Value, conflict, and order : Berlin, Hampshire, Williams, and the realist revival in political theory

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Value, conflict, and order : Berlin, Hampshire, Williams, and the realist revival in political theory

Edward Hall

University of Chicago Press, 2020

  • : paper

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Summary: "Is the purpose of political philosophy to draw a picture of an ideal society and show what that implies for the way we should behave toward one another? Or is political philosophy more useful if it takes the world as it is, a world in which people disagree about morality, and thinks about how people, who disagree about fundamental values, can live together. This approach, a sort of political realism as Edward Hall characterizes it, is prominent in the work of Bernard Williams, Stuart Hampshire, and Isaiah Berlin. Hall builds on the work of these thinkers to establish a political realist's theory of politics for the 21st century"--Provided by publisher

Bibliography: p. [211]-221

Includes index

Description and Table of Contents

Description

Is the purpose of political philosophy to articulate the moral values that political regimes would realize in a virtually perfect world and show what that implies for the way we should behave toward one another? That model of political philosophy, driven by an effort to draw a picture of an ideal political society, is familiar from the approach of John Rawls and others. Or is political philosophy more useful if it takes the world as it is, acknowledging the existence of various morally non-ideal political realities, and asks how people can live together nonetheless? The latter approach is advocated by "realist" thinkers in contemporary political philosophy. In Value, Conflict, and Order, Edward Hall builds on the work of Isaiah Berlin, Stuart Hampshire, and Bernard Williams in order to establish a political realist's theory of politics for the twenty-first century. The realist approach, Hall argues, helps us make sense of the nature of moral and political conflict, the ethics of compromising with adversaries and opponents, and the character of political legitimacy. In an era when democratic political systems all over the world are riven by conflict over values and interests, Hall's conception is bracing and timely.

Table of Contents

Abbreviations Introduction Part One: Isaiah Berlin 1. Pluralism, Relativism, and the Human Horizon 2. The Sense of Reality Part Two: Stuart Hampshire 3. The Vitality of Conflict 4. From Conflict to Compromise Part Three: Bernard Williams 5. Standing Up to Reflection 6. Legitimacy and Liberalism Conclusion Acknowledgments Notes Bibliography

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