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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Is it true that before modern Europe, there were no "nations"? [closed]
The concepts of "nation", "state", "nation-state" and "country" are not self obvious.
Here are definitions:
State
A State is an independent, sovereign ...
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Is Plato's Political Philosophy of the Best Regime in The Laws or The Republic?
Plato's Laws is in many ways superior to The Republic. Yet it is often told that The Laws represents the "second" best or practical (non-idealist) version of Plato's political philosophy. ...
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Churchill said that democracy is the worst form of government - except for all the rest. So if democracy is the least worst, how can it be improved? [closed]
I was intrigued by a recent question about which forms of government are better or worse. If they are all bad, as Churchill said, but some are better than others, how do we improve his least worst - ...
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Did Susan Neiman inadvertently come up with an extremely well-justified moral intuitionism (relative to the concept of "symbolic evil")?
Prefatory edit: per Conifold's observations, I think I should refine this question in a certain way. Before, I was asking about people having an intuition of evil (or an intuition of the truth of a ...
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Positive Freedom v. Negative Freedom: a binary or a spectruum?
I got interested in this question when I realized that, on one hand, some people who disagree with me (and argue for mean ideas) are fond of this distinction and, on the other hand, my ideas and that ...
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Am I getting a "wrong impression" of some sort of "significant shift among the fundamentals" between the second Critique, and MOM?
Quick note: "MOM" means The Metaphysical of Morals. So the newly-updated SEP entry on Kant-as-a-whole says:
... while German philosophy moved on to assess and respond to Kant’s legacy, Kant ...
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What would a be a pluralist's solution to quelling the abortion debate in the USA?
I've just started to read some of Rawls, Isaiah Berlin on pluralism and political liberalism. I mainly got into it thinking about the deep divides in the US, where we have fundamental disagreements on ...
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Do the poor have any power in this world? [closed]
It seems to me that a lot of government policy is determined on the premise that the poor are responsible for the social and economic problems in the world.
Do the poor have power and thus are capable ...
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How does viewing all human creations as 'corporations' align with or challenge existing philosophical frameworks?
I propose defining a 'corporation' as 'a framework around an idea that seeks to continue to exist given parameters.' This definition seems to encompass all human creations, from self to language to ...
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What advantages and disadvantages soldiers of anarchist areas might have against invading state-sponsored standing armies?
What advantages and disadvantages soldiers of anarchist areas might have against invading state-sponsored standing armies?
In what way anarchist armed forces might differ from state-sponsored standing ...
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Is it rational to try avoiding being a free-rider?
Me (A) and my friend (B) often have debates on various topics that go like this:
A does an action that has a negligible effect by itself but ultimately contributes to a common good.
B: If what you do ...
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Why should one care about individual/minority rights ? And assuming tyranny of majority is a problem. How does one draw the balance?
There has been a lot of discussion over the years about where to draw the line between majority rights and minority/individual rights.
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/democracy/#ProbPersMino
This ...
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The Difference between state and collective in Giovanni Gentile's Philosophy
Does Gentile conceive of the state as something separate from the collective, that is only united with the individual/the collective, in fascism? In the Philosophical Basis of Fascism he really ...
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is there a civic and/or moral duty or obligation for one to be an 'active citizen in a democracy'? [closed]
reading a post on daily nous the other day, i saw the comment by columbia college chicago professor s. asma that
students cannot just learn about game design and digital editing, and not learn about ...
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In a democratic society, should governments be allowed to pay for or fund artistic/cultural works and performances using taxpayers' money?
Especially considering that aesthetic criteria are essentially individual matters, and that certain works and performances may be regarded as offensive by some part of society
There is also a ...
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Does the current “ruling ontology” deny any possibility of a social causation of mental illness?
Mark Fisher in his book Capitalist Realism writes:
The current ruling ontology denies any possibility of a social causation of mental illness.
Fisher then goes on to say that the construct of “...
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Picture relationship diagram gives suggestions.Thanks! [closed]
Picture relationship diagram gives suggestions.Thanks!
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Why is self-sufficiency considered by Aristotle to be an important characteristic of a city-state?
In Politics, Book I, Aristotle wrote
A complete community constituted out of several villages, once it
reaches the limit of total SELF-SUFFICIENCY, practically speaking, is a city-state.
Why does he ...
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Leibniz's Best of All Possible Worlds and the Divine Right of Monarchies
In my Modern European Philosophy class, we briefly talked about Leibniz's theodicy and his idea that the actual world is the best world that God could have created and the PSR as it pertains to God. I ...
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As civilization advances , will the divide between various income groups/economic classes reduce or widen?
I was reading on post-scarcity abundance , and I saw in various sci-fi related themes that in some cases the gap widens and in some cases it reduces. I was also thinking whether this gap exists due to ...
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Name for phenomenon where individual members disagree with their own collective action
I was thinking about a phenomenon related to groupthink lately that I often observe. Frequently, social groups seem to collectively act or trend in ways the individual members consciously disagree ...
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Does Thomas Hobbes assert that political philosophy or civic philosophy as it was known then, began with him?
I found this claim that Hobbes believed he founded political philosophy in multiple reputed places. In this lecture from Yale: 12. The Sovereign State: Hobbes' Leviathan
In Leo Strauss and Joseph ...
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According to the theory of structural functionalism, what causes social disequilibrium?
I understand that the basic premise of structural functionalism is that social institutions serve the function of maintaining social stability and promoting social solidarity, but I don't understand ...
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Are there any recommended resources for exploring the dynamics of power relationships within the context of teacher-student interactions?
I am interested in the interplay of power within the educational setting, specifically focusing on the role of the teacher as a potential authoritarian figure akin. It seems that the traditional ...
