Social Philosophy

In the 80s and 90s political liberals debated whether it is legitimate for a state to fund the arts on the grounds that art is a public good. The public goods model is only one way in which the state might justify funding for the arts. Indeed, throughout history, liberal societies have employed artists on behalf of the state and for the benefit of the state. In this paper, I argue that it is, in principle, permissible for the state to (...) fund the arts for the good such funding can provide the state. I sketch a state arts program which has the purpose of producing pro-state art, art which helps to legitimize the state. The state is permitted to do this in order to execute its duty of stability. I defend the permissibility of such a program against the claim that it would be objectionably propagandistic or that it would be too easy to abuse such a program for nefarious means. (shrink)

Affirmative action is typically presumed to apply to recruitment but never lay-offs. Policies of affirmative action which only apply to recruitment are known as entry initiatives whilst exit initiatives involve lay-offs. In this paper, I challenge the status quo presumption against mixed exit initiatives which involve both lay-offs and preferential recruitment. Assuming that we have reasons to enact affirmative action initiatives whenever doing so promotes equality of opportunity, I strengthen the case for mixed exit initiatives by showing how, in at (...) least some cases, the relevant initiatives will be likely to provide a greater reduction in inequalities of opportunity both within and across different birth cohorts. I consider various objections to exit initiatives as I construe them and argue that none of them are immediately decisive such that the status quo presumption is justified. I conclude by gesturing towards the plausibility of the initiatives discussed and other policies which merit further consideration. (shrink)

Sexual orientation and how we might understand it is a topic that arouses significant controversy. Is sexual orientation a natural or social phenomenon? Are categories such as 'queer' and 'straight' essential to the human condition or dependent on contingent cultural practices? Whilst such questions have been considered from the perspectives of sociology and gender studies, they remain relatively underexplored from a philosophical standpoint. In this book, Matthew Andler breaks new ground examining the metaphysics of sexuality. Distinguishing sexual orientation and sexual (...) identity, he asks why only certain aspects of sexuality count as sexual orientations, arguing that sexual dispositions can only become sexual orientations in virtue of being related to heteropatriarchal kinship structures. He then turns to sexual identity, arguing that the categories 'queer' and 'straight' are grounded in the political function of sexuality cultures as resisting and/or entrenching heteropatriarchal kinship structures. Additionally, he critiques capitalist expropriations of queerness in pinkwashing. He also argues that trans-inclusive interpretations of sexuality categories serve everyone who seeks to build a life outside of the narrow provisions of heteropatriarchal kinship structures. Sexual Orientation and Identity: A Philosophical Analysis will be of interest to those studying the philosophy of gender, social metaphysics, and gender studies, as well as for anyone interested in the conceptual issues underlying debates concerning gender and social justice. (shrink)

Relational egalitarianism holds that people should live together as equals. We argue against the received wisdom amongst both friends and foes of relational egalitarianism that it fails to provide a theory of intergenerational justice. Instead, we argue that relational egalitarianism is concerned with social equality amongst future contemporaries, and that this commitment gives rise to duties of justice for current generations that can be grounded in the idea of generational overlap. In doing so, we argue that that the scope of (...) relational egalitarian concerns extends beyond generations amongst whom social relations exist. (shrink)

In these transformative times of interrupted lives, humanity has had to take a step back and subject its frantic, rushed existence to a profound analytical glance. The COVID pandemic has caused millions to suffer and the elderly are more vulnerable than ever; moreover, many families are left to mourn alone, not always able to gather around their departed loved ones at the time of grief. This has led many to believe that humanity has lost control of its environment and its (...) destiny. Yet, if recent predictions by sociologists come true, the current, seemingly never-ending pandemic might have some positive results. The anguish it causes may be, in fact, teaching us to appreciate the value of the natural world that we are depleting, to understand “the other”, and to recognise the planet-saving significance of the phrase “less is more”. And while the world’s populations slowly realise that their social environment has changed permanently, the pandemic’s beneficial upshot might be that people will be mindful of things beyond their immediate concerns and will begin to see the “bigger picture”. In view of the speculative disarray inherent to our present condition, this paper proposes existentialism as a system of thought with the intrinsic power to guide individual and social awareness; it thus analyses our present in an interpretive and pragmatic light while it draws on the existentialist theories of Søren Kierkegaard and Simone de Beauvoir. Both philosophers are querying and inquisitive and both timelessly relevant, sensible and direct about what they see is at the core of human existence. (shrink)

In this paper, I offer an original interpretation of Marx's conception of unalienated labor, which I frame as a response to Aristotle's view of work, or technē. Both Aristotle and Marx share a particular conception of freedom as “normative self-determination,” according to which an activity is free insofar as it does not depend for its value on externally valuable things. For instance, when my activity is a mere means for satisfying some need separate from it, it comes to depend for (...) its value on the externally valuable effect—the “needs-meeting”—it achieves. Or, when my activity is only causally—but not normatively—enabled by the cooperative contributions of others, it comes to depend for its value on those externally valuable contributions. On Aristotle's view, work is unleisurely (ascholos) and servile (doulos) because it is normatively dependent in both of these ways. For Marx, by contrast, work possesses the capacity to “internalize” these external determinants of its value. Unalienated work does this, first, by satisfying “internal” needs, or needs whose satisfaction does not constitute a normatively external effect of the work that satisfies them. The satisfaction of internal needs is valuable because of the manner or way in which they are satisfied. Second, unalienated work would not only be causally, but also normatively, enabled by the contributions of others, in that those contributions would help to make it the distinctively valuable act that it is. Unalienated work would be valuable because, and not despite, its cooperative character. In both of these respects, then, cooperation is essential to make work fully free. (shrink)

