Political Philosophy Research Articles

Servi legum sumus, or We Are Slaves of the Law

In the discussion on the procedure for determining the risk of violating the rule of law under Article 7 (1) in connection with Article 2 TEU, it is sometimes alleged that it is difficult clearly to determine the content of the term “rule of law”. Thus, according to some, the whole procedure suffers from the flaw of arbitrary assessment, since allegedly there is no precisely defined standard of assessment. The main purpose of this article is to show that despite everything we are able to reconstruct the hard core of the rule of law, because its concept is deeply rooted in the long history of European legal culture. The author shows it on the example of Cicero’s political philosophy, especially on one sentence from his famous Oratio pro Cluentio: “The law has its ministers in our magistrates, its interpreters in our jurors; it makes servants of us all only to set us free”.

Contributing to Public Deliberation by Religious Behavior: Beyond the Inclusivism–Exclusivism Debate

Recently, political philosophers have debated the role of religious reasons in public deliberations, such as appealing to religious convictions and religious classics. Exclusivists, such as Rawls, Quong, Hartley, and Watson, argue that democratic governments and citizens should restrict or exclude the use of religious reasons in making laws and policies, while inclusivists, such as Gaus, Vallier, and Billingham, oppose such categorical exclusion. Nevertheless, the debate mainly focuses on the role of religious reasons in public deliberation. In this paper, I will argue that religious behaviors—defined as highly altruistic actions motivated by religious beliefs, such as dedicating substantial time and effort to serving the poor and advancing the common good—can exert positive influences on public deliberation. Through this kind of altruistic action, religious believers can subtly influence non-religious citizens. While religious believers may not rationally persuade non-religious citizens through religious reasoning, the altruistic actions exhibited by religious believers could emotionally inspire admiration and motivate non-religious citizens to learn more about those religions. This enhances mutual understanding among different religious and secular sects and thus improves public deliberation. Furthermore, I argue that the improved understanding fostered by religious behaviors can facilitate exclusivism and inclusivism to overcome certain philosophical challenges, such as the problems of incompleteness and anarchy, which are among the most frequent criticisms directed at exclusivism and inclusivism. Hence, this paper highlights an aspect overlooked in the exclusivism–inclusivism debate: no matter whether the democratic government and citizens should permit or restrict religious reasons, religious behavior is still beneficial in public deliberation.

Public political philosophy in Poland: Phacts, phictions, and philennials

All over the world, political philosophers are increasingly told to deliver more ‘engagement’, ‘relevance’, or ‘impact’, without it being remotely clear what this should involve. Less analysis and more activism? Fewer principles and more policies? Less critique and more cooperation? Or something else altogether: a particular way of working with others that sits alongside, rather than replaces, what we already do as professional scholars. In support of this last possibility, my argument here has two stages. First, a flexible theory of ‘public political philosophy’ that others can adopt or amend as they see fit. Second, a development of that theory by way of a particular ‘case-study’: ‘inter-minority dialogue’ in Poland, and especially dialogue between, and about, Jewish and Muslim communities residing there. Note though, in advance, that this is not ‘development’ in the sense of either ‘testing’ an empirical theory or ‘applying’ a normative one. Instead I aim simply to sketch out a particular kind of conversation, between and amongst these groups, as well as local scholars, by setting out three ‘methods’ they can experiment with, each of which is intended to support, rather than supplant, whatever dialogues are already locally occurring. These three I call ‘phacts’, ‘phictions’, and ‘philennials’, and if they are far from a solution to any of the problems these communities face, they are at least a new contribution that philosophers are particularly well placed to facilitate.

The theory of democratic integration

The outcome of the 2024 European Parliament elections highlights the need for the EU to underpin its functioning as a European democracy with a proper political theory. This article introduces the theory of democratic integration as a political philosophy of the EU. It aims to provide the EU with a philosophical foundation by analysing its evolution as a deviation from the Westphalian system of international relations and its doctrine of absolute sovereignty. The article finds that the EU is succeeding in creating a new democratic home for its citizens and its member states. In times of increasing support for parties which promote national sovereignty as the recipe for the future and which consequently call for the dismantling of the European Parliament and the deconstruction of EU democracy, the theory will empower the Union to defend its constitutional achievements and prevent it from backsliding into an undemocratic organisation of illiberal states.

