hereby thank my family and the members of my committee for their considerable patience and help throughout the writing of this dissertation. Any remaining obscurities and errors are of course my own responsibility. I also thank the editors of the Journal of Moral Philosophy for permission to use material from my forthcoming “Libertarian Self- defeat.” I refer to particular passages in Locke’s Two Treatises by using a Roman numeral to indicate which treatise is under consideration followed by an Arabic numeral indicating the section. viii 1.0 INTRODUCTION It is often presupposed that properly conceived perfectionist moral and political theorizing is consequentialist in character. John Rawls treats it this way as does Thomas Hurka.1 In this part of the dissertation I begin by showing that this is mistaken. It is conceptually coherent to combine recognizable perfectionism with a commitment to deontological liberalism. I go on to demonstrate, in a preliminary way, the attractions of this form of perfectionism, perfectionist deontological liberalism. I begin by discussing the general features of the perfectionist family. I endorse the thought that a view of human moral and political life is a form of perfectionism in the relevant sense when it expresses a recognizably teleological view of human nature that finds its proper end in human flourishing. The perfectionist’s account of abstract right, and justice, coheres with and is on her view made intelligible only in the light of her detailed account of such flourishing. On a robust perfectionist view achieving such flourishing requires the development of some characteristically human capacities. Typically, the flourishing is though to consist at least in part in the exercise of those 1 Rawls thinks all properly perfectionist theories are consequentialist, though he also allows some mixed-bag theories to include perfectionist principles. See John Rawls, A Theory of Justice, 1st edn (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1971). Hurka thinks all the sensible perfectionist theories are consequentialist. See Thomas Hurka, Perfectionism, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993). 1 capacities. Yet I argue against thinking that the only coherent forms of perfectionism are consequentialisms. I further that case through critical consideration of Thomas Hurka’s Perfectionism.2 I argue, pace Hurka, that perfectionist deontological liberalism is not merely coherent but otherwise prima face sensible. I also show that it is not vulnerable to some obvious objections that may be cogently pressed against Hurka’s preferred form of consequentialist perfectionist moral theory. I also argue that Rawls’s antiperfectionist scruples as displayed in Political Liberalism are not well grounded.3 My argumentative strategy there is to point up the absence of obvious general grounds for distinguishing the credentials of avowedly perfectionist deontological liberalism (hereafter PDL) from those of its neutralist brethren. 1.1 PERFECTIONISM SKETCHED Clearly, a commitment to perfectionism in moral and political philosophy can take a range of different forms and the use of the term is contested.4 Nonetheless, there is rough 2 See Hurka, Perfectionism, pp. 9-60. 3 See John Rawls, Political Liberalism, 2nd edn (New York: Columbia University Press, 1993, 1996.) 4 The general approach dates to Plato and extends through the history of moral philosophy. See Plato, Republic, trans. G.M.A. Grube, rev C.D.C. Reeve, (Indianapolis: Hackett, [380 B.C.], 1992). Useful recent short discussions include: Richard Arneson, ‘Perfectionism and Politics’, Ethics, Vol. 111, No. 1. (2000), pp. 37-63, Joseph Chan, ‘Legitimacy, Unanimity, and Perfectionism’, Philosophy & Public Affairs 29 (2000), pp. 5-42, and David McCabe ‘Knowing About the Good: A problem With Anti- perfectionism’, Ethics 110 ( 2000), pp. 311–338. Monographs defending explicitly perfectionist liberalisms include: Vinit Haksar, Equality, Liberty and Perfectionism, (Oxford: Clarendon, 1980), Joseph Raz, The Morality of Freedom, (Oxford: Clarendon, 2 agreement on the most general features that a substantive normative view of human political and moral life will possess if it is a kind of perfectionism. In particular, it must be recognizably a teleological view and focused on some account of human flourishing. That is, such a view embraces an account of human flourishing, and thus of human nature, which is taken to have objective purport and to constitute the proper end of human life. On such a view, the proper account of human abstract right gets significance and content from the prototypical
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Liberalism After Communitarianism1 Charles Blattberg Professor of Political Philosophy Université De Montréal Introduction
    Liberalism after Communitarianism1 Charles Blattberg Professor of Political Philosophy Université de Montréal Introduction Since the beginning of the modern age, there have been political thinkers who complain about its over-emphasis on the individual. Others have raised concerns about the dangers associated with too much community. One version of this dispute is reflected in the ‘liberal-communitarian debate’, which arose within anglophone political philosophy during the 1980s. The liberals were led by John Rawls, along with Ronald Dworkin, Thomas Nagel, and T.M. Scanlon. And the communitarian critique of their work was advanced by, among others, Alasdair MacIntyre, Michael Sandel, Charles Taylor, and Michael Walzer. As we might expect, since the publication of the writings of both groups, some have seen fit to declare one side or other of the debate the victor. But we should assume that none of the leading participants saw their exchanges in such merely competitive terms. After all, serious thinkers know that theirs is a higher – because ultimately philosophical – calling. We can understand the debate as arising primarily around Rawls’ A Theory of Justice (1999; originally published in 1971). The book defends what he considers to be the key principles of liberalism. To Rawls, we should endorse that political order which matches what rational citizens would freely choose from ‘the original position’. This is the perspective attained by stepping behind a hypothetical ‘veil of ignorance’, which conceals individuals’ knowledge of their capacities or social position. By imagining ourselves behind such a veil, we are said to be able to deliberate in a truly representative manner, and so ‘regard the human situation not only from all social but also from all temporal points of view’ (Rawls 1999: 514).