In Critique of Forms of Life, Rahel Jaeggi develops an immanent critique to evaluate and criticize forms of life. Jaeggi seeks a criterion that relies neither on external nor internal standards but rather on an imminent, non-teleological quasi-standard rooted in ongoing social dynamics. She claims that social learning processes can serve as a standard or indicator of progress within forms of life; however, she does not fully explain how these learning processes demonstrate both normative and functional progress. In this paper, (...) I argue that Jaeggi’s immanent critique requires a more robust conception of agency, one that emphasizes the role of creativity in the dialectical relationship between active and passive learning processes. Such a framework would better capture the progressive and regressive movements within forms of life. Furthermore, I expand on how creativity in narrating forms of life animates active learning processes and determines the success or failure of social transformations from both functional and normative perspectives. I suggest that the focus should be on how individuals and collective groups, as learners, actively transform their social environments through new experiences and imaginative narratives, in order to detect the immanent problems that occur in the learning processes of forms of life themselves. (shrink)

Ressentiment describes a psychological process in which a subject responds to feelings of inadequacy by altering his evaluative orientation in a way that enables him to blame the inadequacy on some outgroup. Ressentiment is taken to have far-reaching applicability: it has been used to explain many different forms of political antagonism, including those present in the authoritarian far-right, the far left, identity politics, populism, neo-Nazi movements, the manosphere, incels, and fanaticism. This essay asks what exactly ressentiment is and whether it (...) gives a good account of political antagonism. Is ressentiment an emotion? If so, what kind of emotion is it? How is it linked to strife and discord? Section 1 begins by analyzing the key features of ressentiment. Section 2 asks how ressentiment is linked to the narratives or ideologies with which people and groups operate. Section 3 considers the way in which ressentiment leads to changes in the subject’s identity. Section 4 concludes by discussing the way in which ressentiment generates politically antagonistic emotions and stances. (shrink)

The concept of pluriculturalism is a relatively novel one that has yet to be fully explored. It is based on the principles of plurilingualism, which focuses on the individual's capacity to acquire multiple abilities and competencies in terms of cultural and linguistic engagements. From a theoretical perspective, the concept emerged at the advent of the pragmatist turn in language, as well as from socio-linguistic studies. It reflects the breakdown of the one-culture man at the juncture and intersection of identities in (...) the context of the global outbreak. The individual’s concealed modularity and capacity to prioritize an identity within a cluster of affiliations revealed an emerging activity at the base of inter-social reality. As a result, a more finely tuned description of sociocul- tural phenomena enables pluriculturalism to transcend the limitations of multiculturalism, which is perceived as a more static picture. While multiculturalism sought to identify the foundation for a mutual dialogue at societal contacts, pluriculturalism demonstrates the potential for such a dialogue as individual repertoires. A crucial difference can be observed in terms of political management. While multiculturalism is oriented towards the institutional preservation and integration of a guest culture within a host country, pluriculturalism allows for a move towards an emergent planning. The latter is based on constraint-driven strategies that aim to facilitate individual abilities to engage in self-generating phenomena. This approach encourages the formation of living systems or networks. (shrink)

Revolutions promise justice but often bring chaos, as seen in the French Revolution. Bangladesh, facing governance challenges, should prioritize institutional reform over abrupt upheaval. The American and Glorious Revolutions offer models of stable change through legal and democratic consolidation. The 2024 student-public uprising highlights the need for transformation, but history warns against instability without strong institutions. This paper advocates for a revolution of minds and policies—a structured, democratic approach to lasting progress.

It is not unusual to find the content of an epistemic agent’s utterance unwanted and immediately reject such an utterance because it elicits a repulsive reaction in us. What could explain this sort of reaction to a speaker’s utterance? In this paper, I propose an “epistemic disgust” concept to explain this reaction to a speaker’s utterance. Epistemic disgust refers to a phenomenon whereby an epistemic agent is repulsed by a speaker’s utterance either due to the speaker’s personality or the content (...) of the speaker’s utterance, thus causing the agent to reject the speaker’s utterance from contributing to her epistemic system. (shrink)

Technological visionaries often paint a future powered by clean energy, yet these optimistic visions tend to overlook the messy socio-political realities of such transitions. As A Just Transition for All: Workers and Communities for a Carbon-Free Future (MIT Press) powerfully illustrates, there is a vast difference between a so-called ‘just’ transition and one that is genuinely just. This book offers a much-needed, thought-provoking, and meticulously documented exploration of how political and business leaders can ensure fairness for all stakeholders—especially vulnerable workers (...) and their communities—as the world shifts toward a carbon-free future. -/- "As time passes, news about the now hotter Earth buzzes through the bird village. Those kingfishers residing along the banks of the Red River often report drying riverbeds and skinny fish. As Kingfisher casts his gaze upon the events that have unfolded, he can’t help but feel a sense of unease creeping up within him. He decides to collect all the scientific information concerning climate change and greenhouse gas emissions. An elite squad with a unique talent for gathering vital information is formed for emergency information collection." -In GHG emissions, Wild Wise Weird: The Kingfisher Story Collection, Vuong (2025)- . (shrink)

