Pragmatic Critique Research Articles

Smells and politics of Utopia

AbstractUtopia is nominally a ‘nowhere’ that is also, as Thomas More tells us, a ‘good’ place. Although there are competing cognate notions, the Greek description looms large in most accounts of utopia. The details of this ideal are so specified that utopic literature consists in a catalogue (and critique) of specifications. This essay draws attention to the fragrance attributed to Lucian’s ‘Isles of the Blest’ together with Ivan Illich’s attention to ‘atmosphere’ and to the aura and the nose along with Nietzsche’s emphasis on the sense of smell. Utopic suspicion is discussed as parallels are drawn with pragmatic critiques of utopia as inherently totalitarian along with the ‘good life’ in political theory and the programmatic default of techno-utopic fantasy. In the historical context of ‘conspiracy’ and the politics of living and breathing together in community, I conclude with Illich on pax and breath.

Revisiting Grace de Laguna’s critiques of analytic philosophy and of pragmatism

I revisit my paper, ‘Grace de Laguna’s 1909 Critique of Analytic Philosophy’ and respond to the commentary on it. I respond to James Chase and Jack Reynolds by further analysing the difference between speculative philosophy as de Laguna conceived of it and analytic philosophy, by clarifying how her critique of analytic philosophy remains relevant to some of its more speculative forms, and by explaining what justifies the criticism of established opinion that goes along with her rejection of analytic philosophy’s epistemic conservatism. In response to Andreas Vrahimis, I contextualise my reading of de Laguna’s work in 1909. This clarifies her critique of pragmatism, distinguishes it from her critique of epistemically conservative philosophy, and shows that she was not only already aware of the full scope of the latter critique but is likely to have identified the then incipient analytic philosophy as its primary target. Also, contra Vrahimis, her argument is effective against Bertrand Russell’s later, epistemically conservative approach to philosophy. In response to Cheryl Misak, I point out that her argument that de Laguna is, despite herself, a pragmatist rests on a misunderstanding of the differences between pragmatism and idealism, and I show that de Laguna’s main early influences were Herbert Spencer and her teacher, James Edwin Creighton. I further argue that Misak’s rejection of de Laguna’s critique of pragmatism rests on a misrepresentation of the critique.

The Political Ethics of Kiai

This study focuses on examining the political existence of the kyai, the role and populist values behind their political activism as a constructive critique of political dynamics in Indonesia, which in recent years has become increasingly pragmatic. There are three research questions discussed in this study, what are the populist values contained in the political activism of the clerics in Indonesia? What is the political reality in Indonesia today? How to understand the value of kyai political activism as a critique of political pragmatism in contemporary Indonesia? This study uses a type of qualitative research, the data used are primary data and secondary data. After analyzing field data based on the perspective of political sociology theory, this study finds that political pragmatism in Indonesia is currently clearly illustrated along with the increasingly liberal political practices in Indonesia, thus triggering the birth of transactional politics, money politics, and corrupt practices. In order to address this issue, it is important to make the populist values of kyai political activism a constructive criticism in order to return Indonesian politics to its nature, in line with the spirit and system of democracy, both in terms of procedure and substance. The populist spirit behind the kyai's political activism is clearly reflected in their political struggle which tends to fight for two values at once, namely the value of universality and the value of defending personal rights, in this context are human rights and human dignity, as inherited by Gusdur's political thought, Kyai Ahmad Dahlan , Kyai Hasyim Asy'ari, Kyai Sahal Mahfudz and a number of other kyai figures.

(Mis)Trust and Pragmatism as Grounded Normativity

(Mis)Trust and Pragmatism as Grounded Normativity

Critical and Vocational Mathematics: Authentic Problems for Students From Historically Marginalized Groups

This article presents a philosophical and pragmatic critique of critical mathematics (CM) and current vocational mathematics (VM) in the United States. I argue that, despite differences, CM and VM advocates share the view that the inauthentic contextualization of secondary mathematics does particular harm to students from historically marginalized groups and that the subject therefore should be recontextualized to address their lived experiences and apparent futures. Drawing on sociological theory, I argue that, in being responsive to so-called authentic real-world concerns, CM and VM fail to be responsive to the self-referential principles and specialized discourses necessary for future study of mathematics and, as such, may further disempower the very students that CM and VM advocates seek to empower.

Sumnjati srcem - dualizam supstancija u svetlu Persove kritike "Duha kartezijanizma"

In this article, the author addresses the problem of Cartesian dualism through the prism of Peirce's criticism of the 'spirit of Cartesianism'. The faith in the intuitive knowledge and the strong emphasis on individualism Peirce sees as its two main features, therefore, they are the focus of the paper. The underlying idea is to show that, in the light of the pragmatic critique, the Cartesian substance dualism appears to be foremost an epistemological and methodological problem, and not a metaphysical problem of disparate substances.

