Questions tagged [political-philosophy]
Describing questions about the philosophy of politics and society which investigate concerns like liberty, justice and equality.
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What does it mean for someone to “found a state/government”? And why can they do it?
What does it mean for someone to "found a state/government"? And why can they do it?
E.g.
George Washington is referred to as the "founder" of American republic.
But what's a republic and how can ...
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2answers
104 views
Who writes the natural laws of a constitution?
If we say that the natural law of a constitution in a democratic government has to protect the minority from the majority, by whom is it written?
If the majority writes it, it might not protect the ...
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2answers
298 views
Are state secrets compatible with Democracy?
In some western countries some government agencies and intelligence services withdraw information from the general public on the pretext of "national security" or "public safety".
eg. 1: The American ...
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How do Burkean conservatives respond to the accusation of cultural relativism?
I sincerely hope that this is the right StackExchange to ask this question. Politics deals with pragmatics and History seldom deals with more abstract questions.
As far as I can gather, Burkean ...
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Why does Arendt say that the 'absence of continuity' is an outstanding characteristic of the totalitarian mind?
Hannah Arendt writes in her book The Origins of Totalitarianism:
Stalin's successors attempted to do without concessions to
the name of their predecessor, even though Stalin had thirty years' ...
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2answers
94 views
Who was the first philosopher of property?
I assume that the idea of property already existed in ancient Greece, else there would be no slaves -- at least no privately owned slaves. Yes, I know that litte about the Greeks.
Who was the first ...
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161 views
Is the term 'Quantum Supremacy' symptomatic of the sick state of quantum physics today?
I overheard the following dialogue recently:
Letitia: Quantum what?
Josef: Quantum supremacy!
Letitia: Is that a game quantum theorists play to show who is supreme in quantum mechanics?
...
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What causes the binary (left/right) division in politics?
In many places we can see that people cluster into specifically two groups, politically. Of dozens of prominent unresolved societal issues, we can predict one's stance on many issues by knowing their ...
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Continuing Political Philosophy Study
A little over a year ago, I took a political philosophy course, and am currently reviewing some notes and the texts. Keeping in mind that I have no other background in philosophy, I wondered if anyone ...
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134 views
Is gaslighting a totalitarian measure?
The term gas-lighting means:
manipulate (someone) by psychological means into doubting their own sanity.
This is given in individual terms; by this, I mean that gaslighting is done by some-one to ...
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50 views
Who said, “a parliament with no opposition should be dissolved”?
I've found a reference in a Jewish text from the mid-19th century to a "gentile sage" (an expression usually referring to a Greek philosopher, but it could be any non-Jewish person really) who said ...
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Maximizing freedom in a society
A friend and I were trying to come up with the most basic rule that, if followed, would lead to a functional (and preferably good) society.
He said: "People should be free to do whatever they want, ...
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I'm being drafted to the military but I have the option to refuse (legally), would it be immoral for me to serve? [closed]
I’m set to enlist in the Israel Defense Forces but I have the option to exempt from the military if I wish to. So I’m in a big moral dilemma on whether I should serve or not, I’m currently leaning ...
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2answers
48 views
In the philosophy of Josiah Royce, is there a tension between the individual and society?
I'm reading through Josiah Royce's view on the self and this is what I think he believes the tension to be between the individual and society:
"The tension between the individual and society is ...
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1answer
65 views
Is freedom from discrimination a positive or a negative right?
Because of the recent controversy regarding pronouns on Meta, I started thinking about this question. In general, is freedom from discrimination as protected in most modern liberal states a positive ...
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Is fascism intrinsically violent?
Has every group or nation that is generally considered to be fascist, descended from the nationalist ideology of Mussolini (I don't mean 'fascism' in the sense of just any right wing demagogy), ...
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2answers
195 views
Was Bertrand Russell correct in characterising the United States as 'a Nazi State'? [closed]
In his book, War Crimes in Vietnam, published in 1967 Russell several times calls the United States a Nazi State:
The United States government is conducting a war of annihilation in the Vietnam. ...