The income gap between women and men expands with age, culminating in a gender pension gap in old age that is much larger than pay gaps earlier in life. In this article, I question two attempts to justify gender pension gaps. One insists that lower financial contribution justifies women's lower overall pensions. The second states that women must receive less monthly because they live longer. I argue that neither of these reasons is fair in a gender-unjust world. Rather than justifying (...) pension gaps, female longevity is an opportunity to promote gender justice: by subsidizing longer lives, old-age redistribution attenuates lifetime gender inequality. In the case of retirement pensions, the use of age to promote gender equality may be preferable to explicit gender differentiation. There is, then, a feminist case for old-age redistribution. (shrink)

This article studies the link between time and politics in the Works of Elias Canetti, to claim that the political dimensión of his thought is constituted, in part, by the non-manipulable face of temporality. In other words, we seek to make evident that politics in Canetti is not reduced to the present because it is simultaneously constituted and exceeded by the infinity of the past and the future. To be what it is, politics must deal with that absolute excess. So, (...) we will systematically and critically review a series of background texts that have omitted or displaced this paradoxical relation between time and politics, and, in opposition to these proposals, we will state that the political question in his texts revolves around the overflow of the living present by the infinity of the past and the future. (shrink)

The reconciliation of high medieval philosophical theories and its praxis is expressed in this opus. The “oust Duterte” petition is a move not of an individual political being but rather of a political sphere upon which the individual is subjected to. The role of philosophy has always been subjected to the endeavor of continuously seeking the truth. The truth is categorized as logical and ontological, where it is hermeneutically subjected to the philosophical engagement proponents of ontology and logic, St. Anselm (...) of Canterbury, and St. Thomas Aquinas respectively. The highlight of this paper is explicating the inviolability of the ruler – constituent relationship under the interpretation of ontology and logic. The contribution of this opus is its pure philosophical engagement into a situation which is material, as such that the latter is viewed by its antecedent vis a vis the evolution of the philosophical theories presented as modalities. (shrink)

A dogwhistle, in its most centrally-discussed sense, seeks to obscure part of its meaning from part of its audience. Yet, as many have noted, dogwhistles that are flaunted at an opposing group play a prominent role in political speech. I call these speech acts 'brazen dogwhistles'. This paper deals first with theoretical concerns, exploring the features of brazen dogwhistles, arguing that we have good reasons to consider them to be dogwhistles, and making room for them in a broadly Saul-style account. (...) In the second half, this paper addresses lessons more closely tied to the political project of reducing the pernicious effects of dogwhistles. It explores how dogwhistles can be used in a targeted way in smaller settings and sheds light on the role of active audience interpretation, suggesting that the best response to a potential dogwhistle is to withhold the benefit of the doubt. (shrink)

How do we determine whether a migration is voluntary when persons organize their own displacement under the shadow of ethnic violence? I examine this question through a case study of a 1989 Soviet village exchange between Azerbaijanis from Gizil-Shafag (in the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic – SSR) and Armenians from Karkanj (in the Azerbaijani SSR), where residents negotiated their mutual relocation while operating under threats to their safety. Through analyzing competing accounts of voluntary migration, I demonstrate why the agential account (...) fails to capture the fundamental difference between fleeing ethnic violence and migrating for career advancement. This inability makes the agential account susceptible to misuse by nationalists attempting to justify ethnic cleansing. However, the political account – which focuses on whether migration is motivated by one’s belief that one lacks objectively acceptable alternatives – not only better reflects the lived experiences of ethnic minorities facing displacement but also provides clearer guidance for migration policies. (shrink)

This paper is about why voluntary associations, such as churches, unions and political parties, are subject to natural justice requirements in common law: in other words, why they are required to treat their members fairly. These requirements are typically imposed (under the name of procedural fairness) by public law on exercises of state authority, but voluntary associations do not exercise state authority. Voluntary associations are set up in private law, as structures of property and contract, but property and contract law (...) do not ordinarily require rights to be exercised in accordance with natural justice. What is needed is an account which locates voluntary associations within private law while adverting to what they have in common with the state: that they make and apply rules to facilitate human interaction. I propose such an account, drawing on an idea from Lon Fuller. Natural justice requirements on voluntary associations are grounded in the rule of law. (shrink)

The idea that pushing for more equality comes at a cost in terms of economic efficiency is widely accepted. Underpinning this idea is the premise that some of the most productive members of society will work less if we lower their pay. If this is true, some argue, it justifies paying the most productive a premium to work, provided doing so benefits everyone. This chapter argues that the standard version of the incentives argument suffers from two important blind spots. First, (...) it assumes that the comparative advantage of the most productive members of society is rooted in their natural talents, that is, in a factor exogenous to the production process. Second, it adopts a static framework to analyze the bargaining process in which incentive payments are negotiated, where static means taking all informational inputs from the same moment in time. The chapter uses the debate between John Rawls (1999) and G.A. Cohen (2008) to illustrate the normative repercussions of making these two assumptions. The chapter qualifies as unjust incentive payments that reward individual productivity due to specialization rather than to natural talent. In addition, it argues that individuals would not be in a position to obtain such incentive payments if bargaining took place before rather than after the acquisition of specialized skills. Finally, the chapter discusses the objection that eliminating this type of incentive payments would be inefficient. (shrink)

