Felix E Oppenheim
Biographic Data
| ID | 1001905 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Felix E Oppenheim |
| GIVEN NAMES | Felix E |
| FAMILY NAME | Oppenheim |
| SIGNATURE | OPPENHEIM F E |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Delaware |
| VERIFIED | No |
| TOTAL WORKS | 36 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 63 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 36 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1944 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2018 |
| H-INDEX | 4 |
Egalitarianism as a Descriptive Concept
This chapter sets down descriptive criteria of equality, discusses in a meaningful way whether egalitarianism in general is just, or whether egalitarian principles of a particular kind are desirable. It explicates the concept of egalitarianism so that it yields criteria which are not only empirical, but also general. A flat rate and a graduated income tax both fulfill the requirement of proportional equality. The relative value of things given ca…
Social freedom: Definition, measurability, valuation
Freedom, Power and Political Morality: Essays for Felix Oppenheim
The subjectivity of moral judgements: A defence
After criticizing some recent writings typical of the different forms of ethical objectivism, that is, intuitionism, naturalism (including the ideal observation theory and supervenience), and rationalism, I gave my reasons for siding with ethical subjectivism. I hope to demonstrate that this alternative meta‐ethical theory does not consider moral judgements meaningless nor arbitrary, and that it is compatible with empiricism in science and with s…
Social Freedom and its Parameters
I shall first propose definitions of social freedom (to be distinguished from other concepts of freedom) which could be acceptable regardless of one's moral point of view. The second part examines the possibility of measuring various parameters of social unfreedom and freedom. Finally, I shall inquire into the possibility of aggregating these various magnitudes into a measure of an agent's net total freedom
National Interest, Rationality, and Morality
RECENT ATTACKS FROM A moral point of view against the realist approach to international relations make it necessary to elucidate the relationships between national interest, rational choice, and ethical principle. I hope thereby to show that pursuing the national interest is, for any government, a practically unavoidable goal (in a sense to be clarified), and that adopting ends incompatible with it is, therefore, irrational. It follows that there…
'Constraints on Freedom' as a Descriptive Concept
"Fallacies & Dangers of "Inconsequence
Choosing an interpretation of Henry Kariel's position that is not only legitimate but quite plausible, and finding him to be, at once, provocative and vulnerable, Felix Oppenheim offers the following rejoinder
Political concepts, a reconstruction
Power: One More Visit: A Response to Terence Ball
Power' Revisited
Equality, Groups, and Quotas
Equality is among those basic political concepts which, in ordinary usage, function simultaneously in a descriptive and a normative way. But even those who question the separability between facts and values might consider it desirable if political scientists could agree as to whether graduated income taxes or preferential hiring are egalitarian, and to what degree, even if they disagreed as to the fairness of such policies. It is the possibility …
II. Self-Interest and Public Interest
Descriptive Terms of Political Discourse: A Rejoinder to Virginia Held
Facts” and “Values” in Politics: Are They Separable
Equality in Political Philosophy
Dimensions of Freedom: An Analysis
Journal Article Book Reviews Get access Dimensions of Freedom : An analysis. By Felix E. Oppenheim. (New York : St. Martin’s Press, 1961. London : Macmillan, 1962. Pp. 242. Price 40s). D. D. Raphael D. D. Raphael Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar The Philosophical Quarterly, Volume 14, Issue 55, April 1964, Pages 182–183, https://doi.org/10.2307/2955563 Published: 01 April 1964
Rationalism and Liberalism
ARE there any connections between epistemological theories and JTXpolitical doctrines? This question is of more than theoretical interest. If such links exist, it follows that concrete political events are influenced, not only directly by political ideologies, but also, at least indirectly, by abstract philosophical beliefs
Dimensions of Freedom: An Analysis
Dimensions of Freedom: An Analysis
Instrumental Values and Ultimate Goals
An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content
The Game Bag
Comment: A philosopher clarifies some usages in the Jacob-Flink work on Values and Decisions, and a lawyer-psychologist offers his experience to illuminate Touster's article on Law and Psychology
Degrees of Power and Freedom
Basic concepts in political science have been used in a purely classificatory way ever since Aristotle established the sixfold classification of the forms of government: monarchy, aristocracy, constitutional government, and their respective "perversions": tyranny, oligarchy, democracy. Similarly, a modern writer distinguishes among four types of political systems: the Anglo-American, the Continental European, the pre-industrial (or partially indu…
An Analysis of Political Control: Actual and Potential
