ABSTRACT The paper critically evaluates Rahel Jaeggi’s concept of form of life. Particularly, it deals with the question of why one should want to criticize forms of life or society in the first place. While Jaeggi mentions issues of rationality and success, the paper refers to issues of suffering. Therefore, it introduces firstly the concept of pervasive doctrine, which aims at complementing, not at substituting, Jaeggi’s concept of form of life. A pervasive doctrine is composed by (1) a coherent system (...) of believes, by (2) a coherent set of values inspired by these believes, as well by a set of (3) norms and of (4) social practices organized around (1) and (2). It is pervasive insofar as it aims at explaining and regulating every aspect of the life of individuals and communities. The paper establishes, secondly, a connection between pervasive doctrines and systemic suffering, i.e. a suffering whose roots lie in the very way society is structured and the power relations within it that have been distributed along its history. Analysing the effects of pervasive doctrines in provoking systemic suffering is offered as a complementary critical strategy to the critique of forms of life provided by Jaeggi. (shrink)

The paper defends that it is possible to offer a Kantian argument for justifying the introduction of Universal Basic Income (UBI). It first briefly presents Philippe van Parijs’ argument for UBI based on the concept of real freedom for all. In doing so, it will focus on its general structure and central insight, without entering too much into other issues like the economic feasibility of UBI. It second briefly presents Kant’s concept of external freedom and especially focuses on some of (...) its components to assess whether there is some closeness to van Parijs’ concept of real freedom. It further considers whether UBI is not only compatible with a Kantian position, but can be justified from such a position because it represents a tool for concretely realizing external freedom as presented in the _Doctrine of Right_ and for attaining the ethical ideal of virtuosity presented in the _Doctrine of Virtue_. (shrink)

This paper departs from the assumption that the critique of neoliberalism should not restrict itself to a criticism of an economic project. Another possible criticism of neoliberalism consists of a critique of how this specific form of life forms subjects. In this paper, we argue that a critique of a form of life is only justified in a reasonable way if it starts from the experiences of suffering produced by this form of life. As we will show, we must criticise (...) neoliberalism not because it is inadequate for solving problems, since for a specific portion of the world population it has been extremely effective, but because it causes suffering. Suffering, unlike mere unsolved problems, represents sufficient grounds for highlighting the existence of a normative problem in a form of life. According to Max Horkheimer, the first step of a critical project committed to the transformation of a form of life are the crises of the present, which are not fully understood through the theoretical tools of “problem solving” or “learning processes”, as Rahel Jaeggi resorts to in her critical theory of society. (shrink)

This book discusses the potential for Kant's political and juridical philosophy to shed light on current social challenges and policy. By considering Kant as a contemporary and not above moral responsibility, the authors explore his political theory as the philosophical foundation of human rights, discussing the right to citizenship, social dynamics and the scope of global justice. Focusing on topics such as society, Kant's position on human rights, domestic economic justice, public education and moral virtue, the authors analyse the shortcomings (...) of Kant's modes of thought and help the reader to gain new perspective both on this classical thinker and on more contemporary issues. (shrink)

The article reconstructs Habermas’ view of capitalism from the 1970s to his most recent writings. It takes its starting point from Wolfgang Streeck’s claim that Habermas has failed to acknowledge that the real enemy of democracy is not bureaucracy but capitalism and that, therefore, he underestimates the role of capitalism in shaping the global order. It first returns to the diagnoses of late capitalism that Habermas developed in the 1970s and early 1980s and then moves on to some of his (...) later writings. This will reveal that there was indeed a shift of emphasis from a critique of capitalism to a critique of technocracy, but not because of Habermas’ unawareness of the role of capitalism in shaping reality. Rather, he has come to objectify capitalism while looking for legal and political tools for reining it in instead of looking for possible alternatives to it. (shrink)

