Introduction: Subjects and Systems

Abstract

The Introduction sets out the problem this book addresses: organizations, in which individuals seem to be nothing but ‘cogs’, have become extremely powerful, while being apparently immune to moral criticism. Organizations—from public bureaucracies to universities, police departments, and private corporations—have specific features that they share qua organizations. They need to be opened up for normative theorizing, rather than treated as ‘black boxes’ or as elements of a ‘system’ in which moral questions have no place. The Introduction describes ‘social philosophy’ as an approach that addresses questions at the meso-level of social life, and situates it in relation to several strands of literature in moral and political philosophy. It concludes by providing a preview of the chapters of the book.