Non-Cognitivist Rebuttal
1. “ Facts .” Jaffa holds value non-cognitivism (NC) to imply both “complete credulity concerning ‘facts’” and “total skepticism” about facts. One and the same epistemological theory can hardly be akin to naive realism as well as to skepticism. NC implies neither. As an outgrowth of modern empiricism, NC considers concepts such as “man,” “chair,” “atom” as constructs, and statements such as “man is a political animal,” “this is a chair” as hypoth…
Modern Political Parties: Approaches to Comparative Politics
Power' Revisited
Facts” and “Values” in Politics: Are They Separable
II. Self-Interest and Public Interest
Social Freedom and its Parameters
I shall first propose definitions of social freedom (to be distinguished from other concepts of freedom) which could be acceptable regardless of one's moral point of view. The second part examines the possibility of measuring various parameters of social unfreedom and freedom. Finally, I shall inquire into the possibility of aggregating these various magnitudes into a measure of an agent's net total freedom
National Interest, Rationality, and Morality
RECENT ATTACKS FROM A moral point of view against the realist approach to international relations make it necessary to elucidate the relationships between national interest, rational choice, and ethical principle. I hope thereby to show that pursuing the national interest is, for any government, a practically unavoidable goal (in a sense to be clarified), and that adopting ends incompatible with it is, therefore, irrational. It follows that there…
Degrees of Power and Freedom
Basic concepts in political science have been used in a purely classificatory way ever since Aristotle established the sixfold classification of the forms of government: monarchy, aristocracy, constitutional government, and their respective "perversions": tyranny, oligarchy, democracy. Similarly, a modern writer distinguishes among four types of political systems: the Anglo-American, the Continental European, the pre-industrial (or partially indu…
The Natural Law Thesis: Affirmation or Denial
The age old contest between the proponents of natural law and their opponents continues unabated, and a solution does not seem in sight. The reason, it seems to me, is simply that representatives of either side often quite literally do not know what they themselves, as well as their opponents, are talking about. Instead of arguing for their respective theories and against those of their antagonists, they knock down straw men. And since there are …
Relativism, Absolutism, and Democracy
An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content
Outline of a Logical Analysis of Law
This study purports to demonstrate the possibility of applying logical analysis in the field of jurisprudence, and the usefulness of this method for exhibiting some essential features of the law. logical analysis applies to language systems. To carry out the logical analysis of a language, is to construct a simplified model language “in close connection with” the given language, and to study the conditions of validity of the sentences of this mod…
Power: One More Visit: A Response to Terence Ball
Rationalism and Liberalism
ARE there any connections between epistemological theories and JTXpolitical doctrines? This question is of more than theoretical interest. If such links exist, it follows that concrete political events are influenced, not only directly by political ideologies, but also, at least indirectly, by abstract philosophical beliefs
An Analysis of Political Control: Actual and Potential
Interpersonal Freedom and Freedom of Action
When speaking of freedom, La Bruyère's word comes to mind-that everything has been said and that we come too late to add anything. Yet an analysis of the concept of freedom may be warranted for the very reason that it is being used by everyone to refer to whatever he considers valuable, from obedience to law (positive or natural) to autonomy and economic abundance. I believe that it is possible to assign to "freedom" in its different aspects mean…
Outline of a Logical Analysis of Law
This study purports to demonstrate the possibility of applying logical analysis in the field of jurisprudence, and the usefulness of this method for exhibiting some essential features of the law. logical analysis applies to language systems. To carry out the logical analysis of a language, is to construct a simplified model language “in close connection with” the given language, and to study the conditions of validity of the sentences of this mod…
The Prospects of Italian Democracy
Good Will—Our Investment in Europe
Essay| March 01 1948 Good Will—Our Investment in Europe Felix Oppenheim Felix Oppenheim Assistant Professor of Political Science, the University of Delaware 1 Cf. Felix Oppenheim, “The Future of Italian Democracy,” The Public Opinion Quarterly. Winter 1947-48 Issue (Vol. 11, No. 4), p. 572. Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Current History (1947) 14 (79): 141–145. https://doi.org/10.1525/curh.1948.14.79.141…
Belgian Political Parties Since Liberation
The party structure in Belgium has always reflected not merely the graduation of opinions from the extreme right to the extreme left, but also the linguistic and religious differences of a nation divided into French and Flemish speaking people, and into Catholic believers and freethinkers. The latter distinction still remains the most important one. Thus, the parties continue, as during the nineteenth century, to be classified into “right” and “l…