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The "rule of one" in state of emergencies
The "rule of one" (monarchy) was preferred by many pre-modern philosophers as a form of government. E.g. Thomas Aquinas regarded it as most perfect government, since it imitates nature (like ...
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What is the ideal political period for liberal conservatives?
Liberal conservatism is "a political ideology combining conservative policies with liberal stances, especially on economic issues but also on social and ethical matters" (Wikipedia).
It is ...
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Is transgenderism a radical rejection of feminism?
A woman can be an engineer; a man can be a nurse. A woman can be aggressive; a man can let a woman take the lead. A little girl can play with toy trucks; a little boy can play with dolls; A woman can ...
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Does the paradox of tolerance mean that intolerance cannot be allowed in a tolerant society?
Rainer Forst describes tolerance as a social norm. So intolerant people and groups violate the social contract by denying the social norm of tolerance. See Hobbes, Locke, Kant et al on social contract....
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Does every nation on Earth have a right to exist or do only peaceful nations have a right to exist?
I have been wondering lately as to what it is that gives every nation on Earth the right to exist.
Throughout human history, at any point in time, the Earth has been a mixed bag of nations that were ...
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Is there a need for a new field of natural-practical philosophy?
Natural philosophy is now generally known as physics. Some ancient universities still call it natural philosophy. But all of science could be included under the term, natural philosophy. There is also ...
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Should freedom of speech accept speech against liberal values? Such as hate speech?
Should freedom of speech accept speech against liberal values such as diversity? Focusing on a particular scenario as an example: If people want to protest against the existence of say black people, ...
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What do philosophers say about vegetarianism and non-vegetarianism?
Animal kingdom can be divided into herbivores, carnivores and omnivores.
What do the philosophers say about the consequences of being herbivores, carnivores(including cannibals) or omnivores ?
How ...
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What have philosophers said about the consequences of being in patriarchal or matriarchal societies? [closed]
Families or societies can be roughly divided into patriarchal or matriarchal families or societies.
What have philosophers said about the consequences (economic ,social, political, sexual etc) of ...
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How is Rawls's "liberalism" reasonably classified as liberal by this SEP article?
According to this Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy article...
Given that liberalism fractures on so many issues — the nature of
liberty, the place of property and democracy in a just society, the
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Seeking references on the ontological basis of 'cultural appropriation' to cure my confusion
Disclaimer: Cultural appropriation is an emotionally charged topic and is criticized by a number of intellectuals, and my intent is to determine the philosophical grounding of the topic through vetted ...
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What did Hegel meant when he said that the universal continually engenders itself while maintaining its identity throughout the process?
The patriotic sentiment acquires its specifically determined content from the various members of the organism of the state. This organism is the development of the Idea to its differences and their ...
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Do any philosophers argue for a state of constant war?
Do any philosophers argue for a state of constant war? Not as a state that needs to be prevented, but an ideal state. I don't think that's Marx, but it may be some variants of Marxism. Does ...
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Killing with bare hands vs Rube Goldberg killing machine: How can we connect causes to persons, and so be morally responsible for effects by us?
What brought up this question:
I was watching a television show and was thinking of how powerful individuals can obtain hired guns to do their dirty work. The police and legal system then has ...
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Where does philosophy fear to tread?
This question isn't well researched. It's difficult to investigate those realms which have been neglected, as opposed to those rigorously attended.
One of philosophy's great attractions is arguably ...
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Who wrote this uncited quote?
The following uncited quotation appears in The Early Modern European Catachism by Joshua Gibbs. He includes many quotes from philosophy and literature but does not cite any of his sources. Would ...
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Open Self vs. Closed Self/Society Distinction
In political philosophy and cultural studies, certain thinkers from the twentieth-century stand out for their reliance upon distinguishing between open and closed selfhood. It is a long-running theme ...
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Inquiring about Perspectives on the Theory of "the People" as a Political Concept
Seeking your insights and recommendations regarding a specific aspect of political philosophy - the theory of "the People."
I am currently exploring various perspectives on this concept and ...
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Could personal law really be defended through the fact that it is personal?
Let's suppose there is a preventative personal law, say that of consuming some drug , or practicing sexualities, then, a possible arguement set by those who are against it would be, the preventative ...
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Definition of Ownership
I am not student of philosophy so please forgive my sloppy question. I was having a discussion with someone about the definition of ownership.
I was arguing that you do not really own property in the ...
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Seeking Academic-Level Source on Justifications of Democracy: A Comprehensive Listing with Critical Perspectives
I have recently embarked on a quest to delve deeper into the justifications of democracy, but I must admit, the plethora of information available has left me feeling overwhelmed. There seem to be ...
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To what extent can the ability to commit crime in society be taken as an indicator of freedom?
Suppose we lived in a totalitarian regime with very little control of what we could own, what we could do and when we could do what we want. In such a case, it'd be that the crime rate would become ...
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Is it paradoxical to try represent underrepresented communities more?
Suppose there is some heteregenous society, which majority and minority groups. There is a proposal by the government/media in society to increase the representation of minority group by giving them ...
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Do decolonialists have to attack science and modernity?
I’m a professional scientist (mathematician, actually). I’m not a philosopher.
I’ve got a lot of friends well-versed in philosophy, and they all seem to point toward modernity as a byproduct of ...
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In what sense is the polis/city self-sufficient for St. Thomas Aquinas?
De Regno cap. 2 n. 14:
Now since man must live in a group, because he is not sufficient unto himself to procure the necessities of life were he to remain solitary, it follows that a society will be ...
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Achille Mbembe's critique of desire in postcolony
In the postcolony, wherein a particular form of power rages, wherein
the dominant and the subjugated are specifically linked in one and the
same bundle of desire, enthusiasm for the end is often ...
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