Multiple perspectives in conflict settings: An introduction

In this introduction to the special thematic section, we discuss the pre-eminent research orientation in the social and political psychology of peace and conflict, its current critiques, and what more multiple perspectives can add to the field. First, we outline key characteristics of the ‘simple road’ to conflict settings: a simple, often binary, definition of the sides involved, a focus on one conflict-induced negative outcome and on one causal pathway leading to it, and a motivation to derive policy recommendations from empirical findings. Second, we discuss constructivist, normative, ecological, and pragmatic critiques of the ‘simple road’, as four distinct strands grounded in different epistemological assumptions, but converging on the account that research priorities need to be revised and methodologies be expanded. Third, engaging with the fundamental questions raised by the critiques, we make a plea for more multiple perspectives: for multiple voices among research participants (more diversified samples), for multiple positions from where to listen to these voices (more time-points and multi-factorial approaches), and for multiple sensors with which to capture them (more mixed methods). We highlight how the different contributions to the section provide creative developments along one or several of the three axes. On the basis of the concrete inspiring examples they provide, we argue that a field growing along these axes would increase its capacity to bridge its most important critical developments and to expand its scope in relevant directions.

ПРИКЛАДНИЙ ПОВОРОТ ФІЛОСОФСЬКОЇ ГЕРМЕНЕВТИКИ

The article presents a critical analysis of the methodological consequences of phenomenological and philosophical hermeneutics. The article examines the possibility of a generalized perspective on qualitative research with emphasis on flexibility of research techniques and procedures that can be used in a variety of conceptual approaches. As well as focus on sequence and coherence of the methodological approach when the methodical procedures are coherent to philosophical grounds of the approach is analyzed. The author describes phenomenological and hermeneutic approaches' philosophical grounds used as a qualitative research strategy and shows how particular philosophical world view take shape in the data analysis procedures and in research quality assessment principles. The purpose of the paper is to outline the key strategies for applying the methodology of philosophical hermeneutics in social sciences: to determine theoretical conditions for the turn of philosophical hermeneutics towards applied social research; to identify key concepts and techniques of philosophical hermeneutics, relevant to exploring actual social phenomena;  to outline the logic of application of the elements of philosophical hermeneutics within social science. Scientific outcome of the paper is expressed in the following statements:  the theoretical conditions for the applied turn of philosophical hermeneutics include the pragmatic critique of ontologization of the hermeneutic circle, that is, the reinterpretation of philosophical hermeneutics contrary to the key guidelines of its founders (M. Heidegger, H.-G. Gadamer); key concepts and techniques of philosophical hermeneutics, relevant to the research of actual social phenomena, consist in the hermeneutic circle and self-understanding, hermeneutical reduction and destruction; the logic of the applied use of the elements of philosophical hermeneutics in the context of social science involves correlation of the structure of the research with the hermeneutic structure of self-understanding, inherent in the subject under consideration. In the framework of this study, a historical-philosophical excursion to the evolution of the “hermeneutic turn” of philosophizing was compared with analytics of the possibility of instrumentalizing the elements of philosophical hermeneutics by the qualitative methodology of modern social sciences.

How Can We Criticize International Practices?

AbstractIn this article, we elaborate two distinct ways of criticizing international practices: social critique and pragmatic critique. Our argument is that these two forms of critique are systematically opposed to each other: They are based on opposing epistemic premises, they are motivated by opposing political concerns, and they pursue opposing visions of social progress. Scholars of International Relations (IR) who want to work with the conceptual tools of practice theory are thus confronted with a consequential choice. Understanding the alternatives can help them to be more self-reflexive in their research practices and intervene more forcefully in contemporary political debates. We illustrate these advantages through a discussion of the scholarly debate on the practices of multilateral diplomacy through which the United Nations Security Council authorized a military intervention in Libya in 2011.

Resisting knowledge, realizing values, and reasoning in complex contexts: Ecological reflections

In this article I explore the social, pragmatic, ecological contexts within which reasoning occurs, and without which it cannot function properly. A diverse set of perspectives are used to guide this exploration: (a) pragmatic critiques of studies showing failures to reason logically, (b) theoretical claims that reasoning is fundamentally social and argumentative, (c) a values-realizing account of resistance and truthfulness in social reasoning dilemmas, and (d) arguments related to the nature of rationality and resistance to scientific claims. Implications emerging from the integration of these sources point to improved prospects for a more ecological, values-realizing approach to theory, method, and application with respect to reasoning.

