Is Political Authority An Illusion

Author : Michael Huemer
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1000456404
Total Pages : 155 pages
Book Rating : 4.00/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Is Political Authority an Illusion? written by Michael Huemer and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2021-11-09 with total page 155 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What gives some people the right to issue commands to everyone else and force everyone else to obey them? And why should people obey the commands of those with political power? These two key questions are the heart of the issue of political authority, and, in this volume, two philosophers debate the answers. Michael Huemer argues that political authority is an illusion and that no one is entitled to rule over anyone. He discusses and rebuts the major theories supporting political authority’s rightfulness: implicit social contract theory, hypothetical contract theories, democratic theories of authority, and utilitarian theories. Daniel Layman argues that democratic governments have authority because they are needed to protect our rights and because they are accountable to the people. Each author writes two replies directly addressing the arguments and ideas of the other. Key Features Covers a key foundational problem of political philosophy: the authority of government. Debate format ensures a full hearing of both sides. A Glossary includes key concepts in political philosophy related to the issue of authority. Annotated Further Reading sections point students to additional resources. Clear, concrete examples and arguments help students clearly see both sides of the argument. A Foreword by Matt Zwolinski describes a broader context for political authority and then traces the key points and turns in the authors’ debate.

Author : Michael Huemer
Publisher : Springer
ISBN 13 : 1137281669
Total Pages : 365 pages
Book Rating : 4.61/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Problem of Political Authority written by Michael Huemer and published by Springer. This book was released on 2012-10-29 with total page 365 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The state is often ascribed a special sort of authority, one that obliges citizens to obey its commands and entitles the state to enforce those commands through threats of violence. This book argues that this notion is a moral illusion: no one has ever possessed that sort of authority.

Author : Stephen Orgel
Publisher : Univ of California Press
ISBN 13 : 0520341872
Total Pages : 110 pages
Book Rating : 4.76/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Illusion of Power written by Stephen Orgel and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2023-11-10 with total page 110 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Elegant, deeply learned, and intellectually adventurous, its implications extend far beyond the boundaries of the Stuart and Caroline masque. It is an indispensable, exploration of political art and aestheticized politics. . . . a classic."--Stephen Greenblatt, University of California, Berkeley "A triumph of scholarship, insight, and explication, Oregel's book is truly a classic in the field of Renaissance studies. Anyone interested in Renaissance culture will find here a masterful analysis of its celebration of royal power."--Coppelia Kahn, Brown University "As knowing of art, theatrical and political history as it is sensitive to poetry, Orgel's book is learned, lively, and beautifully clear."--John Hollander, Yale University "A foundational text for the New Historicist Perspective in English Renaissance literary and cultural studies . . . as informative and suggestive as it was when new; in the clarity and grace of its writing, the breadth and precision of its arguments, the aptness and resonance of its examples, it is unsurpassed as an introduction to the dialectic of theatrical illusion and state authority--of play and power--in the culture of Elizabethan and Stuart England."--Louis Montrose, University of California, San Diego

Author : Raymond Geuss
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
ISBN 13 : 9780521000437
Total Pages : 188 pages
Book Rating : 4.32/5 ( download)

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Download or read book History and Illusion in Politics written by Raymond Geuss and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2001-06-28 with total page 188 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The distinguished political philosopher Raymond Geuss examines critically the central topics in Western political thought. In a series of analytic chapters he discusses the state, authority, violence and coercion, the concept of legitmacy, liberalism, toleration, freedom, democracy, and human rights. He argues that the liberal democratic state committed to the defense of human rights is in fact a confused conjunction of disparate elements. This is a profound and concise essay on the basic structure of contemporary politics, written throughout in voice that is skeptical, engaged, and clear.

Author : David T. Koyzis
Publisher : InterVarsity Press
ISBN 13 : 083087206X
Total Pages : 339 pages
Book Rating : 4.60/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Political Visions & Illusions written by David T. Koyzis and published by InterVarsity Press. This book was released on 2019-05-07 with total page 339 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What you believe about politics matters. The decades since the Cold War, with new alignments of post–9/11 global politics and the chaos of the late 2010s, are swirling with alternative visions of political life, ranging from ethnic nationalism to individualistic liberalism. Political ideologies are not merely a matter of governmental efficacy, but are intrinsically and inescapably religious: each carries certain assumptions about the nature of reality, individuals and society, as well as a particular vision for the common good. These fundamental beliefs transcend the political sphere, and the astute Christian observer can discern the ways—sometimes subtle, sometimes not—in which ideologies are rooted in idolatrous worldviews. In this freshly updated, comprehensive study, political scientist David Koyzis surveys the key political ideologies of our era, including liberalism, conservatism, nationalism, democracy, and socialism. Koyzis gives each philosophy careful analysis and fair critique, unpacking the worldview issues inherent to each and pointing out essential strengths and weaknesses, as well as revealing the "narrative structure" of each—the stories they tell to make sense of public life and the direction of history. Koyzis concludes by proposing alternative models that flow out of Christianity's historic engagement with the public square, retrieving approaches for both individuals and the global, institutional church that hold promise for the complex political realities of the twenty-first century. Writing with broad international perspective and keen analytical insight, Koyzis is a sane and sensible guide for Christians working in the public square, culture watchers, political pundits, and all students of modern political thought.