Generics express generalizations in the linguistic form «Ks are F», where K denotes a category or its members and F a property (for instance, «Tigers are striped» or «Women are emotional»). Generics seem to play a key role in fostering the belief that the members of certain categories share properties and dispositions due to a supposed common essence. It has then been argued that generics concerning discriminated social categories are especially insidious because they could favor prejudice on the same. However, (...) it is still debated whether generics lead to essentialize more than quantified generalizations, such as «Most Ks are F». In this paper, we argue that we nonetheless have good reasons to consider generics as more problematic than quantified generalizations: if, on the one hand, there is no conclusive evidence that generics and quantified sentences lead to essentialize to a different extent, on the other hand, generics are particularly difficult to counter. Moreover, the properties predicated in generics are interpreted as widespread even though generics are also accepted based on limited evidence. This asymmetry in the interpretation of generics highlights a distinctive mechanism through which stereotypes can be transmitted and proliferate. (shrink)

The recurrent clashes between Dhaka University (DU) students and those from its seven affiliated colleges highlight deeper issues beyond mere administrative inefficiencies, pointing to a significant crisis of identity and governance. Central to this crisis is the duality within the faculty—DU professors rooted in academic autonomy versus BCS cadre teachers entrenched in civil service hierarchy, exacerbating tensions and undermining collaboration. For the students, the affiliation with DU has deepened feelings of alienation, as they are caught in a liminal status, neither (...) fully part of DU nor detached. The suggested "respectful separation" fails to address these underlying issues, making it a short-term solution at best. Serious reforms are needed to address both the identity crisis and the structural divides, possibly involving significant changes in administrative practices or reconsidering the educational role of these colleges. Addressing these challenges is crucial for stability in the educational framework and for the students' sense of belonging and recognition. (shrink)

This chapter revisits the metaphilosophical critique offered in The Racial Contract (Mills 1997). My analysis explicates Mills’s characterization of the “Racial Contract”—and non-ideal theory more broadly—as a conceptual bridge. I consider three questions: (a) what is the nature of the domains it connects, (b) what is the function and orientation of the bridge, (c) what is the relationship between once isolated domains after a bridge has been constructed? In answering these questions, I outline several features of the bridge’s construction, which, (...) though seemingly necessary for its functionality as a bridge, nonetheless compromise its structural integrity. Taking the discipline of philosophy as the primary subject of analysis, I advance an alternative conception of The Racial Contract. I argue that in constructing a bridge, Mills offers a critical cartography of the discipline itself. I contextualize these observations in light of Mills’s metaphilosophical views as they shifted over time and conclude with an invitation to explore new possibilities for non-ideal theory as a methodology of continued necessity. (shrink)

In this column for New Age, I discuss the following a) the rhetoric of sacrifice from 1971, once inspiring, now distracts from pressing national issues; b) Emotional responses and symbolic gestures, like redrawing maps, harm diplomatic credibility and regional alliances; c) Leadership's overuse of sacrifice rhetoric undermines governance and deflects attention from issues like unemployment, corruption, and climate change; d) Ideological rhetoric burdens the younger generation, sidelining critical engagement and practical solutions; e) Bangladesh must prioritize reforms in job creation, institutional (...) accountability, and climate adaptation over populist distractions. I claim that true patriotism lies not in clinging to hollow rhetoric but in building a system that values lives, ensures opportunities, and addresses the challenges of our time. It’s time to pivot from populism to pragmatism. (shrink)

This essay explores an overlooked dimension of Slavoj Žižek's thought: his perspective on, and engagement with, a concrete philosophy of Trans-History. Specifically, it examines the philosophy of Trans-History presented in Surplus Enjoyment. While I do not claim that Žižek constructs a new philosophy of Trans-History in this book, I demonstrate that he directly and consistently engages with this philosophical domain and adopts several premises from Hegelian, Marxist, and Christian philosophies of Trans-History. Building on this analysis, I elucidate Žižek's stance on (...) historicism, his advocacy for the use of theological concepts to understand and safeguard contemporary history, and his interpretation of Todd Phillips’ Joker (2019) as a figure that should not be considered a sociopolitical paradigm for achieving the telos of contemporary history—namely, the unification and cooperation of global societies to avert a looming ecological catastrophe. Additionally, I challenge Žižek's praise of Joker for its portrayal of a profound and ambiguous character symbolizing "self-destructive political nihilism." I argue that this depiction of the Joker lacks originality and merit within the context of the film, as it borrows heavily from the Joker's extensive history in comics, a legacy dating back to 1940 and shaped by numerous writers. (shrink)

Social egalitarianism holds that justice requires that people relate to one another as equals. To explain the content of this requirement, social egalitarians often appeal to the moral equality of persons. This leads to two very different interpretations of social egalitarianism. The first involves the specification of a conception of the moral equality of persons that is distinctive of the social egalitarian view. Social (or relational) egalitarianism can then claim that for people to relate as equals is for the relations (...) between them to conform to this conception of their moral equality. I will argue against this type of view. Instead, I will argue that social egalitarianism should propose a distinctive conception of social equality as a purely sociological phenomenon. I will show how this conception allows us to formulate the types of normative claims social egalitarianism should make. On this picture, social egalitarianism, instead of identifying social hierarchy as a distinctive kind of wrong, makes standard normative claims about a distinctive kind of social phenomenon. (shrink)