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Difference between the ensemble of organizations in an anarchy and a state?
Even an anarchy needs organizations to provide security, legal judgment, roads, etc. and to prepare large-scale plans and arrangements. Probably, for the sake of efficiency and harmony, there should ...
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Philosophers on alternatives to capitalism and communism
Philosopher Karl Marx envisioned an economic system called communism to fight the abuses suffered by working class people during the industrial era. The exploration of man by man
and the excessive ...
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13answers
11k views
Was Robin Hood's point of view ethically sound?
The story of Robin Hood was a favourite of mine as a child.
But as an adult, I am beginning to change my mind for a couple of reasons.
The first being that if we assume a free market exists, ...
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0answers
48 views
How to argue that some inequality is justifiable in order to maximize the well-being of the worst off in Rawls's theory of justice?
In context, I have to describe what we think is a just society by Rawls theory of justice. I want to try and use Scandinavia, for example, the Nordic Model as a representation as a just society. ...
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1answer
55 views
Is illiteracy something you could claim as freedom in the Libertarian world view?
Libertarians seek to maximize political freedom and autonomy,
emphasizing freedom of choice. (Wiki)
Is it consequent or illogical to argument that a Libertarian world view allows for illiteracy as ...
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Authors on the Credibility and Corruption of Modern Science
During the Renaissance and Industrial eras science was a way to remove superstition, religious misconception, and irrational fears. The scientific method was proved to be valid and available to ...
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What is to be understood by the phrase “Israel's right to exist”? [closed]
As someone who is interested in the Israeli-Palestinian question one phrase that comes up in the pro-Israeli position is the insistence that the Palestinians recognise '"Israel's right to exist". (In ...
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In Hegelian Dialectic is an antithesis ever a shift in the status quo, or only an opposition to the status quo?
I am trying to understand how the Hegelian dialectic evolves over time. I will use tn (where n is a constant integer) informally, such that tn+2 - tn+1 is not necessarily the same duration as tn+1 - ...
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What is structural power in Miranda Fricker's Epistemic Injustice?
I'm reading Epistemic Injustice by Miranda Fricker (looking at pages 10 and 11 here) and she starts out by defining power. One of the things she says is
[...] power can operate purely structurally.
...
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38 views
Why does Williams quote Napoleon calling Rouseau a madman?
In truth and truthfulness, Bernard Williams spends quite some time discussing the life of Rousseau, including his apparent inauthenticity. At one point, he Williams briefly gets into his relation to ...
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4answers
179 views
Is participating in democracy ethical?
I have been pondering this question for the past few days and have come up with this short argument to support the ethical value of abstinence from participation in a democratic system.
If we are all ...
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1answer
38 views
What did Ivan Illich think of Helmut Schoeck?
Is there any record of Ivan Illich commenting on the writings, viewpoints or life of Helmut Schoeck?
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1answer
105 views
Utilitarianism revisited
I assume utilitarianism to be the doctrine that one should act to maximize the overall amount of "happiness".
Next to the fact that it's not quite clear
what happiness is supposed to be and how it ...
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0answers
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How many academic Philosophers in Australia are still influenced by John Anderson “Andersonians”
John Anderson was a well known Philosopher in at Sydney University whom influenced many involved in the Sydney push and the those involved in the sexual revolution of the 1960’s. Are any of his ideas ...
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1answer
115 views
Difference between 'marxist' and 'Marxist'?
What is the difference between 'marxist' (with a small 'm') and 'Marxist'? This question arose to me when I came across this:
It follows from this belief that if you can totally change the '...
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1answer
89 views
What does Marx mean by “the real will of the cooperative”?
This is an extract from A Darwinian Left by Peter Singer:
Marx: Under collective property, the so-called will of
the people disappears in order to make way for the real
will of the cooperative.