    [Show full text]
  • A Crossroads, Not an Island: a Response to Hanoch Dagan
    Michigan Law Review Online Volume 117 Article 9 2019 A Crossroads, Not an Island: A Response to Hanoch Dagan Zoë Hitzig Harvard University E. Glen Weyl RadicalxChange Foundation Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.law.umich.edu/mlr_online Part of the Law and Economics Commons Recommended Citation Zoë Hitzig & E. G. Weyl, A Crossroads, Not an Island: A Response to Hanoch Dagan, 117 MICH. L. REV. ONLINE 117 (2019). Available at: https://repository.law.umich.edu/mlr_online/vol117/iss1/9 This Commentary is brought to you for free and open access by the Michigan Law Review at University of Michigan Law School Scholarship Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Michigan Law Review Online by an authorized editor of University of Michigan Law School Scholarship Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. A CROSSROADS, NOT AN ISLAND: A RESPONSE TO HANOCH DAGAN Zoë Hitzig* & E. Glen Weyl** Hanoch Dagan critiques Radical Markets for insufficient attention to the value of autonomy. While most of his concrete disagreements result from miscommunications, he appears sympathetic to a theory of autonomy that is more widespread, and deserves response. Human agency is fundamentally social, and individuality is primarily constituted by the unique set of social connections and identities one adopts. In this sense, flourishing individuals are crossroads of different communities, not self- sufficient islands. Beyond any welfarist benefits, a fundamental value of Radical Markets is that they aim to instantiate the social nature of identity and empower agency through diverse community. Obsessed, bewildered By the shipwreck Of the singular We have chosen the meaning Of being numerous.
    [Show full text]
  • Bringing Liberalism and Communitarianism Closer
    Western Michigan University ScholarWorks at WMU Master's Theses Graduate College 4-2001 Bringing Liberalism and Communitarianism Closer Paul Frazier Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/masters_theses Part of the Philosophy Commons Recommended Citation Frazier, Paul, "Bringing Liberalism and Communitarianism Closer" (2001). Master's Theses. 5022. https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/masters_theses/5022 This Masters Thesis-Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate College at ScholarWorks at WMU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master's Theses by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at WMU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. BRINGING LIBERALISMAND COMMUNITARIANISM CLOSER by Paul Frazier A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of The Graduate College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts Department of Philosophy Western Michigan University Kalamazoo, Michigan April2001 Copyright by Paul Frazier 2001 BRINGINGLIBERALISM AND COMMUNIT ARIANISM CLOSER Paul Frazier, M.A. Western Michigan University, 2001 The question that divides liberalism and communitarianism is: should the state exist to protect individuals and individual rights or for the good of society as a whole? This thesis suggests that this is the wrong question to ask. Individuals are not isolated and different fromtheir communities, but are products of social settings. This does not mean, however, that individual freedom and individual rights are compromised. Rather, the only way for an individual to be an autonomous agent and to make free choices is within a society. Rights for individuals, then, must come from within a social setting. Therefore, the individual is intertwined with a society and we cannot view a just society as simply focusingon one or the other.
