What Is Philosophy?
Philosopher John Searle provides an overview of philosophy, noting that it doesn't have a clear definition. As part of the discussion, Professor Searle contrasts philosophical questions and scientific questions.
What Is Philosophy?
Philosopher Charles Taylor talks about the challenge of trying to define philosophy. Unlike other disciplines, Professor Taylor explains, philosophy doesn't have a set of definite issues, questions and information to con..
What Justifies the Power of the State? (Part One)
Philosopher Michael Sandel discusses two approaches to liberalism, what he terms libertarian liberalism and egalitarian liberalism. He also talks about his own reluctance to be labeled as a communitarian, because he feel..
What Justifies the Power of the State? (Part Two)
Philosopher Michael Sandel talks about the views of government held by John Locke and Aristotle. According to Professor Sandel, Locke believed "government was founded on consent." As for Aristotle, Professor Sandel expla..
What Justifies the State?: Call for Reasoned Public Debate, A
Communitarians have been accused of being conservative, of attempting to maintain a way of life that includes discrimination against women and minorities. For communitarians, such problems can be solved by reasoned publi..
What Justifies the State?: Communitarian Ideal: Aristotle, The
The liberal view that government must be neutral and allow individuals the right to choose their own values and ends is criticized by communitarians. Communitarians believe in the organic nature of the state and the impo..
What Justifies the State?: Communitarian Ideal: Hegel, The
German philosopher Georg Hegel, like Aristotle, sees the family as the most basic human group. When children grow up and move beyond the family they form new bonds that attach them to the values of their culture. It is w..
What Justifies the State?: Communitarian Ideal: Nurturing Community Values, The
Certain obligations, communitarians assert, express the moral bonds that tie us to the traditions and culture of the community. Philosopher David Wong experienced these expectations growing up in a Chinese-American famil..
What Justifies the State?: Issues That Separate Liberals and Communitarians
Emphasis on the common good places communitarians in direct conflict with liberals who claim the state must leave people free to pursue their own values. Michael Sandel, Ronald Dworkin, and Charles Taylor "debate" the is..
What Justifies the State?: John Rawl's Theory of Justice
In the early 1970s John Rawls uses the tradition of social contract as the basis for creating an imagined group that must decide on the rules of justice behind a "veil of ignorance." It is Rawls' contention that people w..