Public Reason and Moral Authoritarianism
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 5351409 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Steven Wall (0000-0002-6681-2808, Philosophy, University of Arizona, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2013 |
| Volume | 63 |
| Issue | 250 |
| Pages | 160-169 |
| Publication date | 2013-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The Philosophical Quarterly (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0031-8094 • E-ISSN: 1467-9213 |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (OUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1111/j.1467-9213.2003 |
| OpenAlex | W1997189333 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 16 |
In The Order of Public Reasons1, Gerald Gaus presents an important new statement of public reason liberalism, one that grounds the demands of public reason in the aspiration to avoid moral authoritarianism in social and political life.2 Public reason liberalism is distinguished from other political theories by its commitment to a publicity condition3 on the justified imposition of the demands of political morality. An account of public reason liberalism must characterise the publicity condition, specify the conditions under which it can be satisfied, and identify a rationale for insisting upon it. This critical notice argues that Gaus’ characterisation of the publicity condition and his specification of the conditions under which it can be satisfied do not cohere well with the rationale he identifies for it. That rationale, as mentioned, is the aspiration to avoid moral authoritarianism.4 My critique turns on the issue of whether the publicity condition must satisfy its own strictures. The claim that it must do so is the reflexivity requirement (RR). I argue that, given the rationale Gaus identifies for accepting the publicity condition, he should accept this requirement. I then explain how accepting RR generates trouble for his account of public reason liberalism.5 Along the way, I aim to bring out how quixotic the quest to avoid moral authoritarianism in politics is, at least for those who live in the modern world
Authoritarianism · Classical liberalism · Democracy · Law and economics · Liberalism · Morality · Notice · Political science · Politics · Public reason · Publicity · Sociology · Law · Philosophical Ethics and Theory · Political Philosophy and Ethics · Seventeenth-Century Political and Philosophical Thought
Social Choice and Public Reason
Towards Confucian Republicanism
Against Public Reason
Naturalism and Moral Conventionalism
Rescuing Public Justification from Public Reason Liberalism
Convergence liberalism and the problem of disagreement concerning public justification
The Disorder of Public Reason
Self-defeat and the foundations of public reason
Freedom, Equality, and Justifiability to All
The welfare-convergence dilemma
Against Convergence Liberalism
Political morality and constitutional settlements
Authority and Expertise
Does political community require public reason? On Lister’s defence of political liberalism
Does Convergence Liberalism Risk Anarchy
Contributing to Public Deliberation by Religious Behavior
| Unique citing works | 16 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1,23 |
| Citation span | 2013 - 2026 (14) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 15 |