Relativism, Absolutism, and Democracy
An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content
In Defense of Relativism
T O PLEAD FOR relativism in our time is to attempt to swim against the current. To subdivide the task, I shall start by pointing out the difference between relativism and its contrary, absolutism. I shall then give briefly my reasons for holding absolutism to be a mistaken epistemological theory, and relativism to be valid. Thirdly, I shall defend relativism against the accusation that it tends to undermine democratic values. Finally, I shall arg…
In Defense of Relativism
Control and Unfreedom
1. Introduction. Now that operationalism has evolved from a battle cry of a militant minority to a widely accepted maxim of scientific method, and has in the process lost much of its initial intransigeance, it seems time to devote more attention to the application of operational analysis to the social sciences. This paper attempts to explicate some basic concepts in the behavioral sciences, both individual and social, namely, ‘control’ and ‘unfre…
Interpersonal Freedom and Freedom of Action
When speaking of freedom, La Bruyère's word comes to mind-that everything has been said and that we come too late to add anything. Yet an analysis of the concept of freedom may be warranted for the very reason that it is being used by everyone to refer to whatever he considers valuable, from obedience to law (positive or natural) to autonomy and economic abundance. I believe that it is possible to assign to "freedom" in its different aspects mean…
Modern Political Parties: Approaches to Comparative Politics
Non-Cognitivist Rebuttal
1. “ Facts .” Jaffa holds value non-cognitivism (NC) to imply both “complete credulity concerning ‘facts’” and “total skepticism” about facts. One and the same epistemological theory can hardly be akin to naive realism as well as to skepticism. NC implies neither. As an outgrowth of modern empiricism, NC considers concepts such as “man,” “chair,” “atom” as constructs, and statements such as “man is a political animal,” “this is a chair” as hypoth…
The Natural Law Thesis: Affirmation or Denial
The age old contest between the proponents of natural law and their opponents continues unabated, and a solution does not seem in sight. The reason, it seems to me, is simply that representatives of either side often quite literally do not know what they themselves, as well as their opponents, are talking about. Instead of arguing for their respective theories and against those of their antagonists, they knock down straw men. And since there are …
An Analysis of Political Control: Actual and Potential
Degrees of Power and Freedom
Basic concepts in political science have been used in a purely classificatory way ever since Aristotle established the sixfold classification of the forms of government: monarchy, aristocracy, constitutional government, and their respective "perversions": tyranny, oligarchy, democracy. Similarly, a modern writer distinguishes among four types of political systems: the Anglo-American, the Continental European, the pre-industrial (or partially indu…
Dimensions of Freedom: An Analysis
Instrumental Values and Ultimate Goals
An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content
The Game Bag
Comment: A philosopher clarifies some usages in the Jacob-Flink work on Values and Decisions, and a lawyer-psychologist offers his experience to illuminate Touster's article on Law and Psychology
Dimensions of Freedom: An Analysis
Dimensions of Freedom: An Analysis
Journal Article Book Reviews Get access Dimensions of Freedom : An analysis. By Felix E. Oppenheim. (New York : St. Martin’s Press, 1961. London : Macmillan, 1962. Pp. 242. Price 40s). D. D. Raphael D. D. Raphael Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar The Philosophical Quarterly, Volume 14, Issue 55, April 1964, Pages 182–183, https://doi.org/10.2307/2955563 Published: 01 April 1964
Rationalism and Liberalism
ARE there any connections between epistemological theories and JTXpolitical doctrines? This question is of more than theoretical interest. If such links exist, it follows that concrete political events are influenced, not only directly by political ideologies, but also, at least indirectly, by abstract philosophical beliefs
Equality in Political Philosophy
Descriptive Terms of Political Discourse: A Rejoinder to Virginia Held
Facts” and “Values” in Politics: Are They Separable
II. Self-Interest and Public Interest
Equality, Groups, and Quotas
Equality is among those basic political concepts which, in ordinary usage, function simultaneously in a descriptive and a normative way. But even those who question the separability between facts and values might consider it desirable if political scientists could agree as to whether graduated income taxes or preferential hiring are egalitarian, and to what degree, even if they disagreed as to the fairness of such policies. It is the possibility …
Law (27 works) · Political science (26 works) · Philosophy (25 works) · Epistemology (23 works) · Sociology (20 works) · Politics (19 works) · Law (18 works) · Philosophy (15 works) · Economics (10 works) · Law and economics (10 works)