Political Philosophy Final

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What is Philosophy

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the attempt to answer fundamental questions through the use of reason, questions that cannot be answered by emperical science alone

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Main Areas of philosophy

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Logic, Epistemology, Metaphysics, Ethics, Political Theory, Relations

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Logic

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the structure of reasoning, used in a way to concern itself with the form of arguments

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Epistemology

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the philosophical study of knowledge
--what is knowledge? how reliable are the senses? how much knowledge is possible?

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Metaphysics

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Philosophical study of the nature of reality
--what is existence? what is a person?

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Ethics

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the philosophical study of our values and our moral principals and how they relate to human contact and our social and political institutions
--is this action right? who deserves our moral consideration?

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Political Theory

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the study of how we should live together in society

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Interpersonal relations

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who gets the benefit of cooperative activities? who gets the spoils and who should pay the cost?(Brittany Spears vs. Teachers)
-how and when can we defend ourselves against others
-what limits should be placed on how people may treat one another and what penalties can be imposed on members who transgress these limits

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State Personal relations

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what are the limits of the state? should one accept the political authority of the state? how much have we consented to the state? have we?

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Global relations

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Questions that are related to the scope of any justified principles and cooperation justice. Do these laws apply to the state or should they apply nationally? or internationally?

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Why do we use logic

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b/c disagreements should be settled, but not through force, rather through reason. also, because not all opinions are justified; some are better than others.

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argument

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a collection of statements, one of which is a conclusion, the others are reasons (premises) whose purpose is to show that the conclusion is true/reasonable

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Deductive Reasoning

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The premises are intended to GUARANTEE that the conclusion is true

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Validity

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IF it has the right form (the premises are true) then the conclusion MUST be true

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Soundness

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the argument is valid and the premises are true

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Inductive reasoning

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cannot be valid or invalid but rather strong or weak

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Fallacy

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A defect in an arguments reasoning that consists of something other than merely false premises. An often repeated pattern of faulty reasoning where the premises fail to support the conclusion

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Locke's take on toleration

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toleration should stop short of intolerance, for example catholics

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Locke's take on separation of church and state

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The state should deal with public issues and the individual should deal with private issues such as adopting religion

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Locke's argument for toleration

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--GO BACK TO THIS ONE

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What is toleration

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The attitude that allows for the peaceful coexistence of conflicting views and ways of life within the same society

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Three conditions of toleration

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objection, acceptance, rejection

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Objection condition

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An action or belief X is tolerated by group Y only if X is objected by Y in such a way that Y finds X to be wrong for reasons A
--poor man finds wallet, picks it up and keeps it. spectator tolerates that b/c the person who dropped the wallet isn't around (reason A)

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Acceptance condition

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An action or belief X is tolerated by Y only if Y accepts the beliefs/practices of X for reasons B
--the poor man evidently needs the cash, so the spectator tolerates it, even though it's wrong, because it would make a positive difference in the poor man's life

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Rejection Condition

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Action/belief of X is only tolerated by group Y if Y holds reason B to be more compelling or motivated than reason A
--spectator realizes that the poor man really needs money and holds that to a higher standard than stealing is morally wrong

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Three Paradoxes of toleration

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The tolerant racist, moral reasoning, limitation

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The Paradox of the tolerant racist

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Racist bob believes all other races are inferior, but is encouraged to be tolerant so he is, even though his feelings still exist
-solution: toleration doesn't always benefit intolerant. Actions of x are only tolerated by Y if Y finds X to be wrong for reason A and reason A is the minimal condition of rationality

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Paradox of moral reasoning

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If reasons for the objection A and reasons for the acceptance B are both moral reasons, it can be morally right to except something that is morally wrong
--can be considered hyprocrisy
-solution: some reasons for toleration (reason B) can be held to a higher value therefor making it tolerable

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Paradox of Limitation--GO BACK TO THIS

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toleration requires tolerating the intolerable, toleration ends at tolerating intolerance
--there is a limit

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Toleration as permission

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Political authority tolerates some subjects by permitting acts/beliefs
so as long as they don't expect real recognition or support

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Toleration is Coexistence

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Group A tolerates the beliefs/practices of Group B and vise versa. The power difference is not present or not relevant
--until powers change

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Tolerance is Mutual Respect

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-Group A tolerates group B (vise versa)
-Group A views Group B as moral equals (vise versa)

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Toleration is Mutual Esteem

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-respect plus
-to thrive on the value of differences

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Human Rights

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considered universal and are overriding (first priority, can never be infringed)

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Types of Human Rights

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Positive, Liberty, Claim, Power, Immunity

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Liberty Rights

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Involves no more than the absence of a duty on the part of the right holder

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Positive Claim Rights

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you have a duty to do something
-legal and societal rights
-have a right to education and people have a right to help you with that education

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Negative Claim Rights

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You have a duty not to do something
--Right to education, people have the duty not to interfere with that
**Human rights can be considered claim rights in that they are rights that correlate with the duties of others.

