Social and Political Philosophy

Jean-Paul Sartre's positioning in Anti-Semite and Jew

by Patrick Baert

Published in the Journal of Classical Sociology 11 4 2011, pp. 378-397.

This article is one of the first to employ positioning theory to analyse an intellectual product. After introducing... more This article is one of the first to employ positioning theory to analyse an intellectual product. After introducing the theory itself, it explores how Sartre’s book Réflexions sur la question juive enabled him to locate himself within, as well as intervene in, the socio-political and intellectual context at the time.  Using the text, Sartre positioned himself as an authoritative public intellectual; that is, a generalist, drawing on his vast cultural resources to speak out about a wide range of important societal issues with moral conviction. He also positioned himself within the tradition of the Dreyfusard notion of the intellectual - that is, as an intellectual who engages with contemporary social and political issues and who is a defender of progressive Republican notions whilst remaining an independent voice - with the qualification that he expressed disquiet about the French Republican notion of citizenship. Drawing on these insights, the article ends discussing glaring omissions in Sartre’s Réflexions sur la question juive, making sense of them in the light of the socio-political context of the mid-1940s in France. The article shows the fruitfulness of positioning theory for analysing intellectual interventions whether they are in the form of books, essays or articles.

Key words: Sartre, perfomativity, positioning theory, intellectuals, Jews, anti-Semitism

The power struggle of intellectuals at the end of the second world war: a study in the sociology of ideas

by Patrick Baert

In: European Journal of Social Theory 14(4) 2011, pp. 415-435

This article is one of the first sociological explorations of power struggles between intellectuals where matters of... more This article is one of the first sociological explorations of power struggles between intellectuals where matters of life and death are literally at stake. It counters the prevailing tendency within sociology to study intellectuals within confined academic institutions where power struggles are limited to matters of symbolic and institutional recognition. This study explores the conflict between collaborationist and Resistance intellectuals at the end of the Second World War in France, and it focuses in particular on the purge of collaborationist intellectuals which culminated in several high profile trials. This article shows that the arguments and meta-arguments put forward in these trials led to broader intellectual debates outside the courtroom. These debates not only centred on the notion of the writer’s responsibility, but also dealt with anxieties about the disintegrative forces of modern society. Whereas collaborationist intellectuals portrayed their writing as either separate from politics or rescuing a defunct or degenerate nation, Resistance intellectuals such as Jean-Paul Sartre were keen to portray collaborators as outsiders, both socially and sexually, lacking in social integration and subservient to a strong external force. The Resistance intellectuals saw the notion of individual responsibility not as antithetical but as integral to the remaking of the French nation, and this concept would become the cornerstone of the reshaping of the intellectual landscape in the post-war era in France.

Keywords: de Beauvoir, intellectuals, meta-arguments, power struggles, purge, Sartre, trials

Transforming the intellectual

by Patrick Baert

Co-authored with Alan Shipman. Published in: Politics of Knowledge, edited by Fernando Dominguez Rubio and Patrick Baert. London: Routledge, pp. 179-204.

Patrick Baert and Alan Shipman’s chapter discusses the phenomenon of public intellectuals and argues against the view... more Patrick Baert and Alan Shipman’s chapter discusses the phenomenon of public intellectuals and argues against the view that their status and number are in decline. Against this ‘declinist’ thesis, Baert and Shipman assert that new types of public engagement have emerged which also result in novel forms of political engagement. Commentators who advocate the declinist thesis tend to take too restrictive a notion of what it is to be an intellectual, and fail to recognise the new forms of, and new participants in, the intellectual sphere. The prototypical cases were authoritative intellectuals: generalists with a considerable amount of cultural capital and a certain aura, often taking a moral stance. Authoritative intellectuals have gradually been replaced by professional intellectuals, and then by what are termed embedded intellectuals. In contrast with authoritative intellectuals, professional intellectuals are steeped in a particular discipline and derive their authority from that expertise. However, like authoritative intellectuals, professional intellectuals speak from above, whereas embedded intellectuals have a more democratic relationship with their audience, often developing a dialogue with a wider public and relying on it to boost their credibility and survival.