In Alessandro Pinzanis Arbeit wird das Denken der Philosophen Machiavelli, Hobbes, Rousseau und Kant als Basis genommen, um die Reflexion über die Beziehung von Individuum und Staat neu zu beleben. Nachgewiesen wird, dass die Positionen dieser Philosophen zugleich vier Denktraditionen entsprechen, die eine vierfache Wurzel moderner Demokratien bilden: Republikanismus, Liberalismus, radikale Demokratie und Konstitutionalismus. Sowohl der Bezug auf klassische Denker wie auch die Entgegensetzung der benannten Traditionen modernen politischen Denkens sind allerdings problematisch. Der Autor zeigt, dass gerade die Benutzung (...) vergangener Autoren und schemenhaft definierter Denktraditionen viele der Schwierigkeiten verursacht, die beim Versuch entstehen, die aktuellen Probleme unserer Demokratien zu begreifen, geschweige denn, zu lösen. Nach der sowohl ideengeschichtlichen als auch systematischen Auseinandersetzung mit den Konzeptionen der Klassiker politischer Philosophie wird im Buch die aktuelle Debatte über die Notwendigkeit politischer Tugenden bzw. der Annahme einer bestimmten politischen Haltung seitens der Bürger gegenwärtiger Demokratien vorgestellt. (shrink)

In this paper I shall deal with the question of whether a State-granted minimal income (which is not the same as a basic income) is a necessary condition in order for individuals (1) to attain a basic level of autonomy; and (2) to develop capabilities that allow them to improve the quality of their life. As a theoretical basis for my analysis I shall use Honneth’s theory of recognition, Sen’s capability approach (also in the version offered by Nussbaum), and Simmel’s (...) concept of independency as developed in his Philosophy of Money. A minimal income aims at guaranteeing not only the survival of the extremely poor (this could also be achieved by emergency programs), but also – in cooperation with other State programs such as education, medical and legal assistance etc – at enabling these individuals to be more independent from their social environment, where dependence often constitutes a strong obstacle to the development of their autonomy. The social and political inclusion of millions of people, both in threshold countries and in poor countries, depends upon the existence of such programs. (shrink)

Im Aufsatz wird auf die Rolle der drei pseudo-ulpianischen Regeln eingegangen, die in der Rechtslehre bei der „Allgemeinen Einteilung der Rechtspflichten“ auftauchen und verschiedene Probleme aufwerfen. Bisher wurden wenige Versuche einer genauen Definition und einer Beantwortung dieser Probleme unternommen. Dabei stellen diese Regeln einen wichtigen Schlüssel zum besseren Verständnis der ganzen Rechtslehre dar. Ihr systematischer Stellenwert bildet das Hauptthema dieser Abhandlung.

Este artigo pretende fazer algumas considerações preliminares e programáticas sobre a questão da cooperação entre filosofia política e ciências sociais empíricas; oferecer uma estratégia para chegar a uma definição de pobreza que independa de dados quantitativos específicos, embora aponte para a importância deles ; apontar para a necessidade de ouvir a voz dos pobres; mostrar as razões da exclusão política dos pobres. Obviamente não se pretende discutir tudo isso de forma exaustiva, mas somente indicar possíveis caminhos a serem explorados.The present (...) paper aims at presenting some preliminary and programmatic considerations on the question of the cooperation between political philosophy and empirical social sciences; offering a strategy to reach a definition of poverty that does not depend on specific quantitative data, while it recognizes their importance ; pointing at the necessity to hear the voice of the poor; showing the reasons for the political exclusion of the poor. Of course all this shall not be discussed in an exhaustive form, but only with the intention of indicating possible paths to be explored. (shrink)

The paper starts from an expression used by Kant in the Doctrine of Right: Beati possidentes. It then discusses Kant’s arguments for justifying the possession of land by individuals and by political community. Its main hypothesis is the following: If we consider unacceptable the application of the Beati possidentes principle on a global level, then we have a good reason to reject it also on the domestic level. It reaches this conclusion not by pointing out the undesirable consequences of the (...) principle, for this would be an empirical argument resulting from a consequentialist approach. Rather, it chooses a procedimental approach, showing that the way in which land was initially distributed was neither rightful on the domestic nor on the global level. (shrink)

