56 Questions
Explain the main idea of communitarianism as described in the text.
Communitarianism holds that human identities are shaped by constitutive communities and that this idea should inform our understanding of human nature, moral/political institutions, and policies that guide them. It emphasizes the importance of nourishing communities and argues for the centrality of community in human affairs.
What is the main criticism of communitarians against Rawls's view?
Communitarians such as Alasdair MacIntyre, Michael Sandel, Charles Taylor, and Michael Walzer dispute Rawls's view by drawing on Aristotle and Hegel. They argue for the centrality of community, seek to go beyond mechanical individuated regulation of human affairs, and oppose the disinterested account of human nature.
What do communitarians advocate for in terms of social and political interests?
Communitarians have a collectivist understanding of social and political interests and argue for the centrality of community in shaping human identities and guiding moral/political institutions.
How do communitarians view the standards of justice in different societies?
Communitarians target liberalism's universalist pretensions and argue that standards of justice will be found in the particulars of different societies, hence will vary from one society to the next. They emphasize the importance of values and traditions specific to each society.
What is Walzer's argument regarding the universality of a set of standards?
Walzer argues that thinking of a universal set of standards will be so abstract that it will be of little use to people in particular contexts. He emphasizes the importance of considering the specific values and circumstances of each society when adjudicating social structures.
How does Rawls attempt to address the criticism from communitarians?
Rawls attempts to concede to the criticism by claiming that his argument is best for liberal cultures and applicable to those willing to work out a political consensus. He also concedes that liberalism may not be suitable for all times and all societies.
Who are some of the communitarians mentioned in the text?
Some of the communitarians mentioned in the text are Alasdair MacIntyre, Michael Sandel, Charles Taylor, and Michael Walzer. They are known for their critiques of liberalism and their emphasis on the importance of community in shaping human identities and guiding moral/political institutions.
What is the main distinction between communitarians and liberals in their views on human nature and political institutions?
The main distinction lies in the emphasis on community and collective interests by communitarians, as opposed to the individualistic and universalist approach of liberals. Communitarians argue for the centrality of community in shaping human identities and guiding moral/political institutions, while liberals prioritize individual liberties and universal standards of justice.
In what decade were examples of communities cited by communitarians, such as MacIntyre’s Aristotelian society and Walzer’s reference to the caste system, not successful in applying to modern complex societies?
1980s
What led to brief euphoria over the possibility of liberal democracy in the 1990s?
The fall of the USSR
Why could liberal democracy not apply to the developing world according to the text?
Due to various factors
What challenge did East Asia provide to liberal democracy?
Emphasis on values of family and community
Have Asian values been a challenge to liberal democracy?
No, it does not appear that Asian values have been a challenge to liberal democracy
What have East Asian scholars sought to do in debates on human rights?
Imagining how those rights can be made real in societies with different frameworks such as Confucian traditions
What does Taylor propose in the context of cross-cultural dialogue?
Cross-cultural dialogue where interlocutors don’t argue for universal validity but possible errors of their views, emphasizing the need for more cross-cultural dialogue than insistence on universality of human rights doctrine
What does the debate over the self involve according to the text?
Communitarians accusing liberals of advancing an idea of the self that is atomistic, with Taylor’s criticism applying more to Nozick than Rawls
How does liberal theory represent liberal practice according to the text?
Accurately represents liberal practice as of atomistic individuals, and it misrepresents real life by not acknowledging the communitarian nature of liberal individuals
What is the communitarian correction according to the text?
Not to replace liberalism but to point out the communitarian nature of liberal individuals
What does African communitarianism challenge?
The politics of consensus, advocating for realist perspectivism, which prefers conversion of beliefs instead of conformism
How are the identity of individual and reality of community described in the text?
Dialogical, with neither being prior to the other
What classic examples does the text mention in relation to the conflicted ways modern philosophy promoted its own universal and cross-cultural aspirations?
- Hume: pp 55 – 56 2. Kant: p. 56 3. GWF Hegel: p. 56
According to Eze, what is the wrong way to protect philosophy? Why?
Wrong way to protect philosophy is to ignore interrogating all its facets just because unpleasant topics like colonialism, racism, and ethnocentrism will crop up. Race, class, and gender issues should not be ignored.
What conclusion did W.E.B. Du Bois come to regarding the scientific significance of race differences?
Du Bois concluded that there was nothing scientifically significant about race to imply differences.
According to Appiah, is racism advanced by the denial of the existence of race?
No, racism will always exist whether there is belief in the existence of races or not. Truth-telling about the non-existence of races is in the service of justice.
What are the three types of the Doctrine of Racism mentioned in the text?
The three types are Racialism, Extrinsic Racism, and Intrinsic Racism.
What does Racialism belief involve?
Racialism belief involves the belief that there are characteristics that distinguish races, central to 19th-century attempts of developing different races.
What is the false doctrine according to the text?