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Power Rights

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Enables the holders to change the rights and duties of themselves and others
-parents, supreme court, two people enter a contract

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Immunity Rights

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Provide their holders immune from having their rights and duties changed by another person.
**Human rights can be considered immunity rights bc they cannot be taken away by the powerrrrr rights of other people.

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Positive Right

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A right that society recommends
--international declaration of human rights, documented by society

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Bruke's criticism on human rights

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natural rights undermine the actual traditions on which real liberty is based
--RESPONSE:

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Bentham

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-Fictions that are obstacles to happiness
-RESPONSE:

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Marx

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ideological constructs that protect the competitive individual at the expense of freedom and prosperity of the majority
-RESPONSE:

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Are human rights really rights?

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-in order for human rights to really be rights, they must generate legitimate expectations as to the conduct of others involved-true for claim and immunity
-Positive rights are not really rights because they do not address who is responsible for protecting these rights

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Are human rights really universal?

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-They do apply to everyone regardless of race, color or religion, and it agreed that they depend on specifics between age and gender, but there is contraversy regarding the acceptance of homosexuality, abortion etc
-cultural relativism-right and wrong differs from culture to culture

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Are human rights really overriding?

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-Human rights might conflict with eachother, thus when we institutionalize these rights we must balance them.
-we might think that some rights are absolute, and can never be overriden, such as the right to not be tortured
-overall human rights hold more weight than other rights and are resistant to being overriden

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Justification of Natural Rights

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Natural rights exist in nature independently of any human laws or customs
-in the state of nature we would agree to form a state to protect our natural rights

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Justifying rights of the Utilitarianism

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Act-we should asses our actions based on consqeuences
rule-conformity to some rules, whether or not the individual agrees, in the long run maximize utility, and rights are the interests that are protected by the rules that in the long term maximize happiness

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Justifying rights of the deontologist

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morality is a matter of following certian commands such as do not steal and do not lie, the moral standing of which depends on the human relationship involved, rather then when they promote intrinsic values
-it can also be argued that rights are rules that can be identified with the command of god

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3 theses of feminism

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the entrenchment of gender, the existence of patriarchy, the need for change

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the entrenchment of gender

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gender deeply divides our society and explains why some people enjoy greater statuses than others
-people are treated differently based on their gender
ex: stereotypes, ideals of feminity and masculinity

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The existence of patriachry

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Gender is not neutral in its effects, but creates a hierarchy that is advantagoues for men and disadvantageous for women
--this does not mean that men intentionally act dominant, could be due to informalsocietal norms

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2 models for the need for change

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equality for women focused on differences
-equality for women focused on sameness

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Equality that focuses on sameness

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treating women equally means treating them the same as men. women should be allowed to do the same jobs as men, enjoy the same rewards as men and compete the same basis as men
-can be problematic: women in the workplace and maternity leave

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Equality that focuses on differences

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treating women equally doesn't mean treating them like men, men and women are different and we need to take these differences into consideration
-recognizing that men and women have different skills and equality would be secured by awarding equal value or respect to those skills

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sex

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differences that are an inevitable part of biology such as the physical shape and size of men women

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Gender

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differences that are imposed only by society

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Ethics of Care

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focuses on human connectedness, self sacrifice and obligations to others. It takes into account our relationships with others, and the need to sometimes focus on emotions and support for others whom we are in a relationship with
--disadvantage: undermines feminism
advantage: urges us to consider other aspects of situations that simply following a principal would have us ignore

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Ethics of Justice

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emphasizes principals that apply universally and are unbiased
--disadvantage:runs the risk of rationalizing selfishness and injustices
advantage: part of acting within the ethics of care involves acting for the right reasons

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Porn is harmful

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-spreads destructive gender norms
-promotes a patriarchal society by depicting a sexual hierarchy
-promotes inferiorty to women
-it's a depiction of violence that may increase the chances of it happening in reality

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porn should be protected under the first ammendment

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-porn is defined as explicit material that is intended to stimulate sexual arousal
-a woman is free to participate in such an activity due the first amendment for the right to free speech and the freedom from sensorship

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Multiculturalism

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the policy or process whereby the distinctive identities of the cultural groups within a society are supported or maintained