Review of 'Virtue and Politics: Alasdair MacIntyre's Revolutionary Arsitotelianism' edited by Kelvin Knight and Paul Blackledge

by Jan Kandiyali

This review if forthcoming in the Journal of Moral Philosophy

„Rola firm farmaceutycznych w udostępnianiu tanich leków dobrej jakości w krajach rozwijających się”, wersja robocza [„The Role of Pharmaceutical Companies in Making Accessible and Affordable Medicines of Good Quality in the Developing Countries”], draft version

by Marta Soniewicka

Forthcoming in: Prakseologia 2012

Przedmiotem rozważań w artykule jest problem roli, jaką mogą odgrywać przedsiębiorstwa w realizowaniu celów... more Przedmiotem rozważań w artykule jest problem roli, jaką mogą odgrywać przedsiębiorstwa w realizowaniu celów społecznych na przykładzie globalnego przemysłu farmaceutycznego. Artykuł podejmuje problem pomocy w kontekście dostępności tanich i bezpiecznych leków w krajach rozwijających się, co jest jednym z aspektów realizacji prawa do ochrony zdrowia. Analizowana jest tu kwestia, czy mechanizmy wolnego rynku oraz działania filantropijne firm farmaceutycznych wystarczą, by zagwarantować niezbędne do życia leki najbardziej potrzebującym mieszkańcom świata. Postawione zostanie pytanie, czy międzynarodowe koncerny farmaceutyczne oprócz obowiązku gwarantowania (przestrzegania) praw człowieka są odpowiedzialne również za dostarczanie praw człowieka, w tym wypadku prawa do zdrowia. Ukazany jest tu konflikt interesów pomiędzy kierowanym zyskami przemysłem farmaceutycznym a kierowanym zasadami etycznymi zdrowiem publicznym. W artykule postawiona jest teza, że wolny rynek sam nie może naprawić swoich wad (takich jak niedobór innowacji, niedobór mało opłacalnych leków, monopolizacja rynku i zawyżanie cen), do czego potrzebne są odpowiednie regulacje prawne oraz działania instytucji publicznych o zasięgu lokalnym i globalnym. Ani wolny rynek, ani dobroczynne działania pomocowe firm farmaceutycznych nie są w stanie rozwiązać problemu opieki zdrowotnej w krajach rozwijających się, gdzie brak leków jest jedynie niewielkim aspektem dużo większego i bardziej skomplikowanego problemu ubóstwa i słabości instytucji państwowych, które nie są responsywne względem podstawowych potrzeb swych obywateli.

TESTING THE LIMITS OF LIBERALISM: A REVERSE CONJECTURE

by Ali Rizvi

Heythrop Journal LIII (2012): 382-404

In this paper, I propose to look closely at certain crucial aspects of the logic of Rawls' argument in Political... more In this paper, I propose to look closely at certain crucial aspects of the logic of Rawls' argument in Political Liberalism and related subsequent writings. Rawls' argument builds on the notion of comprehensiveness, whereby a doctrine encompasses the full spectrum of the life of its adherents. In order to show the mutual conflict and irreconcilability of comprehensive doctrines, Rawls needs to emphasise the comprehensiveness of doctrines, as their irreconcilability to a large extent emanates from that comprehensiveness. On the other hand, in order to show the possibility and plausibility of the political liberal solution he needs to emphasise that most of these doctrines are reasonable: i.e., they are willing to cede a portion of their authority to political liberalism for the right reasons. Yet, if they are willing to cede a portion of their authority to a political conception they cannot be as comprehensive as we initially thought they were. All these elements highlight the tension in the argument itself. I suggest that many of these tensions can be removed by making Rawls' account more flexible. In this context I propose certain amendments to Rawls' account, which may overcome some of the tensions mentioned above.

A distinction within egalitarianism

by Alan Carter

There are two different ways in which an egalitarian might evaluate momentary distributions. This suggests two... more There are two different ways in which an egalitarian might evaluate momentary distributions. This suggests two different egalitarian theories, with each theory focusing upon a different value. However, there may well be reason for refusing to make a choice between these theories, and recognizing both values, instead. But this would suggest that egalitarianism may be more pluralist than has generally been presupposed.