Keynes and the Long Run — to ‘Live Wisely and Agreeably and Well’

ABSTRACT This paper revisits Keynes’s essay titled ‘The economic possibilities for our grandchildren’, featuring Keynes both as a growth theorist and a moral and social philosopher of capitalism. We discuss the three broader trends identified by Keynes that he expected would come to characterize the socio-economic evolution of advanced countries under capitalism: first, continued technological progress and capital accumulation as the main drivers of exponential growth in economic possibilities; second, a gradual general rebalancing of life choices away from work; and third, a change in the code of morals in societies approaching an envisioned stationary state of zero net capital accumulation in which mankind has solved its economic problem and enjoys a lifestyle predominantly framed by leisure rather than disutility-yielding work. We assess actual outcomes by 2024 and attempt to peek into the future economic possibilities for this generation’s grandchildren.

Modernisasi Pesantren Salaf Terhadap Transisi Kehidupan Sosial Dalam Tinjauan Filsafat Sosial

Salaf pesantren is one of the Islamic educational institutions that has a great influence and contribution to Indonesia in encouraging the progress of science and character education. So it is appropriate to study the renewal carried out by these salaf pesantrens. The renewal carried out by these salaf pesantren is a form of answering the needs of a dynamic society. So the review conducted in this paper is to look at the innovation of Hidayatut Thullab pesantren in the review of social philosophy, so the question in this paper is how the social inetarchy relationship between the characters produced between the community or the pesantren family and the educational innovations it makes to society as a whole. The method used is a combination of literature studies and field studies, using the domain analysis method, componen analysis, taxonomy analysis, and cultural theme analysis, the purpose of this method is to find the construction of social situations clearly. The results of the analysis of this paper are, that this semi-modern salaf pesantren has been able to build its social culture clearly, because it is assisted by a curriculum, adequate Islamic material and the environment of pesantren life based on salaf culture, so that the character of social interaction is clearly illustrated as a family or pesantren community that has a strong Islamic identity, a thick cultural culture and tak'dzim to the kiaiKiyai. However, because the innovation is only limited to the digitalisation of online mass media-based da'wah communication, the impact is only in the field of da'wah, and the social environment is also still limited to the relationship network environment, not yet to a more famous national level, as we know that the world of digital communication still needs something unique so that it goes viral and is widely known and captures more people. While the pesantren's relationship with the surrounding community as a form of social interaction has not been carried out optimally, because it is still confined to the salaf pesantren system with a traditional classical paradigm, thus making the salaf pesantren movement more limited than modern pesantren, such as the lack of cooperation between pesantren as a whole as educational institutions to the government and NGOs in order to obtain integrated activities, adequate facilities, teacher support and so on.

Ethics and International Trade: A Tale of Many Connections

In recent decades a growing number of analytic political philosophers have started to pay attention to the ethics or morality of international economic integration. In this paper we offer an overview of the normative questions related to international trade. The paper has eight parts and focuses on these topics starting from a conceptual definition of trade: the legal, institutional and governance dimensions of international economic exchange and related ethical questions; the idea that trade has distributive effects within participating countries; the distinction between the ethics of production and consumption; two specific international markets, the market for natural resources and that for weapons.

Minimal metaphysics in moral and political philosophy

The aim of this paper is to apply the methodology of minimal ontological commitments to moral and political philosophy. As minimal metaphysics in the philosophy of science endorses scientific realism, so we subscribe to moral realism, arguing that the presumption of liberty is the fundamental assumption defining a person. What needs to be justified then are restrictions to liberty and, in particular, the application of coercion upon persons. In examining knowledge claims about normative facts going beyond the presumption of liberty, such as, for instance, facts about a common good, we show that an ontological commitment to such normative facts is at odds with minimal metaphysics. We thus show how minimal metaphysics vindicates a Kantian deontological stance in moral and political philosophy: moral realism is limited to the obligations that follow from extending the presumption of liberty to all human beings in virtue of them being rational animals, hence to respect every person as an end in itself.