    [Show full text]
  • Beyond Political Liberalism
    Beyond Political Liberalism Toward a Post-Secular Ethics of Public Life Troy Dostert University of Notre Dame Press Notre Dame, Indiana © 2006 University of Notre Dame Press 00 dost (i-x/1-14) Final iii 9/13/06 2:20:04 PM Copyright © 2006 by University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, Indiana 46556 www.undpress.nd.edu All Rights Reserved Manufactured in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Dostert, Troy Lewis, 1968– Beyond political liberalism : toward a post-secular ethics of public life / Troy Dostert. p. cm. Based on the author’s thesis (doctoral)—Duke University. Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index. isbn-13: 978-0-268-02600-4 (pbk. : alk. paper) isbn-10: 0-268-02600-9 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Political ethics. 2. Religion and politics. 3. Liberalism—Religious aspects. 4. Religious pluralism—Political aspects. I. Title. bj55.d64 2006 172—dc22 2006023895 ∞ The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on Library Resources. © 2006 University of Notre Dame Press 00 dost (i-x/1-14) Final iv 9/13/06 2:20:05 PM Introduction One of the most pressing dilemmas in contemporary political theory con- cerns how we should conceive of political life in light of the challenges posed by moral diversity. When citizens with widely divergent ethical or religious convictions clash in public debate, how can we approach such disagreements constructively? How can we work toward a stable and legitimate basis
    [Show full text]
  • Two Concepts of Basic Equality
    Res Publica DOI 10.1007/s11158-017-9354-5 Two Concepts of Basic Equality Nikolas Kirby1 Ó The Author(s) 2017. This article is published with open access at Springerlink.com Abstract It has become somewhat a commonplace in recent political philosophy to remark that all plausible political theories must share at least one fundamental premise, ‘that all humans are one another’s equals’. One single concept of ‘basic equality’, therefore, is cast as the common touchstone of all contemporary political thought. This paper argues that this claim is false. Virtually all do indeed say that all humans are ‘equals’ in some basic sense. However, this is not the same sense. There are not one but (at least) two concepts of basic equality, and they reflect not a grand unity within political philosophy but a deep and striking division. I call these concepts ‘Equal Worth’ and ‘Equal Authority’. The former means that each indi- vidual’s good is of equal moral worth. The latter means that no individual is under the natural authority of anyone else. Whilst these two predicates are not in them- selves logically inconsistent, I demonstrate that they are inconsistent foundation stones for political theory. A theory that starts from Equal Worth will find it near impossible to justify Equal Authority. And a theory that starts from Equal Authority will find any fact about the true worth of things, including ourselves, irrelevant to justifying legitimate action. This helps us identify the origin of many of our deepest and seemingly intractable disagreements within political philosophy, and directs our attention to the need for a clear debate about the truth and/or relationship between the two concepts.
    [Show full text]
  • JS Mill's Political Thought
    P1: JZZ 0521860202pre CUFX079B/Urbinati 0 521 86020 2 cupusbw December 26, 2006 7:38 This page intentionally left blank ii P1: JZZ 0521860202pre CUFX079B/Urbinati 0 521 86020 2 cupusbw December 26, 2006 7:38 J. S. MILL’S POLITICAL THOUGHT The year 2006 marked the two hundredth anniversary of John Stuart Mill’s birth. Although his philosophical reputation has varied greatly in the interven- ing years, it is now clear that Mill ranks among the most influential modern political thinkers. Yet despite his enduring influence, and perhaps also because of it, the breadth and complexity of Mill’s political thought is often under- appreciated. Although his writings remain a touchstone for debates over liberty and liberalism, many other important dimensions of his political philosophy have until recently been mostly ignored or neglected. This volume aims, first, to correct such neglect by illustrating the breadth and depth of Mill’s political writings. It does so by drawing togetheracollection of essays whose authors explore underappreciated elements of Mill’s political philosophy, including his democratic theory, his writings on international relations and military inter- ventions, and his treatments of socialism and despotism. Second, the volume shows how Mill’s thinking remains pertinent to our own political life in three broad areas – democratic institutions and culture, liberalism, and international politics – and offers a critical reassessment of Mill’s political philosophy in light of recent political developments and transformations. Nadia Urbinati
    [Show full text]
  • Rawls, Political Liberalism, and Moral Virtues
    Loyola University Chicago Loyola eCommons Dissertations Theses and Dissertations 2009 Rawls, Political Liberalism, and Moral Virtues Joseph Alava Kabari Loyola University Chicago Follow this and additional works at: https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_diss Part of the Philosophy Commons Recommended Citation Kabari, Joseph Alava, "Rawls, Political Liberalism, and Moral Virtues" (2009). Dissertations. 206. https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_diss/206 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses and Dissertations at Loyola eCommons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Loyola eCommons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License. Copyright © 2009 Joseph Alava Kabari LOYOLA UNIVERSITY CHICAGO JOHN RAWLS, POLITICAL, LIBERALISM AND MORAL VIRTUES A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL IN CANDIDACY FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY PROGRAM IN PHILOSOPHY BY JOSEPH ALAVA KABARI CHICAGO, ILLINOIS DECEMBER 2009 Copyright by Joseph Alava Kabari, 2009 All rights reserved. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS So many people have helped, directly or indirectly, to make my journey a story of success. For the sake of brevity I can only acknowledge a few representative individuals and groups here. I begin by thanking my dissertation director, Professor David Ingram (and family). At a point when the going was getting rather rough, he graciously took expert control of the situation and guided me to the desired goal with dedication. I also very much thank the other members of my committee, Professors Thomas Wren and David Schweickart, who showed much needed understanding, patience, and encouragement during the more trying stretches of the journey.