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Uniform citizenship

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usually involves a national language, uniformly applied laws, standard educational system
-even this can involve a preference for a particular culture

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Thin Multiculturalism

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differences of beliefs and customs between cultures exists, but they do not indicate deeper differences in basic value differences or in differences in preferred political structure
-we all agree a liberal political system. when there is a problem, we vote and the decision stands

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Thick Multiculturalism

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Different beliefs among different cultures exists, but they do indicate differences in basic values and differences in preferred political structures
-we do not agree on the basic structure of the "good" political system and as such we need to take a practical approach to address this conflict

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notion of special rights

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general laws that normally apply to everybody else do not apply to certian groups
--Amish

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Integration

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the idea that different cultural groups may belong equally to one nation while still having different social customs or rights
-almost always involves a national loss of identity

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Assimilation

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a policy that encourages cultrual minorities to loose their distinctive customs or norms in order to fit in more easily with the rest of society
--almost always involves a loss of cultural identity

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Oppressing the Oppressed

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Defending certain cultural diversity involves supporting injustices against those who traditionally lack power
--women-child marriage or female circumcision

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politics of recognition

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policies and campaigns that are designed to create equal respect for marginalized groups in a multicultural society
-requires greater political and media recognition of minorities and expanding what is taught about them in school

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ascription of equal value

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each culture contains a perspective on what is morally right
--it is impossible to conclude that two cultures that disagree on basic moral precepts are both equally right and thus deserve equal respect
-Charles Taylor says all cultures at least deserve a "presumption of equal respect"

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Anthropocentriusm

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The view that the primary concern is human beings and human interests; other concerns are secondary to human beings and human interest

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nonanthropocentriusm

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the denial of anthropocentriusm
--"a thing it right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise"-E.G leopold

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Holism

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we have duties/obligations to to individuals AND collections of individuals (perhaps the compiling of individuals and the nonorganic)

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Individualism

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we have duties and obligations only to individuals

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Hardin's lifeboat thesis

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affluent countries should NOT provide aid to people in poor countries; if they do so all people will ultimately suffer

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Hardin's lifeboat ethics

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*the size of the lifeboats corresponds with the amount of natural resources contained therein
-affluent nations have more space than poor nations
*The size and carrying capacity of the lifeboats are limited
*The size/carrying capacity of the boats are a mystery but we can assume most/many boats are currently overcrowded (including USA)

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Hardin's lifeboat ethics-population/resource depletion

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given our growing population, the resource depletion cannot be addressed by technology advancement
-Rationing resources promotes self-interest

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Ecofeminism

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the position that there are important connections-historical,experiential, symbolic theoretical-b/w the domination of women and the domination of nature, the understanding of which is crucial to both enviornmental concerns and feminism

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ecofeminism--feminism vs. nature

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feminism is the movement to end the oppression of women, involving the elimination of any and all factors that contribute to the continued and systematic domination and subordination of women
--naturism is the movement to end all oppression of nature

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A feminist issue

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any issue the understanding of which would contribute in some of understanding of the oppression of women
--Environmental degradation is an issue the understanding of which would contribute to understanding the oppression of women.

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Conceptual framework for ecofeminism

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the set of basic values, beliefs, attitudes and assumptions which shape and reflect how one views oneself in the world and one's world
--some are oppressive (ones that explain or justify relationships of dominance or subordination)

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Oppressive Conceptual Frameworks

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Value-hierarchial thinking (what statuses are higher)
Value dualisms (mind/body, reason/emotion, men/women, value is placed on one pair)
-logic of domination leads to the justification of subordniation

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Ecofeminism Argument

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-Humans do and plants do not have the capacity to change the community in which they live, so those who can make that change are morally superior to that which lacks, so humans are morally superior to nature, and for any X and Y, if X is morally superior to Y then x is morally justified in suboridnating Y
--Women are identified with nature/physical, men are identified with humans (men are morally justified to subordinate women)

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The restoration thesis

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the destruction of an enviornment that has value is compensated for by the later creation of an enviornment that is sensibly indescernable from the original

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source value in an enviornment

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diversity in plant and animal life
-habitat for endangered species
-striking senisble features

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Counterexamples to the restoration thesis

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-A natural area has value partly because it has not been harmed by humans
-they are offering something with less value as the same thing

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Causal Origin as source value

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-the origin the enviornment plays a role in how we evaluate it
--not the claim that all natural things have value
--not the claim that we can never make a barren environment a more rich one
-replacing a natural rich environment with an artifical one is bad