The essay deals with the debate between neo-republicans and liberals. It discusses particularly the positions of Quentin Skinner, Philip Pettit and Maurizio Viroli. While not operating an exhaustive critical examination of the positions of these three thinkers, it focusses an aspect they have in common: the idea that the republican tradition stays in an irreducible conflict with the liberal tradition and with a certain conception of democracy. The essay analizes briefly the three main concepts of republicanism also in order to (...) point out to some historical and theoretical problems. It further compares the position of republican thinkers with the position of the liberal-democratic tradition which is their main target of their critics. In this context the essay introduces a further position which the neo-republicans quite curiously leave aside: constitutionalism. (shrink)

The paper aims at analyzing some Wagnerian figures in order to show that the influence of Schopenhauer’s philosophy on Wagner is not as strong as commonly held – at least not in his operas. The figures that shall be considered are: Wotan and Brünnhilde, Tristan and Isolde, and finally Parsifal, who appears to be the only Schopenhauerian character of all.

O artigo trata de um déficit teórico presente no pensamento neo-republicano dos últimos anos, a saber a falta de qualquer discurso relativo à concentração de poder econômico e político nas mãos de uma minoria. Depois de uma breve exposição de algumas variantes do republicanismo contemporâneo , se analisam algumas críticas formuladas por Robert Dahl e Kenneth Baynes . Finalmente, são consideradas as posições de Robert Putnam e Benjamin Barber, a fim de desenvolver algumas considerações sobre a questão de se a (...) responsabilidade pela crise atual da democracia deva ser procurada nas atitudes e nos hábitos individuais, ou, antes, em fatores impessoais como os arranjos institucionais e o contexto social, econômico e político no qual os indivíduos se encontram .This paper is about a theoretical deficit in the neo-republican thought of the last years, namely: the lackof any consideration for the concentration of economic and political power in the hand of a minority.After a short exposition of some versions of contemporary republicanism , the paper will analyzesome critiques advanced by Robert Dahl and Kenneth Baynes . Finally it will consider the positionsof Robert Putnam and Benjamin Barber in order to develop some remarks on the question whether theresponsibility for the present crisis of democracy is to be sought in individual attitudes and habits orrather in impersonal factors such as institutional arrangements and the social, economic, and politicalcontext individuals live in. (shrink)

A teoria habermasiana do direito reivindica uma terceira via entre a normatividade das teorias “abstratas” da justiça e o funcionalismo de teorias como a de Luhmann. Na verdade, a posição de Habermas é normativa num sentido forte e, apesar do funcionalismo de sua reivindicação, enfoca apenas o direito positivo moderno, na medida em que não distingue claramente entre direito e moralidade. Outrossim, termina por incorrer nesta aporia, culminando numa espécie de legalização da moralidade.

Armut hat viele Aspekte, unter denen materielle Entbehrung wohl den offensichtlichsten und allgemein anerkanntesten darstellt. Mit ihr verbunden sind aber andere Sorten von Mangel: an Würde, Selbstvertrauen, Selbstrespekt und auch an Autonomie, wie mehrere Autor*innen schon betont haben. Die Beziehung zwischen individueller Autonomie und Armut wird nichtsdestotrotz von den meisten Sozialprogrammen zur Armutsbekämpfung kaum thematisiert. Ein Grund dafür ist womöglich im Umstand zu finden, dass Autonomie kein leicht zu definierender Begriff ist.

Armut wird allgemein als ein Zustand aufgefasst, in dem die Menschen nicht imstande sind, ihre Grundbedürfnisse zureichend zu befriedigen. Obwohl diese allgemein verbreitete Vorstellung der komplexen, vielseitigen Natur von Armut nicht gerecht wird, kommt ihr eine gewisse Berechtigung insofern zu, dass in Armut lebende Menschen meistens nicht imstande sind, sich adäquat zu ernähren und zu kleiden, oder dass sie prekär wohnen – wenigstens im Vergleich mit anderen Mitgliedern ihrer Gesellschaft. Nichtsdestotrotz steht der Begriff von Bedürfnis kaum im Zentrum der wichtigsten (...) Theorien sozialer Gerechtigkeit der letzten fünfzig Jahre. (shrink)

O controle político sobre o fenômeno da globalização, que é um fenômeno predominantemente econômico, é possível, mas requer que os Estados particulares acelerem o processo de integração internacional e criem uma ordem jurídica global. Neste texto, serão apresentadas e refutadas algumas objeções a tal ordem.

