Liberalism, rights and recognition
Philosophy and Social Criticism 26 (5):28-46 (2000)
| Abstract | The conviction that political recognition is accomplished through the extension and completion of the Enlightenment project of toleration is shared by some of the most influential political theorists of our time. John Rawls, Charles Taylor and Will Kymlicka all formulate the issue of recognition as if it were a corollary of the principle of toleration based in equal liberty or dignity. This raises important issues which political thought must confront and engage with. Above all, it means reconsidering the primacy of Enlightenment critique for our understanding of ourselves, our world and our encounter with others. In this article I examine the liberal conviction that tolerance (in the sense of a commitment to individual autonomy) best promotes recognition of cultural diversity. I argue that two weaknesses haunt the liberal project and undermine this belief. They prevail because of a failure adequately to address the question of recognition in its normative, ontological and symbolic aspects. In contrast, I argue that philosophical hermeneutics affords a critical perspective on democratic theory and practice that must be taken up and extended following the experience of identity politics. Key Words: hermeneutics Kymlicka multicultural democracy normativity Rawls ontology symbolic Taylor. | |||||||||
| Keywords | No keywords specified (fix it) | |||||||||
| Categories | ||||||||||
| Options |
|
|||||||||
| PhilPapers Archive |
Upload a copy of this paper Check publisher's policy on self-archival Papers currently archived: 5,701 |
| External links |
|
| Through your library | Configure |
Robert S. Taylor (2011). Reconstructing Rawls: The Kantian Foundations of Justice as Fairness. Penn State University Press.
Bart van Leeuwen (2006). Social Attachments as Conditions for the Condition of the Good Life? A Critique of Will Kymlicka's Moral Monism. Philosophy and Social Criticism 32 (3):401-428.
Steven B. Smith (1989). Hegel's Critique of Liberalism: Rights in Context. University of Chicago Press.
Tim Nieguth (1999). Privilege or Recognition? The Myth of State Neutrality. Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy 2 (2):112-131.
Radu Neculau (2012). Being Oneself in Another: Recognition and the Culturalist Deformation of Identity. Inquiry 55 (2):148-170.
Ruth Abbey (2002). Pluralism in Practice: The Political Thought of Charles Taylor. Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy 5 (3):98-123.
Sune Lægaard (2010). Recognition and Toleration: Conflicting Approaches to Diversity in Education? Educational Philosophy and Theory 42 (1):22-37.
Sune lægaard (2005). On the Prospects for a Liberal Theory of Recognition. Res Publica 11 (4).
Blain Neufeld (2005). Civic Respect, Political Liberalism, and Non-Liberal Societies. Politics, Philosophy and Economics 4 (3):275-299.
Monthly downloads |
Added to index2009-01-28Total downloads10 ( #106,370 of 549,124 )Recent downloads (6 months)0How can I increase my downloads? |

