PHIL 153: Part 2: Subversions and Revisions

What corrupts humanity for Rousseau?

Private property → inequality, vanity, dependence.

What is the general will? (Rousseau)

The common good, not the sum of private interests.

What does “forced to be free” mean and who said it?

Obeying laws you prescribe to yourself through collective self‑rule.

• Rousseau

What is amour propre?

Socially conditioned vanity and comparison. (Rousseau)

Why can’t we return to the state of nature?

Because human perfectibility makes regression impossible; once corrupted by society, we must move forward to a higher form of freedom through the general will.

What are Walzer’s four mobilities? (Why Community is Weak Today )

Geographic, social, marital, political. 

What is the communitarian critique of liberalism? 

Liberalism misrepresents humans as isolated individuals rather than socially embedded beings. 

What is the Salem example meant to show? 

Community can become oppressive and illiberal. 

What is the communitarian paradox? 

Liberalism is both accurate about our asocial society and inaccurate about human nature. 

What does Walzer propose? 

Liberalism corrected by communitarian values — not replaced. 

What is the “unencumbered self”? 

Rawls’s idea of a person as a free, rational chooser detached from community and identity.

What are “constitutive attachments”? 

Social ties (family, culture, history) that shape who we are and cannot be bracketed behind the veil.

Why does Sandel think Rawls cannot justify redistribution? 

Redistribution requires a prior moral tie and mutual obligation, which Rawls’s neutrality cannot supply. 

What does Sandel believe went wrong with the welfare state?

Bureaucracy weakened national solidarity; citizens became entangled but not attached.

What does Sandel want instead of neutrality? 

A politics that acknowledges shared moral frameworks and the importance of community

What do the Ehrlichs identify as the core problem driving the “extinction epidemic”?

Human exploitation and mismanagement of habitats leading to rapid biodiversity loss

Why do the Ehrlichs call biodiversity loss a “cardinal externality”?

Because the costs fall on bystanders (ecosystems, future generations, other species) and cannot be substituted once lost.

What is the “genetic library” according to the Ehrlichs?

The reservoir of genetic information in species that provides direct economic value, especially for medicine and biotechnology.

What is an example of an indirect economic value of biodiversity?

Ecosystem services like oxygen production, water purification, and climate regulation.

What is the “substitution dilemma”?

When humans replace a depleted natural resource with a substitute that is often more destructive than the original.

Why do the Ehrlichs think intergenerational equity is still anthropocentric?

Because it values nature for future human benefit, not for its own intrinsic worth.

What is the Noah Principle?

The idea that species should be preserved absolutely, simply because they exist.

What is the central claim of Deep Ecology (Naess & Sessions)?

Nature has intrinsic value independent of human interests; humans are not superior to other forms of life.

What does Deep Ecology say about human population?

Principle 4: Human population must be substantially reduced to allow ecological flourishing.

Why does Deep Ecology reject cost–benefit analysis?

Because nature’s value cannot be quantified in economic terms; it is inherent, not instrumental.

What does “Let the river live” express in Deep Ecology?

The idea that natural entities (rivers, ecosystems) have their own right to exist and flourish, not merely serve human purposes.

How do the Ehrlichs and Deep Ecology differ in their justification for protecting biodiversity?

• Ehrlichs: Mostly anthropocentric — biodiversity is valuable because humans depend on it.

• Deep Ecology: Non‑anthropocentric — biodiversity is valuable in itself, regardless of human needs.

What does Wollstonecraft argue causes women’s apparent inferiority?

Socialization into vanity and foolishness, not natural inferiority.

Why does Wollstonecraft think women’s inequality harms citizenship?

“One is not born, but becomes a woman.”

What is de Beauvoir’s famous claim about gender?

“One is not born, but becomes a woman.”

What does de Beauvoir mean by “immanence” and “transcendence”?

Women are trapped in immanence (domesticity/biology); men enjoy transcendence (freedom, projects).