O presente texto tenta oferecer uma fundamentação dos direitos sociais quer a partir de uma perspectiva neoliberal, quer a partir de uma visão mais substantiva de cidadania. Ao mesmo tempo, contudo, será salientada a diferença entre as duas posições apresentadas e defendida a segunda. Na primeira parte será discutira a noção hayekiana de Grande Sociedade, que representa um avatar da ideia de sociedade característica da tradição liberal. Em seguida, se chegará a uma visão mais substantiva e robusta da sociedade organizada (...) politicamente na forma-Estado e se mostrará a necessidade de políticas de inclusão, entendida não somente em sentido socioeconômico, mas também em sentido político e civil. A tese central é a de que a garantia de direitos sociais amplos é necessária quer para a estabilidade da sociedade, quer para legitimar as instituições de tal sociedade. (shrink)

This paper argues that Kant’s project of a metaphysics of morals represents a normative ideal grounded on the core ideas of Enlightenment. In the first section, it analyzes Kant’s concept of metaphysical principles of morals by establishing a connection between a metaphysics of morals and Kant’s concept of metaphysics in general and of metaphysics of nature in particular. It then discusses what is metaphysical in the Doctrine of Right and the Doctrine of Virtue. In its last section, it tackles the (...) question of whether a non-metaphysical reading of Kant’s doctrines of right and of virtue is desirable if we want to remain faithful to Kant’s Enlightenment project. (shrink)

Este artículo se centra en el concepto de marginación. Al hacerlo, cuestiona el paradigma dualista dominante en la filosofía política contemporánea, centrado sobre dicotomías como nacional/extranjero, ciudadano/migrante, a este lado de la frontera/del otro lado de la frontera, y adopta un paradigma global centrado en la dialéctica centro/periferia, retomando ideas centrales de las teorías de la dependencia y del sistema-mundo. Defiende que no son sólo las fronteras nacionales las que dividen a la población mundial según criterios arbitrarios y que las (...) fronteras de clase desempeñan el mismo papel dentro de las sociedades nacionales. En ambos casos, los individuos no son excluidos del ámbito económico, político y social, sino que son empujados a sus márgenes. La descripción de la vida a los márgenes nos debería ayudar a repensar la organización global de la economía capitalista y de las relaciones entre centro y periferia. (shrink)

O artigo analisa diferentes discursos que, neste momento, estão sendo formulados sobre a religião na esfera pública. Não se falará nele da religião ou das religiões, mas da maneira na qual esses temas são percebidos e discutidos na opinião pública ocidental, em particular europeia, pois essa discussão tem algo relevante para a discussão sobre o papel da religião na sociedade brasileira. Serão considerados três discursos que serão denominados respectivamente de “determinismo cultural”, “anti-religiosidade seletiva” e “laicismo estatal”. A intenção do artigo (...) é apontar para os erros lógicos e categoriais e para as incoerências presentes nesses discursos que dominam o atual debate sobre o lugar da religião em geral e do Islã em particular nas sociedades ocidentais. (shrink)

En este artículo intervengo en la discusión sobre si es posible encontrar en la filosofía política de Kant una fundamentación de los derechos sociales básicos. Me centraré en primer lugar en dar sentido a la idea de una doctrina metafísica del derecho. En segundo lugar, trataré de mostrar dónde se encuentran los límites de la doctrina metafísica del derecho de Kant a la hora de debatir sobre la forma en que la sociedad debe o debía organizarse (en los tiempos actuales, (...) pero también en la época de Kant). Por último, esbozaré rutas alternativas para usar el enfoque metafísico de Kant con el fin de abordar cuestiones de justicia social, en particular, el tema de la pobreza. (shrink)

O artigo tece algumas considerações sobre o chamado constitucionalismo da efetividade ou neoconstitucionalismo, limitando-se, contudo a discutir seus aspetos teóricos, sem analisar casos concretos. Primeiramente são apresentados de forma sucinta os princípios centrais do neoconstitucionalismo, em particular na formulação de Luis Prieto Sanchís; em seguida, são avançadas algumas considerações a partir das observações de alguns dos seus críticos, em particular Juan García Amado. As teses destes dois autores são complementadas com algumas observações do autor e de outros autores, que insistem (...) sobre aspectos relevantes para nossa discussão. (shrink)

