Though the term may have an overly political or juridical connotation, procedure saturates human life. A citizen encounters it in the manner by which he casts his ballot in an election; an employee in how he fills out and files the paperwork for a new client; a husband and wife in how they keep theirContinue reading “On Procedures”
Tag Archives: Theory
The Idea of Liberalism
For B. A. B., who continually asked for this to be written. ‘Liberalism’ was concerned [with what] I have called the menace of ‘sovereign’ authority and with constitutional devices to reduce it. If it had any theoretical understanding of a state it was that of an association in terms of assured ‘natural rights’ recognized asContinue reading “The Idea of Liberalism”
Thinking Through Atomization
Two moral and political philosophers, Charles Taylor and Alasdair MacIntyre, have provided profound reflections on the nature of contemporary moral life, and—though their methods and projects differ—they come to intriguingly similar conclusions about the ills of modern ethics. The most notable, though described in different ways, is that of “individualism.” We might briefly understand thisContinue reading “Thinking Through Atomization”
A Note on Truth & Language
An interlocutor in a debate I recently heard tried to suggest that there is an ultimately ‘subjective’ reality in every person that no one else can have access to or contest. In the context of the debate, he was arguing that there are things a person can recognize to be true about himself, and othersContinue reading “A Note on Truth & Language”
Character, Virtues, and Actions
The language of ‘Virtue,’ by historical standards, has lost its currency. Why this is the case is a complicated matter, though perhaps the simplest reason is that we have lost a sense of ‘formal’ causation in the modern era. That history has, however, already been unpacked – far better than I ever could – byContinue reading “Character, Virtues, and Actions”
Moralizing & Moral Theorizing
Much intellectual ink and effort has been spilled upon the concept of morality and what is right and wrong in human conduct. We may go so far as to say that the central concerns of human life all fall under this category, especially if morality is taken to be that general conception that suggests whatContinue reading “Moralizing & Moral Theorizing”
A Note on Subjectivity
A colleague of mine often playfully chides me for being too analytical about what words mean – assuming that one can ever ascertain this. What my friend is also commenting on is the manner in which I am liable to presume that I do not understand what a given word means when speaking to variousContinue reading “A Note on Subjectivity”
Communication & Communion
As I have indicated in prior blog posts, I enjoy finding etymological connections between words and thinking through how those connections might inform our living. Thinking about terms that have the same origin might inform us about how others have thought and even the way we implicitly think as we use our languages (usually unreflectively).Continue reading “Communication & Communion”
The “Past” of History
Certainly in English, though I presume this to be similar in other languages, we have a peculiar word that is used in several senses: the “past.” This can be understood as a generic term under which ‘yesterday’ is a specific instance; though, in this sense, it is also a mere placeholder for whatever occurred priorContinue reading “The “Past” of History”
Social Sciences: Misapprehensions and Misapplications
Now and again, one comes across people who are dismissive of what have frequently been termed the ‘soft sciences’: sociology, psychology, anthropology, political science, and (for some, though there is more debate on this) economics. The main problem in these fields is that their findings are typically subject to human responses performed in whatever mannerContinue reading “Social Sciences: Misapprehensions and Misapplications”
Hoping for Clarity 