ABSTRACT What is “critical” about critical theory? I claim that, to be “critical enough”, critical theory’s future depends on being able to handle today’s planetary climate crisis, which presupposes a philosophy of nature. Here, I argue that Axel Honneth’s vision of critical theory represents a nature denial and is thus unable to criticize humans’ instrumentalization as well as capitalism’s exploitation of nature. However, I recover what I take to be a missed opportunity of what I term as the early Honneth’s (...) original ecological insight, which I reconstruct precisely as a philosophy of nature. Consequently, I identify what I describe as an ecological sensibility in Honneth. This refers to a bodily capability through which humans sensuously can resonate, communicate, and interact – and through that morally engage – with nature in its entire complexity. Furthermore, by virtue of this ecological sensibility, humans can recognize nature’s inherent moral value as a sensuously affected party. Then, the early Honneth’s original insight is recovered as a critical political ecology, which is needed facing today’s climate crisis. (shrink)

Waiting may feel like wasted time for people inhabiting small, low-lying, and extremely vulnerable island states as they await rising sea levels. Their homes may soon become uninhabitable due to climate change. The interplay between accelerating natural hazards, an increasing number of climate refugees, and the lack of adequate international refugee protection can prolong their waiting time. Therefore, I examine this experience within the complexity of the waiting framework consisting of existential, legal, and natural waiting. I explore the negative implications (...) of climate refugees’ waiting and how such waiting may be prevented. (shrink)

Recognition and Freedom offers up-to-date discussions of Axel Honneth’s political thought by ten experts in the field. It also includes an interview with Honneth and an essay by him on education and democracy, previously unpublished in English.

Anerkjennelse spiller en nøkkelrolle for menneskeverdet innenfor Frankfurterskolens kritiske teori. Men hvorledes skal «anerkjennelse» forstås? Og hvorledes kan anerkjennelse innløse menneskeverdets universelle og egalitære fordring? Jürgen Habermas' og Axel Honneths «familiekrangel» bidrar med relevant innsikt om relasjonen mellom menneskeverd og anerkjennelse. Dette er en innsikt med affinitet til menneskeverdets normative legitimering i dagens transnasjonaliserte verden.Nøkkelord: Menneskeverd, transnasjonal anerkjennelsespolitikk, Jürgen Habermas, Axel HonnethEnglish summary: Recognition and the Grounding of Human Dignity – Towards a Transnational Politics of RecognitionRecognition plays a key role (...) in the Frankfurt School Critical Theory's approach to human dignity. Still, the question could arise as to how the notion of recognition should be understood, and how recognition may relate to the grounding of the concept of human dignity in a universal and egalitarian manner. Jürgen Habermas and Axel Honneth's «family quarrel» contributes a relevant insight into the relationship between human dignity and recognition, an insight that has affinity with the normative legitimacy of human dignity in today's transnationalised world. (shrink)

Vi står overfor en planetær miljø- og klimakrise, med alvorlige, gjennomgripende, langvarige og irreversible konsekvenser for både menneske og natur. Det skyldes særlig at politiske, rettslige og økonomiske systemer som har vokst frem i løpet av de siste 250 år – slik som det liberale demokratiet og den globale kapitalismen – behandler naturen antroposentrisk, materialistisk og instrumentelt. For bedre å håndtere dagens miljø- og klimakrise, bør disse utdaterte systemene reformeres ut fra tanken om et økologisk demokrati, herunder en grønn konstitusjonalisme (...) og naturens moralske trumf. Norges første klimasøksmål illustrerer viktigheten av en slik systemisk grønning. Rettsaken fant sted i 2017 og kom opp igjen for rettsapparatet i 2019, hvor staten hevdes å bryte miljøparagrafen i sin egen grunnlov. Søksmålets grønning innebærer en positiv rettsliggjøring, hvis natursynet i Grunnlovens miljøparagraf forstås økosentrisk fremfor antroposentrisk. Da styrker klimasøksmålet økologiske medborgeres konstitusjonelle rettssikkerhet og demokratiske deltagelseslikhet. Viktigst er imidlertid at planetens eksistensielle tålegrense og naturens moralske trumf anerkjennes. Nøkkelord: Miljøkrise, klimasøksmål, økologisk demokrati, økologisk medborgerskap, grønn konstitusjonalisme, naturens moralske trumf, positiv rettsliggjøring English Summary: Ecological democracy and the inherent value of nature: Climate litigation in the age of the environmental crisis We are facing a planetary environmental and climate crisis, with severe, pervasive, long-lasting, and irreversible impacts for both humans and nature. This is due to political, legal, and economic systems having emerged during the last 250 years – especially liberal democracy and global capitalism – treat nature anthropocentrically, materialistically, and instrumentally. To better handle today’s environmental and climate crisis, these outdated systems should be reformed in light of the idea of ecological democracy, hereunder green constitutionalism and nature’s moral trump. Norway’s first climate lawsuit illustrates the importance of such a systemic greening. This trial took place in 2017 and reappeared for the court in 2019, in which the state is accused for having broken the environmental paragraph in its own constitution. This lawsuit’s greening implies a positive juridification, if the perception of nature in the Constitution’s environmental paragraph is ecocentric rather than anthropocentric. Then, the climate lawsuit strengthens ecological co-citizens’ constitutionally rule of law and democratic participation equality. Most importantly, it recognizes the planet’s existential limits and nature’s moral trump. Keywords: Environmental crisis, climate lawsuit, ecological democracy, ecological citizenship, green constitutionalism, nature’s moral trump, positive legalization. (shrink)