Este ensayo se ocupa de discutir el renacimiento de la tradición republicana en los últimos años, particularmente gracias a pensadores como Quentin Skinner, Maurizio Viroli y Philip Pettit. Se aborda esta tradición en sus principales elementos constitutivos, a saber: 1) el concepto de república propiamente dicho; 2) el papel central de las virtudes cívicas; 3) la concepción republicana de libertad; y 4) el concepto de gobierno de las leyes. Se desarrolla, en primer lugar, un breve análisis de estos cuatros elementos, (...) al mismo tiempo que se ponen en evidencia algunos problemas históricos y teóricos. A continuación, se compara la posición de los teóricos republicanos, tanto clásicos como contemporáneos, con la propia de la tradición liberal-democrática, que, para aquéllos, constituye el principal blanco de esta polémica. Finalmente, se introduce una nueva corriente de pensamiento que los neo-republicanos dejan, curiosamente, de lado: el constitucionalismo. (shrink)

Ernst Tugendhat is one of the most important living German philosophers. He was born in Brno in 1930 to a Jewish family. In 1938 the Tugendhatshad to leave the country because of the threat represented by Nazi Germany. They emigrated first toSwitzerland, then to Caracas, Venezuela. After classical studies at Stanford University ,Ernst Tugendhat moved to Germany in order to study philosophy in Freiburg and Münster . He became an assistant professor in Tübingen before getting a professorship in Heidelberg. He (...) worked at the Max-Plack-Institut zurErforschung der Lebensbedingungen der wissenschaftlich-technischen Welt , spend some years in Chile and was a professor at the FreieUniversität Berlin till his retirement. He was and still is visiting professor in universities in Europe aswell as in North and South America. Among his many books: Vorlesungen zur Einführung in diesprachanalytische Philosophie, Frankfurt a. M.: Suhrkamp, 1976; Selbstbewusstsein undSelbstbestimmung, Frankfurt a. M.: Suhrkamp, 1979; Probleme der Ethik, Stuttgart: Reclam, 1984;Vorlesungen über Ethik, Frankfurt a. M.: Suhrkamp, 1993, and Egozentrizität und Mystik. Eineanthropologische Studie, München: Beck, 2003. (shrink)

The paper is a commentary on Christoph Horn’s paper The Concept of Justice. It criticizes Horn’s claim that justice is overrated in contemporary philosophical debate by discussing Horn’s arguments. In doing so, it questions (1) the idea that we can easily distinguish between morally central and peripheral questions, as Horn claims; it points out (2) that this distinction is based on the values held by those who are drawing it; and finally (3) it stresses the centrality of the feeling of (...) outrage provoked by the action whose acceptability is being challenged. Finally, it claims that morality arises from the experience of injustice and, therefore, that questions of justice are not only morally central; they are, rather, essential to morality. (shrink)

The paper is a commentary on Christoph Horn’s paper The Concept of Justice. It criticizes Horn’s claim that justice is overrated in contemporary philosophical debate by discussing Horn’s arguments. In doing so, it questions (1) the idea that we can easily distinguish between morally central and peripheral questions, as Horn claims; it points out (2) that this distinction is based on the values held by those who are drawing it; and finally (3) it stresses the centrality of the feeling of (...) outrage provoked by the action whose acceptability is being challenged. Finally, it claims that morality arises from the experience of injustice and, therefore, that questions of justice are not only morally central; they are, rather, essential to morality. (shrink)

This paper aims at explaining Kant’s concept of sovereignty as defined in the Doctrine of Right as well at showing its relation to the idea of republicanization and of political progress. Since Kant emphatically claims that sovereignty belongs solely to the united will of the people but, at the same time, does not want the people to intervene directly in the process of decision making, we shall distinguish between the real and the actual sovereign , as well between a synchronic (...) and a diachronic concept both of the “united will” and of “the people”. By doing this, it will become clear in what sense Kant claims that every republic is necessarily a representative political system. (shrink)