Currently viewing the tag: "public reason"

A Political Liberal Interpretation of Liberal Neutrality

By On October 12, 2012 · 15 Comments · In Liberalism

Brink Lindsey ends his recent post with the following question, one that continues to plague political philosophy,

If liberal neutrality does have limits, where are they and how do you know them when you see them?

The point of this post is to briefly outline a version of liberal neutrality I find philosophically [...]

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Enlightenment vs Post-Enlightenment Libertarianism

By On September 19, 2012 · 97 Comments · In Libertarianism

“Reason is man’s only absolute,” Ayn Rand famously declared. Similarly, Murray Rothbard thought that reason uniquely vindicated the non-aggression principle on pain of self-contradiction, for “the preservation and furtherance of one’s life takes on the stature of an incontestable axiom” (The Ethics of Liberty, 33). Mises claimed that that the problems of social [...]

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Moral Authority: Who Needs It?

By On August 10, 2012 · 47 Comments · In Academic Philosophy, Libertarianism

I have claimed in a number of my recent posts that libertarians have failed to recognize the potential for authoritarianism in their refusal to submit their property claims to the test of public justification. Ordinary, unreconstructed libertarians must be prepared to use coercion to impose [...]

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A Defense of the Unreasonable

By On March 16, 2012 · 51 Comments · In Academic Philosophy, Democracy, Liberalism, Toleration

I really enjoyed Kevin’s recent discussion of the ‘contraception mandate,’ particularly because his posts highlight a deep and important divide in political philosophy that I think merits attention. Kevin sketches the following view about whether a law is justified:

“(The) principle of public justification (PPJ) …holds that a coercive law L is only justified [...]

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Why Liberals Must Oppose the Contraception Mandate

By On March 13, 2012 · 100 Comments · In Liberalism, Liberty, Rights Theory

As many of you know, the Obama administration has decided to force religious organizations to finance health insurance policies which pay for contraception (and sterilization). The Roman Catholic Church (RCC) objects to the policy on the grounds that they regard most uses of contraception as gravely immoral, and that therefore the mandate violates their religious [...]

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Political Philosophy’s Fundamental Question

By On February 13, 2012 · 34 Comments · In Academic Philosophy, Liberalism, Libertarianism, Liberty, Rights Theory

In this post, my aim is to identify political philosophy’s fundamental question. Yes, I want to attempt this in a blog post, so my answer will undoubtedly be radically incomplete. But I believe I can sketch a brief case for why the social contract theorists got it right. If we understand why, I [...]

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