Nylig igangsatte FN Post-2015, sin nye utviklingsagenda. Sentralt er en global kamp for bedret helse, hvor det å leve et menneskeverdig liv står i sentrum. Imidlertid er forståelsen av selve helsebegrepet omstridt. Noen mener at det bør knyttes an til jus og menneskerettigheter, mens andre foreslår etikk og menneskeverd. Dette hviler i sin tur på motstridende menneskesyn i den globale helseetiske diskursen, nemlig mennesket som enten autonomt eller avhengig. I artikkelen analyserer jeg denne debatten ut fra det jeg hevder er (...) Martha Nussbaums globale helseetikk, som baseres på hennes kapabilitetstilnærming så vel som begrep om ‘helse som livskvalitet’. Min konklusjon er at Nussbaums normative begrunnelse for Post-2015 ut fra et kroppslig forankret menneskeverd er det mest overbevisende av de to konkurrerende svarene.Nøkkelord: global helseetikk, Martha Nussbaum, menneskeverd, menneskerettigheter, post-2015English summary: Living a dignified life - Martha Nussbaum's global health ethicsThe UN recently launched Post-2015, which is its new development agenda. Central here is the global struggle for improved health, in which what it takes to live a dignified life is stressed. However, the understanding of the notion of health is disputed. Some believe that it should be linked to law and the human rights, while others suggest ethics and human dignity. Which in turn rests on conflicting stands in the global health ethical discourse regards to the view of humanity, namely either as autonomous or dependent. In the paper I analyse this discourse, in which my point of departure is Martha Nussbaum’s capabilities approach as well as her concept of health as life quality. This I read exactly as a global health ethics. Thus, I conclude that between the two competing answers, Nussbaum’s normative justification for Post-2015 on the basis of bodily grounded human dignity is the most convincing.Keywords: global health ethics, Martha Nussbaum, human dignity, human rights, Post-2015. (shrink)

In the Anthropocene, humans are drastically impacting the Earth system. Though the numbers are disputed, millions of climate refugees might soon appear worldwide due to, for example, rising sea levels. To better tackle these intertwined ecological and migrational crises, I expand on Seyla Benhabib’s theoretical legacy by discerning within it a multidimensional framework containing mutually intersecting moral, legal, and political dimensions. Within this framework, I argue, Benhabib approaches the issue of climate refugees from three different yet supplementary discourses. From her (...) engagement with discourses on cosmopolitanism and global justice, she endorses reforming the Refugee Convention to include climate refugees. From her contribution to discourses on human rights and human dignity, Benhabib opens the door for a human right to the environment to better protect climate refugees. Against the backdrop of her longstanding work to reformulate a feminist and critical-theoretical discourse ethics, I argue, Benhabib puts forward an ecocentric planetary ethics that embraces climate refugees and the rest of nature. In all, I conclude that Benhabib’s legacy demonstrates the need for a multidimensional approach to climate refugees in times of ecocrisis. (shrink)