Sex work is highly gendered, with 80 percent of sex workers being female, and the vast majority of buyers of sex being male. It is often taken for granted that this is how it is, and implicit in much of the debate around sex work is the assumption that it is inherently gendered. In this paper, I question this assumption, drawing on sociological research to challenge arguments which purport that it is inconceivable that women would ever want to pay for (...) sex, or that sex work would exist under conditions of gender equality. I argue that gendered sexual norms likely are a significant reason for why sex work is so gendered, but sex work would probably continue to exist under conditions of gender equality, due to the diversity in motivations people have for buying and selling sex. Acknowledging that sex work is not inherently gendered is important for (at least) two reasons. First, it is probable that the gendered nature of sex work contributes to the stigma and bad treatment that sex workers, particularly female ones, face. Secondly, if sex work is not inherently gendered, this will have implications for how we should think about it, morally, practically, and legally. (shrink)

Historia y conciencia de clase es considerado un libro decisivo en el surgimiento de diversas problemáticas filosóficas, políticas y estéticas a principio de siglo XX. Su repercusión puede apreciarse en filosofías y perspectivas que, desde otros ámbitos teóricos, reconocieron en esta obra el abordaje de temas determinantes de la modernidad. El artículo se detiene al análisis de tres núcleos teóricos considerados medulares en Historia y conciencia de clase, y que se discurre ayudan a leer críticamente el mundo contemporáneo, a saber: (...) vida cotidiana, tiempo abstracto y cosificación. Se profundizarán estas tres vías de acceso como posibilidades de reapropiación crítica de la propuesta lukácsiana, tomando como marco analítico la óptica de la “Crítica del valor”, algunos planteos de Karl Marx y la presentación de ciertas críticas a su proyecto, todo para demostrar la vigorosidad y pertinencia del escrito para comprender dinámicas sustanciales de la realidad social presente. (shrink)

El artículo explora el texto juvenil de Adorno “La idea de historia natural” como un protoprograma investigativo centrado en la problemática de la apariencia. A partir del marco teórico-metodológico y normativo de la teoría crítica, la hipótesis del artículo sostiene que el texto del joven Adorno brinda insumos importantes para entender su proyecto intelectual como una sofisticada teoría de la apariencia, capaz de desvelar las estructuras que soportan las formas aparentes de la realidad moderna. En primer lugar, se contextualiza la (...) aparición del escrito, seguido de un análisis de la influencia de Lukács y Benjamin en la concepción de la segunda naturaleza en Adorno. Posteriormente, se aborda la apariencia como un “verdadero problema histórico-natural” y se rastrea la presencia de este tema a lo largo de la obra del filósofo frankfurtiano, sugiriendo que ésta podría interpretarse como una teoría crítica de la apariencia. Finalmente, se resalta la relevancia de este hilo conductor para interpretar su propuesta teórica, especialmente en un contexto contemporáneo donde descifrar la apariencia se vuelve esencial para comprender múltiples dimensiones y problemáticas de nuestras sociedades. (shrink)

Este artículo realiza un trabajo exploratorio sobre algunos aspectos filosóficos presentes en la obra Minima Moralia de Th. W. Adorno. Se pretende rescatar los principales elementos relacionados a su crítica del valor como realidad totalizadora, dando cuenta de las consecuencias concretas manifestadas en la vida social y de las posibilidades asequibles para superar tal estado. Se parte de la hipótesis de que Minima Moralia constituye un elemento central de la crítica del valor en la versión de Adorno. En primer lugar, (...) se presenta el contexto de publicación del escrito adorniano. A continuación, se investiga el papel de la experiencia en el pensamiento crítico del pensador. Después se precisa la importancia de la teoría de la apariencia e inversión real en la comprensión de este universo social, para cerrar el escrito con un análisis de las posibilidades objetivas de trascender lo dado y el papel de la felicidad en la Teoría crítica. (shrink)

Este ensayo se propone realizar un trabajo exploratorio sobre la influencia que el Fausto de Goethe tuvo en la confección de la versión definitiva de la teoría del valor de Marx, observando la centralidad de las veces que acude a esta obra y, en especial, a los versos 2140-2141, una de las citas más empleadas por él en todas sus obras. Se parte de la hipótesis de que Fausto tiene una importancia capital en la construcción del concepto de “sujeto automático”, (...) y de que el empleo de la cita por parte de Marx no actúa solo como un amplificador de expresividad lingüística, sino que tiene valor epistémico. Tomando como marco analítico la óptica de la “crítica del valor”, se pretende demostrar que Fausto es subsumido, incorporado, como una parte constitutiva del todo que es su teoría del valor. (shrink)

If there is no God everything is permitted. The phenomenology of decision tells us that permissibility and utility are intimately coordinated (Reason Internalism is effectively a thesis that erases the line between the two). Because of the difference in utility one does not find every choice equally permitted. That the instant of decision is madness means one finds facing every real decision frightening. it is not the case that there is no God. One's God is that which matters most crucially (...) for one's decision. (shrink)

