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Normative Political Theory

Classic Political

Philosophy

18 century

1936

1953

1956

Where does normative political theory stand now?

Therefore

Analytical Political Theory

Writer of

Empirical Political Theory

Scientist

Steve Buckler (1960-2013)

investigation of empirical experience

Editor of

Philosopher

A. J. Ayer

First Alternative: Interpretive Theory

logical relations between concepts

Key Names

Language, Truth and Logic

- Ludwig Wittgenstein : Language games

Results:

Plato and Aristotle

- from positivism to criticizing positivism

- the concept of language games

- Challenge logical positivism

- meaningless language formation are actually meaningful.

- shared understanding of rules

- Language as a way of making the world knowable in different ways. (Wittgenstein)

- Different language games are perfectly meaningful. (Wittgenstein)

-Separation between real experience and language is false. (Winch)

- Language constitutes reality.

-From linguistic clarification to understanding social interaction (shared meanings and understandings).

- positivism ignores the symbolic character of social relations.

- Therefore: interpretation rather than causal explanation. (understand rather than predict)

Peter Winch

- Interpretive approach makes us take normative language seriously on its own terms.

- importance of normative aspects in political concepts.

-social behaviour in general

-social action : conceptual structure: normative elements.

  • Reject Platonic distinction between essence and appearance
  • knowledge based on sense experience, generalization and ordering concepts.
  • Accepts Hume's distinction bet. facts and values.
  • Statements of knowledge : empirically tested and validated, or rel. bet. concepts.
  • Dissect concepts and that's it. (limited role of philosopher)
  • Best kind of life?
  • Best Political order?
  • Ultimate reference points Critical assessment of practices/institutions
  • Platonic distinction between essence and appearance (The Cave).
  • Knowledge is by reason

But:

- It does not bring back classical normative inquiry. because it excludes the claim that there are ultimate metaphysical truths beyond appearances.

- The job is to understand different world views.

-There is not standing point of view from which one can make critical claims.

- relativism

- marginalizing explanatory approaches and limiting the role of social scientist

2nd Alternative: Critical Theory and dialectics

Key Names:

The Frankfurt School:

Premature Obituaries.

Alternatives which rejected the positivist revision.

Habermas:

Mid Twentieth Century

- relationship to Marxist critique.

-radical critique is not made on speculative principles (human nature, the good), but on analysis of real structural dynamics.

-Investigate the circumstances of receding radicalism.

- Critical studying of ideology.

Political Science closer to Natural Science.

Behaviouralism.

Political Phil. was to clarify concepts.

Horkheimer and Adorno

-Positivism as a world view is a dominant Ideology promising liberation through technical rationality, while it actually disempowers.

- Central to the human condition is a form of rationality ( rational debate- communicative action).

- Criteria: truth, sincerity, moral appropriateness and intelligibility.

-Ideal speech situation: communication that is free from distortion, guided by the force of better argument, and consensus.

- Emancipatory/critical knowledge. (in addition to empirical and interpretive).

-Identify systematic distortions, expose structures of power/interests, and a commitment to social change.

- ُّّّIt doesn't tell us what is good, but how the good should be debated and reached.

- It affirms general principles true by reference to fundamental human condition. (Deontology =duty -based)

Criticism

David Hume

Main Crisis

- criticize the imposition of a single vision.

- his model is still exclusionary with respect to some voices.

- feminist critique.

3rd alternative: Deontological theory versus value pluralism

  • Traditional Philosophy is speculative.
  • Knowledge of World comes from empirical experiences (Senses) or logical relations between ideas that come from experience (Maths)
  • Senses tell us what is not what is ought to be
  • Therefore, true knowledge comes from facts not values.

Political Philosophy in its traditional form is no longer a viable discipline.

Isaiah Berlin (1962)

- people go on asking value-judgements questions. They are not meaningless.

- There will never be an agreement.

- We inhabit a world of plural value configurations.

Paradox:

- not complete relativism

- He also wanted to justify the liberal order.

Who defended traditional political philosophy then?

Against?

The postmodern perspective

Justice as Fairness

ئcommunitarian critique

John Rawls

- Contract theory (veil of ignorance)

- Rational Choice model,

- Maximization of basic liberties,

redistribution for the less well-off.

- ٍrational and unbiased choice.

- A theory of justice for basic institutional arrangements.

Intellectual root of the crisis

Logical Positivism/Logical empiricism

- assuming individuals are strangers.

-role of communities

  • Prioritize methods of natural science
  • material phenomena
  • Physical experiments
  • establish facts on behavior of phenomena

Positivism

(Broad movement)

Peter Laslett

Libertarian Critique (Nozic)

contributing to collective welfare is unacceptable

Political Philosophy is dead

T. D. Weldon

The Vocabulary of Politics

Because classical questions were not based on what count as real and objective knowledge

  • Concepts don't have essential/ideal meanings
  • Don't have special origin
  • Values are non-objective
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