Dette nummeret av Etikk i praksis består av to deler, en temadel og en åpen del. Nummerets temadel dreier seg om irregulær migrasjon. Irregulære migranter skaper etiske, rettslige og politiske utfordringer for liberale velferdsstater i Europa. En irregulær migrant oppholder seg nemlig innenfor en stats grense, men er uten oppholdstillatelse. Dersom man aksepterer at stater har suveren rett til å bestemme over hvem som kvalifiserer seg til oppholdstillatelse og ikke, vil personer uten lovlig opphold reise følgende spørsmål: Har staten et (...) ansvar for å ivareta denne gruppens sikkerhet og velferd? Det er viktig å påpeke at irregulære migranter i liberale velferdsstater ikke er fullstendig rettighetsløse. De fleste liberale velferdsstater anerkjenner at de har sivile rettigheter samt et minimum av sosiale og økonomiske rettigheter.1 Territorielt og til en viss grad juridisk befinner de seg altså innenfor staten. Samtidig er de ekskludert fra de fleste sosiale og økonomiske rettigheter, og kan i prinsippet sendes ut av landet når som helst. På denne måten befinner de seg allikevel utenfor staten. I praksis er irregulære migranter altså på samme tid både innenfor og utenfor staten. Dette nummerets temadel inviterer til en normativ diskusjon om liberale velferdsstaters politikk overfor irregulære migranter. Og, ikke minst, hvordan samfunnet bør behandle denne gruppen innbyggere. (shrink)

Re-Imagining Ecological Democracy offers an original, thought-provoking, and engaging treatment of why and how democracy should be re-imagined in reaction to today's ecological crisis. The book explains that one need to re-imagine both the view on nature and democratic ideals within the same framework in the Anthropocene, the present geological epoch of human-made instability in the Earth system and its planetary boundaries. This book proposes unique and challenging readings of green political theory and its development of ecological democracy in the (...) last four decades. The book is the first to offer a systematic and detailed interpretation of the role of critical theory vis-à-vis green political theory through an update regarding current non-anthropocentric critical theorists and how they may contribute to the further development of ecological democracy. Re-Imagining Ecological Democracy builds further on deep ecology, ecophenomenology, and animism by articulating an ecocentric view on nature which defends an intrinsic moral value of all existence as well as formulating the democratic principle of all ecologically affected parties. This book provides a sophisticated, convincing, and accessible argument for how to re-imagine ecological democracy as ecocentrism in practice: ecological love. To love ecologically means caring for and encountering all existence on the Earth and in the cosmos. This book is multi-disciplinary and will be of great value to researchers as well as undergraduate and postgraduate students from many disciplines. (shrink)

With ever more detailed models of the neurobiological and social systems out of which schizophrenia is born, it is possible to overlook how suffering persons actually experience their symptoms.This book examines the experiences of persons who suffer from schizophrenia. It provides a highly readable and humane examination of this common condition.

How do I live a good life, one that is deeply personal and sensitive to others? John T. Lysaker suggests that those who take this question seriously need to reexamine the work of Ralph Waldo Emerson. In philosophical reflections on topics such as genius, divinity, friendship, and reform, Lysaker explores "self-culture" or the attempt to remain true to one's deepest commitments. He argues that being true to ourselves requires recognition of our thoroughly dependent and relational nature. Lysaker (...) guides readers from simple self-absorption toward a more fulfilling and responsive engagement with the world. (shrink)

Abbreviations Works by Alfred North Whitehead 1) Adventures of Ideas. New York: Macmillan Co., 1967 AI 2) Concept of Nature. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1971 CN 3) Modes of Thought. New York: Macmillan Co., 1968 MT 4) Process ..

Awareness of illness in schizophrenia reflects complex storied understanding of the impact of the disorder upon one’s life. Individuals may be aware of their illness in different ways and this may be related to their functioning. A total of 76 adults with schizophrenia were assessed for their awareness of illness, neurocognition, social cognition, and social function concurrently and social function was also assessed at three later time points. A cluster analysis revealed 3 groups: generally full awareness, generally limited awareness, and (...) superficial awareness. Comparisons between these profiles revealed the superficial group had poorer executive function, emotion recognition ability, and capacity for social relationships than the full awareness group, yet had better verbal memory and more social contacts than the limited awareness group. These results suggest assessing the narrative qualities of awareness of illness may reveal unique links with cognition and function, and this may have implications for interventions. (shrink)

This article discusses the PISA framework’s concept of reading. The main argument is that PISA’s cognitive approach to literacy only to a small extent captures the normative dimension of reading. Consequently, the test fails to reflect key aspects of literacy, such as identity, identity formation and the ability to participate in society on a deeper level. The argument is based on a normative or moral conception of meaning and reading comprehension, based on Hegel’s concept of recognition.