    [Show full text]
  • Virtues, Perfectionism and Natural Law
    EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF LEGAL STUDIES – VOL 3 ISSUE 1 (2010) Virtues, Perfectionism and Natural Law Michele Mangini * I. Premise Many contend that liberalism is weak from the point of view of value orientation, because it neglects that central part of human experience which is expressed by substantive ideas of the good, such as human flourishing, the good life, human goodness, and the like. This paper argues that there is a long tradition, in the Western culture, of a substantive view of human goodness revolving around the notion of ‘virtues’. This tradition is supportive of, and still belongs to, liberal political theory insofar as one accepts the assumption that the cultural (and especially the ethical) presuppositions of liberalism are (at least, partly) embodied in natural law . The work of ‘retrieval’ and analysis necessary to forward this argument will be founded on a few claims concerning the compatibility between the ethical core of the virtues and liberalism. The substantive proposal of human goodness that is put forward, named ‘agency goods perfectionism’, is an attempt at establishing some continuity between a morality based on the virtues, in agreement with the natural law tradition, and a political morality in which liberal pluralism is balanced by some degree of value orientation through ‘general and vague’ conceptions of the virtues. The argument is aimed at showing more overlap than what is usually accepted between, on one hand, a secular political theory such as liberalism and, on the other hand, a religiously inspired conception such as natural law. In order to defend this thesis, this paper challenges some competing substantive ethical theories, such as objective list theories and new natural law theory; which are also aimed at addressing the problem of value-orientation, but from a perspective that is threatening the fundamental liberal presupposition of freedom of choice.
    [Show full text]
  • Political Liberalism and the Fate of Unreasonable People
    Touro Law Review Volume 30 Number 1 Article 4 May 2014 Political Liberalism and the Fate of Unreasonable People Fuat Gursozlu Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.tourolaw.edu/lawreview Part of the Law Commons, and the Philosophy Commons Recommended Citation Gursozlu, Fuat (2014) "Political Liberalism and the Fate of Unreasonable People," Touro Law Review: Vol. 30 : No. 1 , Article 4. Available at: https://digitalcommons.tourolaw.edu/lawreview/vol30/iss1/4 This Excerpts from the Conference: RLT IV: Religious Legal Theory - Expanding the Conversation is brought to you for free and open access by Digital Commons @ Touro Law Center. It has been accepted for inclusion in Touro Law Review by an authorized editor of Digital Commons @ Touro Law Center. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Political Liberalism and the Fate of Unreasonable People Cover Page Footnote 30-1 This excerpts from the conference: rlt iv: religious legal theory - expanding the conversation is available in Touro Law Review: https://digitalcommons.tourolaw.edu/lawreview/vol30/iss1/4 Gursozlu: The Fate Of Unreasonable People POLITICAL LIBERALISM AND THE FATE OF UNREASONABLE PEOPLE Fuat Gursozlu An unavoidable issue for every liberal democratic theory is the question of how liberals should engage with those who reject the fundamental values and principles of liberal democracy. In John Rawls’s political liberal project, this issue centers on the discussion of unreasonable people.1 The difficulty is that although the distinc- tion between
    [Show full text]
  • MATTHEW B. O’BRIEN* Villanova University
    WHY LIBERAL NEUTRALITY PROHIBITS SAME-SEX MARRIAGE: RAWLS, POLITICAL LIBERALISM, AND THE FAMILY MATTHEW B. O’BRIEN* Villanova University ABSTRACT John Rawls’s political liberalism and its ideal of public reason are tremendously influential in contemporary political philosophy and in constitutional law as well. Many liberals are Rawlsians of one stripe or another. This is problematic, be- cause most liberals also support the redefinition of civil marriage to include same-sex unions, and as I show, Rawls’s political liberalism actually prohibits same-sex marriage. Recently in Perry v. Schwarzenegger, however, California’s northern federal district court reinterpreted the traditional rational basis review in terms of liberal neutrality akin to Rawls’s ideal of “public reason,” and over- turned Proposition 8 and established same-sex