Author : Michael Huemer
Publisher : Springer Nature
ISBN 13 : 3030675432
Total Pages : 375 pages
Book Rating : 4.31/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Justice before the Law written by Michael Huemer and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2021-09-06 with total page 375 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: America’s legal system harbors serious, widespread injustices. Many defendants are sent to prison for nonviolent offenses, including many victimless crimes. Convicts often serve draconian sentences in crowded prisons rife with abuse. Almost all defendants are convicted without trial because prosecutors threaten defendants with drastically higher sentences if they request a trial. Most Americans are terrified of encountering any kind of legal trouble, knowing that both civil and criminal courts are extremely slow, unreliable, and expensive to use. This book explores the largest injustices in the legal system and what can be done about them. Besides proposing institutional reforms, the author argues that prosecutors, judges, lawyers, and jury members ought to place justice before the law – for example, by refusing to enforce unjust laws or impose unjust sentences. Issues addressed include: · The philosophical basis for judgments about rights and justice · The problems of overcriminalization and mass incarceration · Abuse of power by police and prosecutors · The injustice of plea bargaining · The appropriateness of jury nullification · The authority of the law, or the lack thereof Justice Before the Law is essential reading for everyone interested in legal ethics, the rule of law, and criminal justice. It is also ideal for students of legal philosophy.

Author : Gabriele De Anna
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1000060578
Total Pages : 237 pages
Book Rating : 4.77/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Authority and the Metaphysics of Political Communities written by Gabriele De Anna and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2020-03-11 with total page 237 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book explores the metaphysics of political communities. It discusses how and why a plurality of individuals becomes a political unity, what principles or forces keep that unity together, and what threats that unity can be faced with. In Part I, the author justifies the need for the notion of substance in metaphysics in general and in the metaphysics of politics in particular. He spells out a moderately realist theory of substances and of their principles of unity, which supports substantial gradualism. Part II concerns action theory and the nature of practical reason. The author claims that the acknowledgement of reasons by agents is constitutive of action and that normativity depends on the role of the good in the formation of reasons. Finally, in Part III the author addresses the notion of political community. He claims that the principle of unity of a political community is its authority to give members of the community moral reasons for action. This suggests a middle way between liberal individualism and organicism, and the author demonstrates the significance of this view by discussing current political issues such as the role of religion in the public sphere and the political significance of cultural identity. Authority and the Metaphysics of Political Communities will be of interest to researchers and advanced students working in social metaphysics, political philosophy, philosophy of action, and philosophy of the social sciences.

Author : Michael Huemer
Publisher : Springer
ISBN 13 : 1137281669
Total Pages : 606 pages
Book Rating : 4.61/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Problem of Political Authority written by Michael Huemer and published by Springer. This book was released on 2012-10-29 with total page 606 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The state is often ascribed a special sort of authority, one that obliges citizens to obey its commands and entitles the state to enforce those commands through threats of violence. This book argues that this notion is a moral illusion: no one has ever possessed that sort of authority.

Author : Noam Chomsky
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9780896083660
Total Pages : 422 pages
Book Rating : 4.67/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Necessary Illusions written by Noam Chomsky and published by . This book was released on 1989 with total page 422 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Argues that the media serves the needs of those in power rather than performing a watchdog role, and looks at specific cases and issues

Author : Robert Paul Wolff
Publisher : Univ of California Press
ISBN 13 : 0520353919
Total Pages : 116 pages
Book Rating : 4.16/5 ( download)

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Download or read book In Defense of Anarchism written by Robert Paul Wolff and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2023-11-10 with total page 116 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Defense of Anarchism is a 1970 book by the philosopher Robert Paul Wolff, in which the author defends individualist anarchism. He argues that individual autonomy and state authority are mutually exclusive and that, as individual autonomy is inalienable, the moral legitimacy of the state collapses.