Many with schizophrenia find social interactions a profound and terrifying threat to their sense of self. To better understand this we draw upon dialogical models of the self that suggest that those with schizophrenia have difficulty sustaining dialogues among diverse aspects of self. Because interpersonal exchanges solicit and evoke movement among diverse aspects of self, many with schizophrenia may consequently find those exchanges overwhelming, resulting in despair, the sensation of fusion with another, and/or self-dissolution. In short, compromised dialogical capacities may (...) be a contributing factor to social dysfunction in schizophrenia. (shrink)

In this book, inspired by Martin Heidegger--who found in poetry the most fundamental insights into the human condition--John Lysaker develops a concept of ur-poetry to explore philosophically how poetic language creates fresh meaning in our ...

While many with schizophrenia experience deficits in metacognition it is unclear whether those deficits are related to other features of illness. To explore this issue, the current study classified participants with schizophrenia as possessing a deficit in both awareness of their own emotions and those of others , aware of their own emotions but unaware of the emotions of others and aware of their own emotions and of other’s emotions . Groups were compared on assessments of neurocognitive function, symptoms, and (...) history of sexual trauma. ANCOVA controlling for education found that the group unaware of their own emotions and those of others demonstrated poorer verbal memory, processing speed, executive function, less emotional discomfort and higher levels of disorganization symptoms relative to the other groups. The group aware of their own emotions but not those of others had a significantly higher report of childhood sexual abuse. (shrink)

The ongoing task of self-discovery, which I figure as self-finding, following Emerson, is integral to the human condition. While its results are always fragmentary, self-finding also conducts the currents of life in ways that establish conditions for our lives and those of others. This activity is mistakenly constrained by Charles Taylor, who argues that it remains tied to moral space. Charles Scott’s work shows how moral space can be found in a manner that suspends the necessity of moral space and (...) generates new possibilities. (shrink)

This lively volume explores the theme of friendship in the lives and works of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau.

It is in large part according to the sound people make that we judge them sane or insane, male or female, good, evil, trustworthy, depressive, marriageable, moribund, likely or unlikely to make war on us, little better than animals, inspired by God. These judgments happen fast and can be brutal.The orator must ever stand with forward foot, in the attitude of advancing. His speech must be just ahead of the assembly,—ahead of the whole human race,—or it is superfluous. His speech (...) is not to be distinguished from action. It is the electricity of action.Philosophy has never settled upon a genre. One finds provocative dialogues such as Plato’s Crito. Performatively rich, the dialogue shows Socrates offering Crito, one .. (shrink)

Through a critique of Richard Rorty, I develop a program of self-creation. While Rorty rightly encourages ironic and poetic redescriptions, his feel for this work is disembodied and context-blind. In contrast, I propose an institutionally situated and full-bodied creative exercise which contextually reworks central tropes. Rorty's position is also overly privatized. This hinders 'public' discourse and imprisons marginalized persons within institutionalized identities. Self-creation should not be a solely 'private' affair. Rorty's public/ private distinction has some merit, however. We should, on (...) the whole, primarily treat self-creation as a 'private' endeavor. The end of self-creation should not be legislation. Instead, we should dethrone disempowering identities and reconstruct new ones beyond the reach of policy debates. If we do so, we will proceed with greater sophistication, stability and radicality than would otherwise be the case. This in turn will produce richer selves and offer novel resources to works of 'public' reconstruction. Key Words: community • Dewey • identity • Rorty • self-creation. (shrink)

Amid its romantic excesses such as "[t]o believe your own thought, to believe that what is true for you in your private heart, is true for all men,—that is genius" (Porte 2001, 121), Emersonian individualism remains a living project, one we would do well to understand more thoroughly and pursue more rigorously. To aid in this recovery, I will, in a translating repetition of Emerson's thought that engages a range of texts, offer eight theses that any successful reconstruction of individualism (...) must embrace. (shrink)

The thesis of this work is that in both modern Japanese philosophy and American pragmatism there has been a paradigm shift from a monological concept of self as an isolated "I" to a dialogical concept of the social self as an "I-Thou relation," including a communication model of self as individual-society interaction. It is also shown for both traditions all aesthetic, moral, and religious values are a function of the social self arising through communicative interaction between the individual and society. (...) However, at the same time this work critically examines major ideological conflicts arising between the social self theories of modern Japanese philosophy and American pragmatism with respect to such problems as individualism versus collectivism, freedom versus determinism, liberalism versus communitarianism, and relativism versus objectivism. (shrink)