...
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1answer
69 views
Who wrote about levels of power?
Recently, a senator stated that a bill would not be voted upon “because I get to decide what we vote on.”
I recall a complete philosophy of exercising power at various levels, of which deciding when ...
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2answers
162 views
How is egalitarianism even possible? [closed]
How is egalitarianism (broadly, any idea about equality between humans) even possible?
I find it hard to chew as to how can egalitarianism be demonstrated to even exist in any, even simple sense. ...
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1answer
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Why should I trust experts - and what's the place of experts in a democracy?
If we trust experts, do we then elevate them as determiners of the truth? When we trust our surgeon to do a good job in surgery because he is an expert, do I forfeit my right to criticize experts on ...
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Is this argument about ownership valid?
I came across an argument that I believe to be invalid:
Ownership is defined as the ability to exclude others.
"Everyone owns land" becomes "everyone has the ability to exclude others from land."
I ...
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3answers
180 views
Is Socrates' happiness possible for average, normal people?
Socrates talked a big game in the Republic: we don't need money, family or friends to be happy; all that requires is that we pursue truth and wisdom. I can sort of see how this can make sense for ...
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1answer
434 views
What does Machiavelli say about friends of my enemies?
What does Machiavelli say about friends of my enemies? I read the Prince, and some continental stuff relating it to Marxism, such as Specters of Marx. The former mostly seemed like practical, in some ...
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1answer
146 views
Is there an established name for position that argues against law?
This is my position. But for some reason I'm sure I'm not the first to accept it (I guess some anarchists would have it). So, there likely should be other people with this position. Is there a name ...
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1answer
128 views
What is the historical entitlement conception of justice? How does it differ from the patterned conception?
Related to Nozick.
What are the policy implications of the two approaches? Any examples?
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272 views
According to Nozick, what is a “patterned” conception of justice?
Any examples of a policy issue on which a patterned conception of justice might plausibly disagree with a historical entitlement based conception of justice
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516 views
If I want everyone to be a friend to everyone, am I an anarchist? [closed]
I am not defining friendship. It's easier to say what is not friendship. In most aspects there are some signifiers of friendship. What language do you use, how do you treat people, what do you feel. ...
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64 views
Did Nietzsche have anything to say about the trans-Atlantic slavery trade?
Given that there are over 300 references to slavery in Nietzsches work did he, in any of his works, address what was the most significant revival of slavery since Graeco-Roman times, that is the trans-...
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1answer
641 views
What did Confucius mean by saying that the 'rectification of names' is the first thing required to rule a state?
In Analects XII, a disciple asked Confucius the right principle of government whereupon Confucious said:
The one thing needed first is the rectification of names.
What did Confucius mean by this?
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1answer
122 views
In what order should I read The Republic, Aristotle's Politics, and The Prince?
I want to read Plato's The Republic, Aristotle's politics, and Machiavelli's The Prince. Is there an order in which I should read them to better understand the development of political philosophy?
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Did Nietzsche elaborate on his notion of a 'political caste to rule over Europe'
In Aphorism 251 in Beyond Good and Evil, Nietzche says:
What is serious for me ... [is] the cultivation of a new caste to rule over Europe.
And according to Nietzschean scholar Ronald Beiner, when ...
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4answers
181 views
Can the affirmation “All taxes are theft” be considered an a priori truth?
Hans Hermann Hoppe is a popular Economist from the Austrian School whose central ideas seem fundamentally right. However, I see him as having very poor argumentation skills and more than once I read ...
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Privacy in the modern context [closed]
In Roman times, 'privacy' had more to do with one’s “private” domain where one is the master of one’s own house rather than the sense we have today where the emphasis is more on one’s private thoughts,...
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What are Popper's views on employment and unemployment?
I recently read an interview where Popper ranked his interest in employment above education. Unfortunately, the interview was quite brief and didn't go further into Popper's thinking on this.
Q. What ...