[Recipient of the 2024 Inter-American Philosophy Award] Philosophers have recently debated whether the social identity category "Latinx" picks out a race (Alcoff 2006), an ethnicity (Gracia 2008), or something else altogether (Arango and Burgos 2021). Rather than defending one or several of these ways of understanding US Latinx as a political or social group, my paper focuses on the personal social identity turmoil young US Latinx people feel and explores the history of inter-American thought to seek a remedy for it. (...) Three prominent American philosophers – José Martí, Alain Locke, and Emilio Uranga – combine to teach us that, while the US Latinx strives for belonging, they find themselves in a situation of unbelonging. The tension that results from the desire to belong but the reality of unbelonging produces a deep-seated anxiety that has come to characterize the US Latinx condition. I suggest that an effective tool for coping with this anxiety, affirming our identity, and building community is the activity of doing inter-American, Latin American, and Latinx Philosophy. (shrink)

Limitarianism holds that there is an upper limit to how many resources, such as wealth and income, people can permissibly have. In this article, I examine the conceptual structure of limitarianism. I focus on the upper limit and the idea that resources above the limit are ‘excess resources’. I distinguish two possible limitarian views about such resources: (i) that excess resources have zero moral value for the holder; and (ii) that excess resources do have moral value for the holder but (...) that their claim to such resources is outweighed by other normative concerns. Moreover, I argue that, depending on the values limitarianism seeks to promote, limitarians should care about the number of people with excess resources or the total amount of excess resources (or both), that they can adopt redistributive measures and/or predistributive measures, and that some versions of limitarianism should take into account the distribution of risk among those above the riches line. (shrink)

I provide a defence of the classical liberal tradition (from Locke and Smith to Hayek and Tomasi) as a blueprint for a 'bleeding-heart libertarian' framework of society. Such a society defends three principles: 1) Freedom from private coercion (Private Property), 2) Freedom from public coercion (Limited Government); and 3) Within these limits, the provision of a limited range of public goods and public welfare (Limited Welfare State). I show that principles can be abstracted from a reading of the classical liberal (...) tradition. Then, through an extensive analysis of Locke, I show the importance, and consequentialist justifications, of the Three Principles for any liberal welfare state. Through a critique of Nozick, I show the inadequacy of the hardcore libertarian interpretation. Then, I show that John Tomasi, Adam Smith and Friedrich Hayek have all defended versions of limited welfare states. On this basis, I propose that the Basic Income Guarantee (BIG) is a good example, supported by Hayek, Buchanan and Friedman, of a welfare principle that is compatible with bleeding-heart libertarianism. I believe we can justify, on the basis of a consequentialist theory, that the limited welfare state, which combines welfare with liberty, and the free market with a social safety net, has highly beneficial effects on the society. It thus suggests itself as a viable competitor to rights-based libertarianism and more expansive social liberalism. (shrink)

How is it possible to perform more than is required? And yet, isn’t that precisely what is required, in order for an interlocking society of human beings to function, develop and evolve? If human beings only did what we were told to do, we would live in complete monotony and enslavement. If human beings did only what we were permitted to do, nothing interesting would ever happen. Although performance has often been limited to the study of isolated artistic forms of (...) expressions (music, visual arts, etc.), it is equally possible to analyze culture, on the whole, as a behaviour-encoding system of rules and regulations, wherein the individual actor’s performative appropriation and reinterpretation of these said (cultural, political, artistic) rules makes possible the culture’s very survival, against all odds and obstacles, over long periods of time, as a “tradition” upheld by a community of rule-followers / rule-breakers. Rules, in a very real sense, are meant to be broken. Rule-breaking, by the same token, is, as it were, legislated within the very law code itself, as its own guarantee of immortality. After all, what law could function for any period of time without undergoing reinterpretation? This is good news both for culture and for the avant garde (the creative individual or collective), because even the strictest of rules creates its own conditions of transgression, and vice versa. The performance of culture through the creative freedom of the transgressive individual – i.e. any individual qua his or her individuality – is the sine qua non for a democratic society of peers. Creativity depends upon structure, and structure depends upon that which breaks its shackles of normativity, by rebirthing structure transgressively. The whole point of interpreters is to make things alright for the reappearance of the “father” (the law code) again. Ironically, then, anarchy is the only guarantee of the rule of law. (shrink)

This thesis is an experimental study to investigate the operationalisability of the theory of social norms provided by Cristina Bicchieri. In Chapter 1 I critically summarise a main theme from recent literature and distinguish the accounts of norms based on social preferences from accounts based on social structure. I also summarise different theorists’ accounts of social norms as a social construct, in addition to surveying some issues scholars have raised empirically. Chapter 2 reviews the conceptual analysis of social norms by (...) Bicchieri as a social structure based account. Bicchieri’s conceptual analysis introduces three kinds of condition for norm identification. I review these in detail, and suggest hypothesis testing corresponding to each kind of condition. Chapter 2 briefly analyses a critical problem for Bicchieri’s theory. Chapter 3 provides philosophical background that supports the intentional concepts applied in Bicchieri’s analysis of social norms. I suggest that the Dennettian account of Intentional Stance is the best philosophical framework for Bicchieri’s account of social norms. I also argue that Revealed Preference Theory from economics is an application of the Intentional Stance. I conjecture that adopting the Intentional Stance and applying Revealed Preference Theory to empirical data can allow for improved operationalisation of Bicchieri’s conceptual analysis. In Chapter 4 I provide critical review of some key experimental work by Bicchieri and co-authors applying her conceptual analysis of social norms. I then provide a critical review of a widely used toolbox from the current economic literature for norm elicitation. Then I introduce a more rigorous experimental protocol for investigating social norms understood following Bicchieri’s analysis. The toolbox suggested in my thesis addresses limitations identified in Bicchieri’s empirical work. Chapter 5 presents design of the experiment administered as the core element of the thesis. Chapter 6 shows and analyses the results from the experiments described in Chapter 5. It also introduces the statistical models used in my thesis to assess the extent to which Bicchieri’s analyses successfully guides experimental identification of social norms. Chapter 7 offers concluding theoretical reflections, and discusses possible extensions of the research presented in this thesis. (shrink)