Философские идеи Н.Н. Страхова в контексте современных проблем исторической памяти

Historical memory is one of the key problems in contemporary philosophy of his­tory, political philosophy, and social philosophy. Philosophers and humanities scholars discuss its possible specific characteristics based on the contexts of their fields of knowledge, but the contentiousness of this phenomenon persists despite their intellectual efforts. To identify new contexts for interpreting historical me­mory and to reveal new perspectives for understanding its modes of existence in culture and society, the authors turn to the history of Russian philosophy, within which a unique attitude towards history as a fundamental basis of humani­tarian knowledge was formulated (unlike the Western tradition of the philosophy of science, where history is generally treated as a relativizing factor). The focus of the authors is on the intellectual legacy of the Russian philosopher Nikolai Nikolaevich Strakhov, whose concept of the philosophy of science and under­standing opens up new opportunities for interpreting “historical memory”. The authors immerse the problem of historical memory in the following contexts of Strakhov’s philosophy: 1) science as a cultural phenomenon, 2) ethnic psycho­logy, and 3) existential themes that reveal the specificity of communication among 19th-century Russian philosophers, their methods of preserving histo­rical memory, and transmitting its meanings to future generations. Special at­tention is given to two different interpretations of the concept of “experience” in N.N. Strakhov’s philosophy (as the empirical basis of scientific research and as “life experience” aimed at expanding the horizon of understanding reality)

Mastery of the Self: European Moral and Political Thought in A Mirror-For-Princes by Eochaidh Ó hEódhasa

I have three main aims in this article. The first is to offer a normalised text accompanied by an English translation of Deacair innreamh na hóige , a poem of moral and political advice by Eochaidh Ó hEódhasa which has not previously been translated nor been the subject of critical appraisal. My second aim is to offer a close reading of the poem in order to illuminate the main ideas, arguments and attitudes that it embodies. My third concern, and that which informs the title of the article, is to argue that the values and preoccupations of the poem are characteristic of European mirrors-for-princes as a whole and reveal the extent to which this bardic poet was influenced by European moral and political thinking in general.

Bridging Thought and Action: History, the Digital Humanities, and Building the Foundations of Asian/American Political Thought

Bridging Thought and Action: History, the Digital Humanities, and Building the Foundations of Asian/American Political Thought

Black Folk, Then and Now and the Late Du Bois’ Marxist Dialectic

This paper seeks to examine Du Bois’ positive engagement with the Marxist dialectical categories that are the corner-stone of the politico-philosophical tradition, as in Berteli Oilman's Dance of The Dialectic and Fredrich Engels’ Anti-Duhring. Du Bois’ relationship to Marxism remains downplayed and understudied due to anti-communist historiography and postmodernist interpretations. W. E. B. Du Bois’ 1939 work Black Folk, Then and Now demonstrates the centrality of Marxist dialectics to his work, clarifying his philosophical and historiographical development after completing Black Reconstruction. This abstract and philosophical reading of Black Folk, Then and Now reveals not merely that the late Du Bois’ radicalism can be categorized as Marxian but also that his late works cannot be understood without an understanding of Marxist political economy and philosophy, revealing that Black Folk, Then and Now is a centerpiece of the scholar-activist's intellectual development.

Iberian Vistas: Franco, Salazar, and American Conservatives

The article takes both a historical and a present-oriented look at the influence of the twentieth-century authoritarian Iberian regimes—including their leaders, Franco and Salazar—on the American conservative movement. It explores the political and religious motivations and major narratives driving Hispanophilia and Lusophilia, and their main advocates. Furthermore, and with a comparative approach, the text analyzes the past and current arguments—in magazines, books, and social media—favoring both regimes, especially in the light of the revival within American conservatism of Catholic Integralism and the defense of alternative representative systems, such as corporatism, that could usher in a new postliberal political regime. The article further explores the potential impact—and inherent limitations—of such strategies and projects, and shows that the revival of interest in figures such as Franco and Salazar is significant not only in terms of a reinvigorated criticism of the political and moral philosophy of liberalism but also regarding the search for new political forms and regimes.

Кантианский патриотизм

The article considers a paradoxical, at first glance, question – does the social and political philosophy of Immanuel Kant allow patriotism as a duty. The fact is that Kant is widely considered an icon of cosmopolitanism. His “cosmopolitan­ism” was reflected in such works as “Idea for a Universal History from a Cos­mopolitan Purpose” (1784), and later, with adjustments, in “Toward Perpetual Peace” (1795) and “Metaphysics of Morals” (1797). Considering that many philosophers reject patriotism on ethical grounds, believing that it cannot be a virtue, even more strange it may seem to pose the problem of “Kantian patriot­ism”. Nevertheless, modern researchers of Kant’s philosophy are trying to under­stand how his views can be combined with patriotism. In particular, this topic was raised several times (in 2000 and in 2003) by Pauline Kleingeld, a re­searcher of ethics and philosophy of Kant. To answer the question of whether patriotism is obligatory, permissible, or even harmful for Kant’s philosophy, she first described three types of patriotism – civic, nationalist, and patriotism based on the unique characteristics of the country, Kleingeld has done a lot of philo­sophical work, because now Kant’s social and philosophical concept can among other things be considered patriotic

