Philosophy Final

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John Rawls ( 1921- 2002 )

Revived the discipline of political philosophy

theory of justice : the social contract & veil of ignorance

the social contract

a hypothetical agreement in an original position of equality

Original position of equality is reached..

when we go behind the veil of ignorance

veil of ignorance

If a person doesn't know his economical, financial, heath situation and is creating the laws, he will create it as fair as possible, because he doesn't know in which economic group of people he will belong to.

principles of justice

difference principle & equal basic liberties for all citizens

equal basic liberties for all citizens

each person is to have an equal right to the most extensive basic liberty compatible with a similar liberty to others

difference principle

social and economic inequalities are to be arranged so that they are reasonably expected to be the greatest benefit of the least well off

4 rival theories of justice

1. Feudal /caste system

2. Libertarian

3. Meritocratic

4. Egalitarian

Feudal /caste system

fixed hierarchy based on birth. Based on accidents of birth.

Libertarian

free market with formal equality of opportunity . based on social , historical and economic biases and accidents

Meritocratic:

free market with fair equality of opportunity. Based on natural lottery, moral luck to have certain natural talents and abilities. ground on morally arbitrary facts

Egalitarian

Rawls’s difference principle. the only truly just system which is not based on any accidental facts or contingencies which are arbitrary from a moral point of view

moral desert

Rawls's general conclusion

idea that we deserve to be praised or rewarded for good behavior and blamed or punished when we act badly seems central to everyone's moral deliberation and practices.

entitlement

can only arise when certain rules of the game are in place. Once the principles of justice set the terms of social cooperation, people are entitled to the benefits they earn under the rules.

Minimal state:

only protection against force and theft

john Stuart mill

utilitarianism and Liberty

central concern

the limits of power that society and the state may legitimately exercise over the individual

the harm principle

an individual is accountable to society only for actions which may harm others

Domain of liberty:

Behavior that directly affects only oneself. it includes: Liberty of conscience, thought, feeling, opinion, tastes and pursuits, and freedom of association

no opinion should be suppressed because:

We can never be sure that a particular opinion is false.

confronting and refuting a mistaken opinion we gain something → a chance to strengthen the views we hold.

Essential value for Mill

individuality

why is liberty valuable for individuals

free development of their individuality is crucial to their well-being.

Experimentation

learning about the worth of different activities and ways of life

harm to others

legal

harm to self

social

crucial distinction of erasure between public and private

private acts in public can be prohibited

Whether this act can / does harm others ?

Isaiah berlin & two concepts of liberty

Negative and positive concept of liberty

Negative concept of liberty

Freedom is the Absence of physical interference and impediments to possible action

liberal

Positive concept of liberty

freedom is the presence of something: autonomy, self- determination, self direction, self mastery

illiberal /totalitarianism

violation of negative freedom:

you are directly interrupted and prevented from proceeding until you have complied with coercer’s demands. Our options for action are reduced

Violation of positive freedom

the coercer subjects your will to his. in suffering such subjection, you are revealed to be under external control. our autonomy is violated

republican concept of unfreedom

central concern : domination

freedom as non-domination

opposite of free regime

tyranny or despotism

Republican concept of Freedom

freedom as non interference

• Someone dominates or subjugates another person to the extent that they:

• have the capacity to interfere; on an arbitrary basis;

  in certain choices another person is in a position to make.

Republican Vs negative liberty

republicans : one can be subject to domination without actual physical interference. Domination or non-domination is about the status of a person, not a particular action.

One be subject to interference but not dominated

These are non-arbitrary laws in two senses:

a) they are enacted by the processes of a proper constitution and rule of law

b) the laws are fully in accordance with the interests and values of citizens.

Republican Vs positive liberty

does not imply such a strong conception of citizenship

The rule of law, check and balances, and a working constitution are more important than direct and constant participation in politics

Equal natural rights

rights that each person has independently of the state and the law

implies that the government that violates individual rights lacks legitimacy

Political influence of the idea of natural rights

American Revolution (1765-1791)

Declaration of Independence (1776)

French Revolution and the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of Citizen (1789):

Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948)

What is a right ?

justifiable claim, on legal or moral grounds, to have or obtain something, or to act in a certain way.”

A right is an entitlement

it is what is due to you. Rights can be rightly demanded, insisted upon

appropriate reaction when a right isnt met

indignation → but when a right is given there should be no gratitude bc it is what is owed to you

Legal rights

explicit in law and can be enforced through the courts

Institutional rights:

entitlements that derive from the rules of a particular organization

Moral rights

They are held to exist whether or not they are expressed in laws or rules.

moral rights often provide justification for legal rights.

positive rights

right to another person’s action: for every positive right, someone has a duty to do something

Negative rights

right to non-interference by others: for every negative right, other people have a duty not to do something. they are rights not to be interfered with – by other individuals or by the state.

civil rights

are rights against the state.

characteristics of a liberal state

include: freedom of religion, expression, movement, assembly, association, rights to equal protection of the law and equal treatment under the law, to a fair trial, to be presumed innocent until proven guilty, and the right against cruel punishment.

political rights

rights to participate in control of the state: the right to vote, to stand for public office, the right to organize political meetings, demonstrations and parties. These rights characterize the democratic state.

Economic rights

rights to benefits provided or guaranteed by the state.

Also known as welfare rights

These are rights to have one’s basic needs met. ex : rights to healthcare and education

social rights

These are positive rights: they are rights to receive something and entail a duty on the community, through the state, to provide these basic necessities.