The false doctrine is Racialism, as it depends on other doctrines that have been called ‘racism’.
What does Extrinsic Racism make moral distinctions based on?
Extrinsic Racism makes moral distinctions based on the belief that distinctions are morally significant, and evidence to the contrary does not change such racists.
What does Intrinsic Racism believe about the moral status of each race?
Intrinsic Racism believes that each race has a different moral status, and no evidence to the contrary changes the racist.
According to Barker, what does Appiah's position fail to take seriously?
Barker believes that Appiah's position does not take seriously the hurtful incidents of racism.
What does Barker believe about the gradient of what is at stake in relation to racism?
Barker gets the gradient of what is at stake wrong in relation to racism, according to Appiah.
What is Appiah's stance on the existence of race and its relation to racism?
Appiah's stance is that racism will always exist whether there is belief in the existence of races or not, and truth-telling about the non-existence of races is in the service of justice.
What is Ubuntu?
Ubuntu is a philosophy and culture emphasizing the quality of a person within a community.
What does African communitarianism prioritize?
African communitarianism prioritizes community over the individual.
What is central to the concept of Ubuntu in politics?
Consensus or conformity, emphasizing the common good.
Which African thinkers stress the worth of each individual within the consensus?
Ramose and Wiredu.
What process is relied upon due to the absence of a clear African definition of consensus?
Habermas' process of rational acceptance.
Whose interpretation of consensus leads to the suppression of freewill?
Louw's.
What does WVO Quine's principle of charity in interpretation highlight?
Empathy and recognition of fallibility in judgment.
How is Ubuntu seen in contrast to individual objectification?
As unity in diversity.
What do Appiah and Masolo reject the existence of to eliminate discrimination?
Race and identity.
What challenges the theoretical postulations of Appiah and Masolo?
Ongoing postcolonial struggles seeking to affirm African identity.
What may have influenced Appiah's skepticism of race?
The failures of race and identity struggles, leading to his cosmopolitanism.
What has had a lasting influence in Western philosophy according to the text?
Descartes' emphasis on the nature of man's capacity to think.
The reflective foundation of every proposition concerning man, according to Paul Ricoeur, is expressed as?
'I think, I am'
What did Immanuel Kant seek to reformulate with his diverse Logic?
Descartes' thesis
What are the four classifications of problems of philosophy according to Kant?
Metaphysics, morality, religion, and anthropology
According to Kant, what is man's end?
To understand himself as a being endowed with reason
What is the aim of anthropology, according to the text?
To explain the nature of man and be in continuity with Critique of Pure Reason
What does Kant's 'I' involve, as per the text?
Bringing into unity the various representations which at the same time is the unity of consciousness
According to Hume's Treatise of Human Nature, what does it comprehend?
All sciences in the science of human nature and is dependent on it
Which historical periods were crucial in defining the essential qualities of human beings?
The renaissance and enlightenment periods
What was the challenge during the renaissance and enlightenment periods?
To understand the varieties of races and establish essential human qualities
What did the distinction shift from and to, as mentioned in the text?
From barbarian-Latin and Christian-gentile to Civilized-Savage; Historical-Primitive and Progressive-Archaic
What did Descartes' philosophy provide doubt about, as per the text?
The reality of the world and human life
What led to the question of how modern philosophy used race and to what ends?
The lack of distinction between anthropology and philosophy
Study Notes
The Significance of Man in Modern Philosophy
- Paul Ricoeur considers "I think, I am" as the reflective foundation of every proposition concerning man.
- Immanuel Kant's diverse Logic seeks to reformulate Descartes' thesis but cannot depart from it.
- Kant classifies problems of philosophy into metaphysics, morality, religion, and anthropology.
- Kant holds that man's end is to understand himself as a being endowed with reason.
- Anthropology aims to explain the nature of man and is in continuity with Critique of Pure Reason.
- Kant's "I" involves bringing into unity the various representations which at the same time is the unity of consciousness.
- Hume's Treatise of Human Nature comprehends all sciences in the science of human nature and is dependent on it.
- The renaissance and enlightenment periods were crucial in defining the essential qualities of human beings.
- The challenge was to understand the varieties of races and establish essential human qualities.
- The distinction shifted from barbarian-Latin and Christian-gentile to Civilized-Savage; Historical-Primitive and Progressive-Archaic.
- Descartes' philosophy provided doubt about the reality of the world and human life, sparking philosophical encounters with foreigners.
- The lack of distinction between anthropology and philosophy led to the question of how modern philosophy used race and to what ends.
Explore the significance of man in modern philosophy with this quiz. Delve into the reflections of prominent philosophers such as Kant, Descartes, and Hume on the nature of humanity, the unity of consciousness, and the classification of philosophical problems. Gain insight into how the Renaissance and Enlightenment periods shaped the understanding of essential human qualities and the challenges posed by the varieties of races.
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