Grace Lee Boggs on Chinese Political Thought and the Next American Revolution

Grace Lee Boggs on Chinese Political Thought and the Next American Revolution

Nationalism as an Unobvious Construct of Serbian Political Thinking in XIX–XX Century

Wars in former Yugoslavia diffused an opinion that Serbs are nationalists, and that attitude always characterized this nation. This article investigates, if the opinion is true or it is misuse. It is necessary, to ask questions about the sources of Serbian nationalism; both – on the historical level, as well as on the linguistic level. Which words are used in Serbian language for describing nation, and the other terms related to it? When could the Serbian nationalism originated, and when in the Serbian politics appeared the word nationalism? In pertain to the subject, the article investigates three periods: XIX century; The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, and the Tito’s Yugoslavia until it’s disintegration.

Политическое восприятие в историко-философской концепции

The article presents the development of philosophical thought on the problem of political perception in a diachronic aspect. Dynamism and diversity in the study of the phenomenon of political perception are traced. Each epoch and each philosophical concept corrects the view of the process and the specifics of political perception. It is becoming common to think that sensory perception becomes the basis for social, social and political perception, but different concepts and different researchers place varying degrees of trust in sensory experience and the world of sensations. Political perception is always associated with cognitive activity, as well as with the emotional sphere and, according to theorists throughout human history, acts as a management tool that allows you to control the political thinking and political behavior of perceiving subjects.

EL ORIGEN DEL “CONTRATO SOCIAL” EN EL "תרב"

That of “the social contract” is an idea that has been used to explain the western political thinking until today. From the 17th century onwards, that idea has been applied to the study of politics according to a rational or empiric paradigm (Hobbes vs. Locke). When searching the origin we discover that it is, in fact, Jewish theological. This proves the importance of the western Jewish-Christian thinking. This essay explains the origin of the “social contract”. It also describes its basic elements to be able to understand the importance of this idea nowadays. Our explanation will apply our model of performance of ideology to ideography. The texts from the Psalms will be used as our pivotal ideographic reference.

Prospects for social philosophy in modern conditions of globalization

Globalization processes have occurred more than once in human history. Scientists have identified several waves of major integration processes that took place in various areas of human activity. However, modern globalization processes, largely due to the development of digital technologies, surpass in scale and signifi-cance all those occurring previously. What are the vectors of development of modern globalization and its consequences for all humanity? This is not an idle question concerning scientists and philosophers. In this re-gard, there are many different concepts that interpret the essence of the phenomenon of “globalization” and its prospects. However, there is no doubt that the human world has ceased to be flat and linear, society has transformed into humanity, and humanity has transformed into a world on a planetary scale. The social world is presented in a complex proliferation with a huge variety of super dynamic connections and relationships determined by civilizational achievements. With the processes of globalization, a new page begins in the his-tory not only of humanity, but also in the history of social philosophy, which cannot measure society in the same traditional ways. Socio-philosophical discourse requires new cognitive research paradigms in order to more accurately represent the picture of the globalizing world and the place of the singular person in it. The article attempts to substantiate one of these paradigms.

The Mind and the Political

In this commentary I present a brief overview of Maiese and Hanna’s work, The Mind-Body Politic, and highlight their valuable contribution in extending the insights from philosophy of mind to critically evaluate our contemporary social institutions and politics. Then I discuss some of the reservations and open questions about the way Maiese and Hanna lay out their version of a political philosophy of mind. In doing so, I focus on three main shortcomings in Maiese and Hanna’s work. First, I discuss how despite their critical view of Cartesian dualism, their own view of the way society is organized and works is dualistic. I argue that their dualistic view of society results in utopian thinking, and perhaps a more productive and constructive approach to our current predicaments would rather be an immanent critique. Second, I highlight the unclarity and confusion in some of their conceptual frameworks and their account of politics such as the way they use ideology and governmentality. Finally, I criticize their analysis of social institutions, especially the way they see new institutional structures can be formed. The project for a political philosophy of mind that Maiese and Hanna set up is worth pursuing and Maiese and Hanna already provide many hints and directions for its productive and constructive pursuit.