• characteristic of the welfare state

Human rights

moral rights of a fundamentally important kind held by all human beings, unconditionally and unalterably.”

they are Moral rights – people are held to have them whether or not they are recognized in law or in practice.

human rights are

fundamentally important – they are about basic interests, not trivial matters. to be held equally by all human beings, regardless of citizenship, nationality,

human rights are held by human beings ..

unconditionally and unalterably – they are rights people have simply as human beings. → no qualification required

How universal are human rights ?

Some object that universality of human rights conflicts with cultural diversity, that human rights are alien to some non-Western cultures, or that the claim to universality is merely arrogant Western moral imperialism.

Are human rights Absolute ?

absolute human rights are passive negative rights, namely, rights not to be acted upon in certain ways.

Conflicts of rights are unavoidable, so

rights cannot be absolute and may be overridden if necessary, in order to prevent a catastrophe or greater violations of rights.

Human rights in domestic politics

Rights set certain boundaries beyond which governments may not go in pursuit of their collective aims

Rights limit the legitimate power of government and protect individuals from having their fundamental interests sacrificed for the benefit of others.

Human rights in international affairs

Human rights set a minimum standard of decency required of all governments

A government’s right to govern its territory is thus not absolute, but limited by individuals’ human rights.

Hannah Arendt and the perplexities of human rights

if you claim to have rights as an abstract human being, not as a citizen of a particular state, who is obliged to realize and protect these rights ?

Hannah Arendt (1906-1975)

autonomy and dignity of politics

analysis of dark times: totalitarianism, the Holocaust and 20th century evil

Nature of Totalitarianism

Destruction of human freedom, spontaneity and plurality

attempt to realize the principle that everything is possible

Totalitarianism

unprecedented, novel regime → Totalitarianism entirely eliminates the distinction between private and public - your will and mind are also subjugated.

Three-Stage logic of total domination

1. the killing of the Juridical person in a human being.

2. The murder of the moral person in a human being.

3. The elimination of human individuality itself.

the killing of the Juridical person in a human being.

method : stripping people of their legal rights

The murder of the moral person in a human being

In this case, decision of conscience become impossible. The choice is no longer between good and evil, but between murder and murder

The elimination of human individuality itself.

Production of living corpses which proves that human beings as such are superfluous [unnecessary, easily disposable]. Human beings are reduced to animals or even lower creatures

right response to totalitarianism?

Liberals Say : freedom from politics (negative liberty)

Arendt disagrees : Totalitarianism is in fact a radical form of anti-politics

Authentic politics

collective debate, deliberation and persuasion. High degree of civic participation, adherence to law and constitutional government

Authentic politics is radically horizontal. : everything must be equal

Politics reveals our humanity:

reveals our who (uniqueness), not our what (abilities, character traits etc.)

true politics emerges for Arendt

it is sufficient that genuine politics emerged only rarely and momentarily

it is enough that humanity demonstrated only a few times what it can achieve politically

Viva Activia

labor, work and action

Labor

necessity, human survival. It corresponds to our most basic biological needs.

work

creates an artificial world which stabilizes, gives permanence and durability to our life

action

the only activity that takes places directly between human beings without an intermediary (matter or things). It corresponds to the human conditions of plurality and natality.

Key political conditions :

plurality and natality

plurality

each of us has a distinctive perspective on the world. can express by communicating in public

• Politics arises between human beings.

Natality

not only birth in a literal sense, but It is our capacity to initiate, to start new processes and projects.

Plurality + natality =

essential conditions of authentic politics.

politics is not the same as rule or domination

politics is a form of no rule. It does not involve one individual or group ruling over others.

political equality (isonomy in Greek)

we debate and act with our peers. Isonomy is a political achievement, not a natural human condition.

Political (public) freedom

freedom to - it always has a worldly orientation

Freedom is inherently political - the essence of politics

true freedom can only be exercise and experienced together with others, our fellow citizens

Liberation is

always liberation from something or someone - whether from poverty or oppressive rulers

Liberation from oppressors may

be a necessary condition for freedom, but it is never a sufficient condition for the achievement of positive public freedom.

power vs violence

Power is not the same as possession of the instruments of violence.

• Not command / obedience / rule over others

power

exists only as long as the group acts together. When political groups dissolve, their power disappears.

Violence is anti-political

Power can never grow out of violence

Technical rationality and rule-governed behavior

Here, rules by which we are guided can be explicitly formulated using strict scientific-rational methods.

Subjectivism / moral relativism.

Questions of ethical norms and political ends are assumed to be beyond rationality.

faculty of judgement

form of mental activity that is not bound to rules ; comes into play beyond the the confines of rule-governed intelligence.

must strive for general validity

types of judgement

• Logical judgement

• Perceptual judgement

• Aesthetic judgement

• Legal judgement

• Historical judgement

• Moral judgement

• Political judgement

Logical judgement

an act of mind by which we affirm or negate propositions such as "all men are mortal"

Perceptual judgement

this table is brown

Aesthetic judgement

"This painting is beautiful"

Legal judgement

this man is guilty

Historical judgement

this event was consequential

Moral judgement

"This is the right thing to do", "This act was evil"

Political judgement

"This policy is just, or necessary, or advisable in the current circumstances"

Retrospective (past) judgement’s

judge past actions and decision→been very closely associated with legal judgements, or verdicts

prospective (future) judgements

judging is also something we do when we seek to decide about a future course of action. This calls for phronesis or practical wisdom