'Hegel's Standards of Political Legitimacy'.

by Kenneth R Westphal

K R Westphal -- Abstracts: Hegel, Practical Philosophy

by Kenneth R Westphal

Veränderungspolitik in Zeiten der Kontinuitätserwartung

by Reinhard Riedl

Künstliche Ansichten eines Wissenschafters: column nomber 38 in German language

We discuss the cognitive and emotional challenges of the concept of inflation and their impact on contemporary social... more We discuss the cognitive and emotional challenges of the concept of inflation and their impact on contemporary social expectations and on contemporary political discussions. This particulöarly though implicitly reflects on Austrian politics. Then we contrast the social expectattions and demands with psychological reality in business life. There, well being essentially depends on perceived freedom, sense, and meaning of one's work. Thjs leads us to the conclusion that political change should be considered from a radical individual perspective on professional life.

Two Arguments for Child Enfranchisement

by Joanne Lau

Published in 'Political Studies', 2012.

The right to vote is fundamental to democratic citizenship; it is one of the most important badges of political and... more The right to vote is fundamental to democratic citizenship; it is one of the most important badges of political and legal equality. However, we deny it to children, generally without discussion. After exploring conceptions of ‘political capacity’, I launch two arguments. The first is the Symmetry Argument: whatever level of capacity we use for the disenfranchisement of children should be used in symmetrical fashion to disenfranchise the elderly. The second is the Argument from Domains: if we attribute responsibility to children in the legal domain, we should also attribute it to them in the political domain. If we do not actually disenfranchise the elderly, we must find a good reason why we displace that symmetry. I discuss such objections and show why they can be refuted or disregarded.

Review of Sean Sayers 'Marx and Alienation: Essays on Hegelian Themes'

by Jan Kandiyali

A slightly shorter version of this article was published in Radical Philosophy, Mar-Apr, 172.

'Different Conditions Set Different Standards:' The Ecology of Ethics in John Wyndham's The Day of the Triffids

by Phil Gochenour

The New York Review of Science Fiction, June 2011, Issue 274, Vol. 23 No. 10.

An examination of ecological concepts and their relation to materialist ethics in Wyndham's The Day of the Triffids,... more An examination of ecological concepts and their relation to materialist ethics in Wyndham's The Day of the Triffids, as well as its connection to earlier works of British utopian fiction such as Morris' News from Nowhere, and to later "zombie apocalypse" works such as 28 Days Later and World War Z.

Freedom, Power, and Capitalism: From Disciplines to Biopower•

by Ali Rizvi

(forthcoming) in Pakistan Business Review April 2012

In this paper I propose a framework to understand the transition in Foucault’s work from the disciplinary model to the... more In this paper I propose a framework to understand the transition in Foucault’s work from the disciplinary model to the governmentality model. Foucault’s work on power emerges within the general context of an expression of capitalist rationality and the nature of freedom and power within it. I argue that, thus understood, Foucault’s transition to the governmentality model can be seen simultaneously as a deepening recognition of what capitalism is and how it works, but also as a recognition of the changing historical nature of the actually existing capitalisms and their specifically situated historical needs. I then argue that the disciplinary model should be understood as a contingent response to the demands of early capitalism, and argue that with the maturation of the capitalist enterprise many of those responses are no longer necessary. New realities require new responses; although this does not necessarily result in the abandonment of the earlier disciplinary model, it does require their reconfiguration according to the changed situation and the new imperatives following from it.

The Dissimulation of Law and Power: Michel Foucault

by Gabriel Rockhill

Philosophy Today 46:4 (Winter 2002): 339-355.

Review of Michael Walzer's Thinking Politically

by Jan Kandiyali

A slightly altered version of this review was published in the 'Marx and Philosophy Review of Books', October 2010.

Islam versus liberal pluralism? A response to Ahmad Yousif

by Michael Merry

Cosmopolitanism and the deeply religious

by Michael Merry

Should the state fund religious schools?

by Michael Merry

Should educators accommodate intolerance? Mark Halstead, 1 homosexuality, and the Islamic case

by Michael Merry