METHODOLOGY OF PHILOSOPHICAL HERMENEUTICS IN THE SOCIAL SCIENCES

The purpose of the paper is to determine the key strategies for applying the methodology of philosophical hermeneutics in social sciences, which is realized in solving of the following tasks: 1)to determine theoretical conditions for the turn of philosophical hermeneutics towards applied social research; 2)to identify key concepts and techniques of philosophical hermeneutics, relevant to the measurement of actual social phenomena; 3) to outline the logic of application of the elements of philosophical hermeneutics within social science. Methodology of the research is formed by methods of immanent critique of philosophical discourse, adapted to the subject horizon of social studies. Scientific originality of the paper is expressed in the following statements: 1) the theoretical conditions for the applied turn of philosophical hermeneutics include the pragmatic critique of ontologization of the hermeneutic circle, that is, the reinterpretation of philosophical hermeneutics contrary to the key guidelines of its founders (M. Heidegger, H.-G. Gadamer); 2) key concepts and techniques of philosophical hermeneutics, relevant to the measurement of actual social phenomena, are the hermeneutic circle and self-understanding, hermeneutical reduction and destruction; 3) the logic of the applied use of the elements of philosophical hermeneutics in the context of social science involves correlation of the structure of the research with the hermeneutic structure of self-understanding, inherent in the subject under investigation. Conclusion: The study of the conditions of the applied turn of philosophical hermeneutics proved the fundamental importance of setting the problem of the synthesis of fundamental and applied science.

Rethinking Libertarianism: Elizabeth Anderson’s Private Government

In her recent book, Private Government, Elizabeth Anderson makes a powerful and pragmatic case against the abuses experienced by employees in conventional corporations. The purpose of this review-essay, says the author, is to contrast Anderson’s pragmatic critique of many abuses in the employment relationship with a principled critique of the relationship itself. Can we really rent ourselves to our employers? This principled critique is based on the theory of inalienable rights, a theory that was the basis for the abolition of the so-called voluntary slavery in today’s democratic countries. When understood in modern terms, that same theory applies as well against the voluntary “self-rental” that is the basis for our current economic system.

Rethinking Libertarianism: A Review/Essay on Elizabeth Anderson's Private Government

In her recent book Private Government, Elizabeth Anderson makes a powerful but pragmatic case against the abuses experienced by employees in conventional corporations. The purpose of this review-essay is to contrast Anderson’s pragmatic critique of many abuses in the employment relation with a principled critique of the employment relationship itself. This principled critique is based on the theory of inalienable rights that descends from the Reformation doctrine of the inalienability of conscience down through the Enlightenment in the abolitionist, democratic, and feminist movements. That theory was the basis for the abolition of the voluntary slavery or self-sale contract, the voluntary non-democratic constitution (pactum subjectionis), and the voluntary coverture marriage contract in today’s democratic countries. When understood in modern terms, that same theory applies as well against the voluntary self-rental or employment contract that is the basis for our current economic system.

Atypical Discourses

This essay outlines novel ways of communicating with patients by altering semantics, syntax, word use, or sounds. Language is viewed as a tool for coping with problems rather than a medium with which to mirror external reality or internal human nature. This view of language emerges from a pragmatic critique of truth. The broader goal of this essay is to weave together the philosophy of pragmatism, especially as it has been articulated by Richard Rorty, with the theory and practice of psychoanalysis. Clinical case examples are discussed.

Vasco de Magalhães-Vilhena [, Maurice Cornforth] e a Crítica Marxista ao Pragmatismo

The present text, rather than taking as its object the bibliography and/or biography of Vasco de Magalhães-Vilhena or presenting succinctly a theme or themes that captivated him, intends instead to use one or another episodic reference of his texts. In this case, it intends to use the references that refer, as the title announces, to the Marxist critique of Pragmatism. Criticism that the honoree will not have developed, however, he pointed out. Maurice Cornforth is the author for whom Magalhães-Vilhena refers the essentials of criticism to Pragmatism. To this end, it starts from the well-known maxim of Pragmatism accompanying some of its repercussions (gnosiological, ontological and political) based on the reflection of this British author.

Ethnographic perspectives on global mental health.