marriage. (This reinterpretation was amplified in the 9th Circuit Court’s decision upholding the district court on appeal in Perry v. Brown). But on its own grounds Perry should have drawn the opposite conclusion. This is because all the available arguments for recognizing same-sex unions as civil marriages stem from controversial comprehensive doc- trines about the good, and this violates the ideal of public reason; yet there re- mains a publicly reasonable argument for traditional marriage, which I sketch here. In the course of my argument I develop Rawls’s politically liberal account of the family and defend it against objections, discussing its implications for po- litical theory and constitutional law. * 2011-12 Veritas Post-Doctoral Fellow, Matthew J. Ryan Center, Department of Political Science, Villanova University; Ph.D., Philosophy, The University of Texas at Austin, 2011; M.A., Philosophy, The University of Texas at Austin, 2008; A.B., Philosophy, Princeton University, 2003.
    [Show full text]
  • Integrity in Law's Empire
    Draft for NYU Conference on “Dworkin’s Later Work”, 9/2019 Integrity in Law’s Empire Andrei Marmor This lecture focuses on one chapter in R.M. Dworkin’s Law’s Empire, chapter 6, where Dworkin aims to establish the distinct political value of integrity.1 This chapter is so rich in ideas, arguments, and subtle observations, that it certainly merits more attention than one can give it in one lecture. But I will focus my observations even more, questioning the core idea in this chapter, namely, the idea that integrity, as Dworkin understands this ideal, is morally valuable in and of itself. My conclusion will be the opposite of Dworkin’s, but I hope that regardless of the conclusion, we will have learned a few lessons along the way. Law’s Empire was written a long time ago. Judging its political ideals by the current political climate, however, would not be advisable. It might be tempting to think that in the face of the extreme political and ideological polarization in American society these days, as in many other places around the globe, talking about the value of political integrity is like a yearning to raise Atlantis from the bottom of the sea. This is not going to be the thrust of my comments. Rather, my argument is going to be that the case for Atlantis has never been made, there is no lost ideal that needs salvaging. Integrity, Dworkin claims, is a distinct political ideal, that is, distinct from justice, fairness, equality, and such, but only in the framework of a non-ideal theory.
    [Show full text]
  • Relational Autonomy and Perfectionism
    Moral Philosophy and Politics 2017; 4(1): 27–41 Natalie Stoljar* Relational Autonomy and Perfectionism DOI 10.1515/mopp-2016-0038 Abstract: Joseph Raz’s The Morality of Freedom (1986) is well known for defending both a perfectionist form of liberalism and an ‘externalist’ concep- tion of autonomy. John Christman proposes that there is a logical connection between the two theses and argues that externalist accounts of autonomy should be rejected on the basis that they are perfectionist. Christman’sperfec- tionism argument contains two premises: (i) externalist theories of autonomy entail political perfectionism and (ii) political perfectionism is not defensible. I argue that neither premise is true. Externalist theories of autonomy do not entail political perfectionism. Further, even assuming for the sake of argument that premise (i) is true, premise (ii) is false. The strongest challenge to political perfectionism is that it is incompatible with the value of respect. I argue that those defending political perfectionism misconstrue what is required for respect. Once we see that respect is secured through features inherent in processes, the value of respect can be reconciled with politicalperfectionism. Political perfectionism is a defensible thesis and premise (ii) is false. Keywords: autonomy, perfectionism, Raz Joseph Raz’s The Morality of Freedom (1986) is well known for defending both a perfectionist form of liberalism and an ‘externalist’ conception of autonomy. Raz says that ‘the ideal of personal autonomy is the vision of people controlling, to some degree, their own destiny, fashioning it through successive decisions throughout their lives’ (Raz 1986, p. 369). On his account, autonomy is an important component of human flourishing – it is a moral ideal – and external social conditions, particularly the presence of adequate options, are necessary conditions of living an autonomous life.
    [Show full text]