Teo-lohi's New Writeups

John Rawls's Two Principles of Justice (idea)

2006-04-23T17:52:23Z

John Rawls's A Theory of Justice is the classic of modern political philosophy. In this work, Rawls puts forward his theory of justice as fairness. He argues that the basic institutions of society must be regulated by two principles of justice: the liberty principle and the difference principle. In this writeup I discuss both Rawls's formulation of the principles and his arguments for them. I will first give some preliminary remarks about the scope of justice and Rawls's general conception of justice. Then, I briefly outline the two principles of justice. After this, Rawls's methodology for reaching the two principles is discussed, and only then can I present Rawls's actual argument for the principles.

My aim here is mainly expository. I am personally very sympathetic to Rawls, and I believe A Theory of Justice presents a vision of society worth striving for. In this writeup I am not going to try to persuade you, however. I will simply attempt to…

Alasdair MacIntyre's Reconstructive Project: Practice, Narrative and Tradition (idea)

2006-04-17T20:08:55Z

In two previous writeups I have discussed Alasdair MacIntyre's diagnosis of the state of modern liberal culture, and his historical argument as to why this has come about. In this writeup I consider MacIntyre's solution to the malaise of modernity. MacIntyre seeks to reconstruct a conception of the virtues which is loyal to the classical Aristotelian tradition, but not dependent on Aristotle's metaphysical biology. MacIntyre's project has three stages, and I will look at each one in turn. Finally, I give some tentative criticisms of MacIntyre's approach.

The concept of a practice
MacIntyre's reconstructive project begins with what he calls 'practices'. His definition is as follows:

By a 'practice' I am going to mean any coherent and complex form of socially established cooperative human activity through which goods internal to that form of

…

The Enlightenment Project (idea)

2006-04-16T16:05:42Z

Alasdair MacIntyre's After Virtue offers a devastating though ultimately unconvincing diagnosis of the state of modern society. The argument is predominantly historical, and the crux of it is his account of the failure of the enlightenment project of justifying morality. He argues that the philosophers of the enlightenment attempted to ground morality in human nature, rejecting all teleology. However, the morality that the philosophers ascribed to was conventional, Christian and bourgeois, and the only way to make it fit with their conception of human nature was a conception of human-nature-as-it-could-be-if-it-realized-its-telos. Because such a conception was rejected, the project had to fail.

Morality before the enlightenment
MacIntyre argues that the dominant moral scheme in Europe before the enlightenment was the tradition begun by Aristotle and modified by medieval Christian philosophers such as Aquinas.…

Alasdair MacIntyre's Disquieting Suggestion (idea)

2006-04-15T19:01:44Z

Alasdair MacIntyre's After Virtue is one of the most thorough-going critiques of liberal democratic culture there is. If MacIntyre's thesis is correct, then the last three hundred years of Western moral and political philosophy from the Enlightenment onwards has been a mistake. Furthermore, if MacIntyre is right, then modern liberal democracies are essentially devoid of morality. In this writeup, I discuss MacIntyre's main thesis - the 'disquieting suggestion'.

After Virtue begins with a dramatic analogy. MacIntyre asks us to imagine a world wherein natural science experiences a tremendous crisis. Scientists are blamed for environmental disasters, and the public at large turns against them. An anti-science political party gets into power, and abolishes the practice and teaching of science. Later, however, a pro-science movement emerges, and attempts to pick up the pieces. But all that remains is…

2006 Finnish Presidential Elections (thing)

2006-01-04T17:01:36Z

UPDATE 30.01.06:
The election was decided yesterday in a second round of voting. The Social Democratic candidate, current president Tarja Halonen was re-elected with 51.8 per cent of the vote. Sauli Niinisto, candidate of the National Coalition Party, got 48.2 per cent. The inevitable happened - the incredibly popular president won. I'm very dissapointed, given that the last polls before the election showed that Niinisto had a chance to win. Oh well. Perhaps we will get a better president in 2012.

Today, Finns hit the polls as early voting begins in the presidential elections. The main election day is the 15th of January, and if there is a second round, it will be held on the 29th of January. The president of the Republic of Finland is elected for a term of six years, and the president can be re-elected once. The president's main responsibility is to lead Finnish foreign policy in co-operation with the government, and to act as an opinion leader.…

The Confutation of Tyndale's Answer (idea)

2005-11-25T00:33:45Z

Martin Luther published his 95 theses in 1517, setting in motion a crisis that was to engulf Western European Christianity. Luther was denounced virulently by a number of Catholic commentators. In England his chief opponents were firstly King Henry VIII and then predominantly the humanist scholar and lawyer Sir Thomas More. After Luther had published the Babylonian Captivity of the Church, Henry replied with the Assertio Septem Sacramentorum, which upheld the Catholic doctrine of the seven Sacraments. For this he received the title Fidei Defensor, Defender of the Faith, from the Pope.

England was still firmly Catholic, but the Lutherans were gaining ground. One of the most important of these English Reformers was William Tyndale. In 1525-1526 he published an English translation of the Bible. Tyndale's translation and his Protestant doctrine drew the wrath of Thomas More,…