The field of Global Mental Health (GMH) aims to influence mental health policy and practice worldwide, with a focus on human rights and access to care. There have been important achievements, but GMH has also been the focus of scholarly controversies arising from political, cultural, and pragmatic critiques. These debates have become increasingly polarized, giving rise to a need for more dialogue and experience-near research to inform theorizing. Ethnography has much to offer in this respect. This paper frames and introduces five articles in this issue of Transcultural Psychiatry that illustrate the role of ethnographic methods in understanding the effects and implications of the field of global mental health on mental health policy and practice. The papers include ethnographies from South Africa, India, and Tonga that show the potential for ethnographic evidence to inform GMH projects. These studies provide nuanced conceptualizations of GMH's varied manifestations across different settings, the diverse ways that GMH's achievements can be evaluated, and the connections that can be drawn between locally observed experiences and wider historical, political, and social phenomena. Ethnography can provide a basis for constructive dialogue between those engaged in developing and implementing GMH interventions and those critical of some of its approaches.

International Human Rights Law and Its Critics

This book review essay critically reflects on The Twilight of Human Rights Law by Eric Posner. I compare his arguments with some of the findings in the books The Endtimes of Human Rights by Stephen Hopgood and The Dark Sides of Virtue by David Kennedy. All three books contain a pragmatic critique on international human rights law. I conclude that Posner succeeds in pointing to certain fundamental challenges that the international human rights movement should address. However, by wholly rejecting the idea of international human rights law, Posner in fact makes an ideological rather than pragmatic move. The problems that the book identifies should not be regarded as a reason to dismiss the regime in its entirety, but rather as an opportunity to improve it so that the supposed gap between local human rights activism and international human rights law may close.

Pragmatism as Ontology, Not (Just) Epistemology: Exploring the Full Horizon of Pragmatism as an Approach to IR Theory

This article is in many ways a pragmatist’s critique of pragmatism in international relations (IR), focusing on what practices scholars have engaged in by drawing upon pragmatism and how to resolve problems that become apparent in considering them. Scholars of IR have used pragmatism largely (though not exclusively) to examine issues of an epistemological or methodological nature, focusing mainly on pragmatism as a philosophy of science. Often overlooked, however, is that pragmatism is not just a philosophy of science, but a distinctive and in some respects quite radical school of metaphysics, and it implies a particularly flexible form of social ontology. I, thus, argue for broader horizons in pragmatist theory in IR. I criticize the overly epistemological or methodological focus of the existing ways many IR scholars have used pragmatism and discuss of how pragmatist social theory fits within existing scholarship in the field. Finally, I suggest how pragmatist social theory can contribute to ongoing IR research programs by dissolving the dualisms of agent and structure, realism and idealism, and normative and strategic action. In other words, as a coherent set of principles, pragmatism offers the foundations for a new movement in the study of international politics—indeed, such a movement has already begun, and I suggest that its horizons are particularly broad.

Critique as Justification – and Beyond

The article discusses the predicament of contemporary critique by focusing on a theoretical case, the ‘sociology of critique’ as it is formulated by Boltanski and Thévenot (2006) and developed by Boltanski and Chiapello (2007) . This sociology is critical of critical theory and endeavours to supplement critical theory with a ‘theory of critique’, with a pragmatic analysis of the normative values that inspire intentional action. In order to be critical, it insists, one must first understand what critique is. However, the sociology of critique delimits critique to justification on the basis of (only) existing values and indexes all critique to the governmental idea of reform. The article elaborates on this by juxtaposing radical critique and pragmatic critique in the light of recent debate.

Hegel's Pragmatic Critique and Reconstruction of Kant's System of Principles in the 1807Phenomenology of Spirit.

Peirce's study of Kant, and later of Hegel, and Dewey's (1930) retention of much of Hegel's social philosophy are recognised idealist sources of pragmatism. Here I argue that the transition from idealism to pragmatic realism was already achieved by Hegel. Hegel's ‘Objective Logic’ corresponds in part to Kant's ‘Transcendental Logic’ (WdL,GW21:47.1-3). Hegel faults Kant for relegating concepts of reflection to an Appendix to his Transcendental Logic (WdL,GW12:19.34-38), and for treating reason as ‘only dialectical’ and as ‘merely regulative’ (WdL,GW12:23.12, .16-17). I present three important yet neglected features of Kant'sCritique of Pure Reasonwhich are key enthymemes undergirding Hegel's critical reconstruction of Kant's Critical philosophy (§2). I then summarise some features of the philosophical context within which Hegel begins to re-assess and reconstruct Kant's Transcendental Logic (§3), and review several key steps in this direction Hegel undertook in the 1807Phenomenology(§4). (A related paper extends these results to Hegel'sLogicandEncyclopaedia.) These points show that Hegel's reanalysis of Kant's Critical philosophy is the first and still one of the most sophisticated and adequate pragmatic — specifically pragmatic realist — accounts of thea priori.