It is commonplace to speak of education as a right. Yet it has been seldom defended as a natural right. Natural rights are pre-social, while education is social intrinsically. This analysis attempts to show how Aristotle’s concept of education can be conceived as a natural and necessary process to fulfill individual autonomy. In this sense it approaches Locke’s conception of a natural right. To the degree that it succeeds, the firmest possible basis for education in modern constitutionally premised social order (...) is established. It will stand on a par with life, liberty and property and will be equally resistant to tyrannical inroads of either government or majoritarian politics. Moreover, it will refocus society on its absolute duty to treat its citizens justly, that is, will full regard for their inalienable rights. (shrink)

Modern honor appears to be distinguished by two contradictory impulses, a neglect or even disdain of honor, and an ambition to elevate and promote it as dignity, self-esteem, and recognition. The article argues that these tensions can be traced to a foundational difference regarding the political importance of the passion of honor, evident in the seminal and contending formulations by Machiavelli and Hobbes. In recovering and articulating the bases of these competing modern conceptions of honor and tracing the influence of (...) their divergent trajectories, the article seeks to show the importance of honor for understanding contemporary politics. (shrink)

Until fairly recently it was not uncommon for political theorists to hold the view that people cannot be expected to act in accordance with the public interest without some incentive. Authors such as Marcus Tullius Cicero, John Locke, David Hume and Adam Smith, for instance, held that people often act in accordance with the public interest, but more from a concern for their honour and reputation than from a concern for the greater good. Today, most authors take a more demanding (...) view, maintaining that people are to be just solely from a love for justice, not from a fear of losing face. In this article today's prevailing view, which sees honour as something obsolete and archaic and not as a legitimate motive, is contrasted with the older view that honour is important for both knowing what moral is and acting on it. Subsequently, it is argued that the ethics of honour, especially in the form it took in the works of Hume and Smith, can still be of value, exactly because it is less demanding. (shrink)

(2004). Is There a History of Educational Philosophy? John White vs the historical evidence. Educational Philosophy and Theory: Vol. 36, No. 1, pp. 35-56.

Korean civil society is often criticized because of its dual nature, that is, the paucity of social capital in everyday life and the plethora of collective political actions in the national civil society. Although liberals view such duality as the critical impediment to Korea’s authentic democratization, which would represent a fundamental, liberal-pluralist transformation of Korean society, this article rather acknowledges its cultural uniqueness and utilizes it as the basis on which to construct a Korean non-liberal democracy that is culturally pertinent (...) and politically viable. First, this article critically re-examines the recent neo-Tocquevillian praise for social capital in light of Tocqueville’s original idea on the art of association, and reveals the liberal-individualistic assumption behind them, with which Confucian-Koreans are culturally unfamiliar. It presents a Korean version of Confucian civil society to promote democratic collective self-government and common citizenship, while rejecting modern Western moral individualism. (shrink)

Artykuł przestawia dydaktykę KEN, koncentrując się na ukazaniu reform oświatowych charakterystycznych dla epoki oświecenia. W szczególności ukazuje specyfikę styku ówczesnej filozofii i nowożytnej nauki, stopniowo wyzwalającej się z hegemonii filozofii. Wskazuje na dominujący podówczas duch utylitaryzmu, a w warstwie metodologicznej - programowy eklektyzm. Postawa ta ujawniła się w całym szkolnictwie europejskim, a więc nie tylko we Francji, przodującej przynajmniej w zakresie deklaracji programowych, ale zwłaszcza w centralistycznie reformowanej oświacie w monarchii habsburskiej. Jest ona także właściwa tak reprezentacyjnemu świadectwu ówczesnej kultury (...) naukowej, jakim była Wielka Encyklopedia Francuska, do której nawiąże wprost KEN. W szkole europejskiej wzbogacano studium językowo-humanistyczne o kształcenie matematyczno-przyrodnicze, zachowując kurs filozofii w duchuphilosophia recen- tiorum, przynajmniej na poziomie uniwersyteckim. Filozofia ta krytycznie asymilowała elementy nowożytnej epistemologii, a zwłaszcza osiągnięcia nowożytnego przyrodoznawstwa. Podejście to było typowe dla szkolnictwa reformowanego w Rzeczypospolitej Obojga Narodów przez środowiska wyznaniowe, zwłaszcza zakon pijarów i jezuitów. Z czasem coraz bardziej upowszechni się empirystyczna epistemologia, owocująca fenomenalizmem kwestionującym możliwość uprawiania maksymalistycznie pojętej filozofii w formie nowożytnego arystotelizmu chrześcijańskiego funkcjonującego w szkole tradycyjnej. Mimo krytyki tego modelu kształcenia, presja tzw. długiego trwania tłumaczy zachowanie w szkole oświeceniowej elementów filozoficznych nawet w przyrodoznawstwie, w formie interpretacji korzystającej z kategorii substancji i jej właściwości, a nawet koncepcji duszy zwierzęcej. (shrink)

A philosophical genealogy of the development of liberal 'arts of government' through the work of John Locke and Michel Foucault.

I argue that factory farming should be abolished consistent with the principles of classical liberalism. To make my case, I first argue that anti-cruelty is a commitment of classical liberalism. In Section 3, I explain how the commitments of classical liberalism, including a commitment to anti-cruelty, give us weighty reasons to abolish factory farming. Then, I consider and respond to the objection that the property rights of factory farmers override the strength of reasons for the abolition of factory farming. Finally, (...) I conclude by flagging some other possible implications of taking seriously a liberal commitment to anti-cruelty. (shrink)

This paper’s main objective is to analyze the concept of training within John Locke’s educational work. Yet this discussion is entered in the moral perspective supported by this English philosopher. Although, it is possible to realize that the intended training has in gentleman your central target. Besides the philosopher’s educational texts, this debate involves his other theoretical contributions, especially the relationship between education and political theory. Thus, it was not excused the adoption of Locke’s other manuscripts and commentators that were (...) relevant to the argumentation. Finally, we adopted as methodological procedures: reading, analysis and interpretation of selected texts. (shrink)