This article offers a comparative exploration of the practices of resistance Theodor Adorno and Michel Foucault champion against the structures of modern power their enquiries have the merit to illuminate and contest. After a preliminary examination of their views about the relationship between theory and praxis, I shall pursue two goals: first, I shall illustrate the limitations of Adorno’s negativist portrait of an ethics of resistance and contrast it with Foucault’s more promising notion of resistance as strategic counter-conduct, which in (...) his late ethico-political writings becomes the heart of a distinctive politics of the governed. Second, despite their dissimilarities, I shall argue that their ideas can be brought together to elaborate a ‘compounded’ account of resistance, where Adorno’s politics of suffering figures as the necessary pre-condition for the creative practices of freedom Foucault seeks to encourage. (shrink)

The killing of a Muslim lawyer in Chattogram sparks critical discussions on interfaith relations in Bangladesh emphasizing shared responsibilities of majority and minority communities in fostering trust and coexistence. While the Muslim majority must safeguard minorities the Hindu community should resist external narratives reject reductive identities and engage in civic initiatives, affirming national unity. Drawing on philosophical ideas from Charles Taylor and Hannah Arendt, the essay highlights the ethical imperatives of mutual recognition justice and collective belonging. Trust as a shared (...) responsibility becomes essential for shaping a pluralistic Bangladesh rooted in dignity equality and solidarity. -/- . (shrink)

This introduction and the contributors to this volume advance the debate on the normative relevance of historical injustice. This introduction shows that discussions on this topic should consider four aspects: first, the temporal dimension of justice; second, the connection between current claimants for reparations and the putative duty-bearers with the original perpetrators and victims of historical injustice; third, how changes in circumstances might affect what is considered just; and fourth, the appropriate form of reparation. The introduction provides an overview of (...) the contributions made by Zara Goldstone, David Heyd, Daniel Loewe, Michael Luoma and Margaret Moore, Macarena Marey and Alejandro de Oto, and David Miller. Michael Luoma and Margaret Moore argue that historical territorial injustice is somehow unique, and present a comprehensive comparison between forward-looking and backward-looking approaches. Macarena Marey and Alejandro de Oto argue that historical injustices should be seen as contemporary issues. David Heyd’s contribution posits that the non-identity problem cannot be circumvented by appealing to groups. Daniel Loewe contends that the legitimate expectations of contemporary citizens should take precedence over historical claims for the restitution of territory. David Miller assesses when and why the way in which victims of historical injustice respond to its effects is relevant to the calculation of compensation. Finally, Zara Goldstone argues that migration rights should be considered part of the reparations offered by former colonising countries to their former colonies. (shrink)

The paper argues that the concept of a civilizationally transformed state envisions a new governance paradigm that emphasizes moral values, collective responsibility, and compassion over traditional ideas of sovereignty and legality. This model emerges from the failure of conventional states to address global crises like climate change, economic instability, and democratic erosion. It proposes a state that prioritizes human dignity, justice, and the common good. Drawing from philosophical traditions such as Ubuntu, it seeks to foster mutual accountability and elevate compassion (...) as a guiding principle of governance to ensure care for the vulnerable. The 2024 Bangladeshi student-public uprising reflects this vision by rejecting repressive governance and demanding moral accountability. Realizing this transformation requires a cultural and ethical shift where the state serves as a moral authority inspiring pluralism, collective growth, and humanity's highest aspirations. (shrink)

In a common, pejorative sense of it, ideology consists in attitudes whose presence contributes to sustaining, by making them seem legitimate, social orders that are problematic. An important way a social order can be problematic concerns the prospects for well-being facing the people living in it. It can make some people wind up worse off than they could and should be. They have “real interests” that are not properly served by the social order, and the interests aligned with it are (...) in fact “false,” merely “apparent,” or “distorted.” Ideology critique consists in part in noting the existence of such different interests, and in challenging the latter to facilitate the fulfillment of the former. This picture of ideology critique implies that ideology thwarts well-being. This paper aims to clarify, develop, and vindicate this picture. It argues that ideology critique should indeed draw (inter alia) on prudential considerations, and that a specifically objectivist view of well-being would be fitting. The fruitfulness of this approach is shown by exploring the specific case of the critique of working practices in contemporary capitalism. (shrink)

Why should musical compositions and artistic images be included among the types of expression covered by free speech principles? One way to answer this question is to show how expression in nonverbal media can be functionally similar to other types of verbal expression. But this leaves us with an intuitively unsatisfying explanation of why free speech principles cover nonverbal creative expression that does not functionally emulate literal speech. In this article, as an alternative justification, we develop and defend the idea (...) that musical and pictorial expression‚ much like literal speech, can be media through which people think aloud, as opposed to mere tools for the transmission of thought. We use this proposal to provide a more robust justification for including nonverbal creative expression in the scope of free speech coverage, and we outline some of the practical policy implications that come with adopting this justificatory strategy. (shrink)