What is the “problem that has no name” in Friedan’s work?

The unspoken dissatisfaction and lack of fulfillment among 1950s middle‑class housewives.

Why does Friedan criticize 1950s consumer culture?

Labour‑saving devices reinforced domesticity instead of liberating women.

What does Friedan mean by “androgyny”?

Men and women should freely express traits coded masculine or feminine; reject natural complement theory.

What is Okin’s main critique of Rawls?

Rawls ignores the family; justice must apply inside the household, not just public institutions.

Why does Okin say Rawls’s original position is flawed?

Heads of households represent everyone, assuming the family is just and masking gendered power

What does Firestone identify as the root of patriarchy?

Biological reproduction and the sexual division of labour.

What radical solution does Firestone propose?

Replace pregnancy with technological reproduction (“pregnancy is barbaric”) to liberate women.

How does Firestone extend de Beauvoir’s argument?

De Beauvoir wants women to transcend biology; Firestone wants to abolish biological reproduction entirely.

What does Sypnowich mean by “feminizing citizenship”?

Bringing traditionally feminine values (care, community, emotion, conservation) into political life.

What is a major critique of the ethic of care?

It risks essentializing women, being paternalistic, and is often based on white middle‑class privilege.

What is Kimberlé Crenshaw’s concept of intersectionality?

A framework showing how race, gender, class, etc. overlap to create unique forms of oppression, especially for Black women

What was Burke’s main objection to the French Revolution?

It tried to rebuild society from abstract principles rather than inherited traditions.

How does Burke define society?

A partnership between the living, the dead, and the unborn.

Why does Burke distrust democracy and universal franchise?

He believes not all people are equally capable of ruling; governance should be entrusted to the experienced and property‑owning elite.

What is Oakeshott’s critique of rationalism in politics?

Rationalism ignores the wisdom of tradition and tries to redesign society using abstract theories.

What does Oakeshott mean by politics as a “conversation with mankind”?

Politics is inherited practice shaped by generations, not something invented anew.

Why is Oakeshott skeptical of democratic expansion?

He believes political knowledge takes generations to acquire, so inexperienced masses are unreliable rulers.

What kind of nationalism does Mazzini defend?

Democratic, inclusive, civic nationalism tied to liberty, equality, and universal suffrage.

What does Mazzini mean by a “fraternity of nations”?

Nations should support each other’s self‑determination rather than dominate or exclude.

What does Mazzini “abhor”?

“Everything which separates, dismembers, and divides.”

Why does Trudeau reject nationalism?

He sees it as irrational, emotional, and exclusionary — driven by passion, not reason.

What political structure does Trudeau defend instead of nationalism?

Federalism — a rational, pluralist compromise for diverse societies.

Why does Trudeau think federalism is unstable?

The same nationalist passions that justify federalism can also fuel separatism.

Why did nationalism surge at the end of the 20th century, according to Hobsbawm?

Collapse of communism, immigration‑driven xenophobia, identity crises, and search for certainty.

Why can’t rational argument stop secession, according to Hobsbawm?

Because nationalism is driven by passion, not reason — like a marriage ending.

What kind of nationalism does Hobsbawm endorse?

Inclusive, civic nationalism that protects minorities and liberal rights.

What is Singer’s core moral principle?

If we can prevent harm without sacrificing something of equal moral importance, we must do so.

Why does Singer say proximity is irrelevant?

Distance doesn’t change moral obligation — saving a nearby child is morally equivalent to saving a distant one.

What is Singer’s critique of nationalism?

Nationality has no moral significance; duties extend globally, not just to compatriots.

Why does Coulthard reject the “politics of recognition”?

It keeps Indigenous peoples dependent on colonial institutions rather than transforming power relations

What is the difference between Western “time” and Indigenous “land” in Coulthard’s analysis?

Western societies derive meaning from historical progress and labour time; Indigenous worldviews derive meaning from land‑based relationships, obligations, and interdependence.