If 2019 was an “Adornian year” because of the 50th anniversary of the untimely death of Theodor W. Adorno in August 1969, also 2020 has been an “Adornian year” because of the 50th anniversary of the posthumous publication of Adorno’s great but unfinished masterpiece Aesthetic Theory, first published in 1970. Adorno’s intellectual legacy is still alive today and indeed important for the conceptual tools as it still provides to develop a critical, active and negative (instead than acritical, passive and affirmative) (...) relationship with the real. In the vast and complex corpus of Adorno’s entire philosophical oeuvre, his aesthetic theory deserves an especially close and renewed attention today for the variety of intellectual provocations that are still richly offered to us in order to critically understand our age. (shrink)

This essay argues that trans philosophy - and perhaps philosophy more broadly - should be understood according to the interplay of social, material, and emotional circulations. It opens by bridging insights from underemployed library work during the COVID-19 pandemic with Sara Ahmed’s analysis of the circulation of emotions in relation to texts and archives. The first major section diagnoses Martha Nussbaum’s confusing analysis of “the new trans scholarship” to establish that trans philosophy is differentially circulated across the discipline of philosophy. (...) The second major section argues that trans philosophy can be understood through the interplay of four different circulations: (1) trans philosophy as creating a space; (2) trans philosophy as the trans question; (3) trans philosophy as the gender wars; and (4) trans philosophy as the trans cult. I conclude that trans philosophy is a field that has yet to clearly form as it continues to twist and multiply according to affect, professional dynamics, political intrigue, who gets thrown away, and who is granted the space, time, energy, and money to write and publish. (shrink)

Recent years have seen increased interest among 4E cognition scholars in physical disability, leading to the development of the EE-model of disability. This paper contributes to the literature on disability and 4E cognition in three key ways. First, it examines the relationship between the EE-model and social constructivist views that address the bodily reality of disablement, highlighting commonalities and distinctions. Second, it critiques the EE-model’s focus on individual strategies for expanding disabled persons’ affordance landscapes, arguing that disability policy should integrate (...) insights from both the EE-model and social constructivist approaches. Finally, it assesses the EE-model against the 'dogma of harmony'. We argue that while the EE-model’s focus on active human-environment collaboration is valuable, it can inadvertently perpetuate this dogma. We contend that integrating certain social constructivist insights can help the EE-model avoid the dogma of harmony. (shrink)

A feminist reading of how Heidegger may have responded to an unanswered questioned he posed in 1923, "Problem: What is woman?" while using his thought to better understand how contemporary society replies to questions in the realms of law, bioethics, pedagogy, and politics.

This paper explores the significance of dignity for our understanding of the rights of workers. It surveys important uses of the idea of dignity in several discursive contexts, and offers an interpretation that illuminates the content, scope, and normative force of labor rights. The discursive contexts considered include human rights, socialism, Kantian practical philosophy, and Christian social thought. The interpretation of dignity offered illuminates basic rights to decent conditions in which workers for example choose their occupation, receive adequate remuneration, and (...) are able to form unions to defend their interests. It is also illuminates more ambitious rights to work in ways that fully further workers’ interests in flourishing and involve avoidance or minimization of their domination, exploitation, and alienation. (shrink)

Der Essay „Das Phänomen der Diskursvermeidung“ untersucht die stagnierende Diskurskultur in modernen Gesellschaften. Zwei zentrale Thesen werden vorgestellt: Erstens die Idee des „moralischen Kapitals“, bei der Individuen Debatten meiden, um ihren sozialen Status zu wahren, und zweitens die „lähmende Unsicherheit“, bei der offene Diskussionen aus Angst vor gesellschaftlichen Rückschritten vermieden werden. Es wird argumentiert, dass diese Tendenzen den gesellschaftlichen Fortschritt behindern, indem sie kontroverse Themen tabuisieren und den Dialog erschweren, was letztlich zu einer Vertiefung sozialer Gräben führt. -/- The essay (...) "The Phenomenon of Discourse Avoidance" examines the stagnating discourse culture in modern societies. Two central theses are presented: first, the idea of "moral capital," where individuals avoid debates to maintain their social status, and second, "paralyzing uncertainty," where open discussions are avoided out of fear of social setbacks. It is argued that these tendencies hinder societal progress by tabooing controversial topics and making dialogue difficult, ultimately leading to a deepening of social divides. (shrink)

Epistemic analyses of stereotyping describe how they lead to misperceptions and misunderstandings of social actors and events. The analyses have tended so far to focus on how people acquire stereotypes and/or how the stereotypes lead to distorted perceptions of the evidence that is available about individuals. In this chapter, I focus instead on how the stereotypes can generate misleading evidence by influencing the policy preferences of people who harbour the biases. My case study is stereotypes that relate to people living (...) in poverty. I show how these stereotypes influence policy choices in ways that generate misleading evidence about people living in poverty. I argue that the stereotypes generate the misleading evidence by supporting policies that restrict the agency of the people in poverty. In generating this misleading evidence, the stereotypes place additional constraints on the epistemic agency of everyone, making it harder for anyone, including those who do and those who do not endorse the stereotypes, to gain true beliefs about people living in poverty. Going forward, I conclude, adequate epistemic analyses of stereotyping ought to be more expansive, acknowledging both the way that stereotypes generate misleading evidence by constraining the agency of those stereotyped, and how we can all thereby be epistemically constrained by the stereotypes harboured by others. (shrink)