Description
Oxford Liberalism without Perfection 2020 Edition by Jonathan Quong
A growing number of political philosophers favour a view called liberal perfectionism. According to this view, liberal political morality is characterised by a commitment to helping individuals lead autonomous lives and making other valuable choices. In this book Jonathan Quong rejects this widely held view and offers an alternative account of liberal political morality. Quong argues that the liberal state should not be engaged in determining what constitutes a_x000D_valuable or worthwhile life nor trying to make sure that individuals live up to this ideal. Instead, it should remain neutral on the issue of the good life, and restrict itself to establishing the fair terms within which individuals can pursue their own beliefs about what gives value to their lives. The_x000D_book thus defends a position known as political liberalism. _x000D__x000D_In the first part of the book Quong subjects the liberal perfectionist position to critical scrutiny, advancing three major objections that raise serious doubts about the liberal perfectionist position with regard to autonomy, paternalism, and political legitimacy. In the second part of the book Quong presents and defends a distinctive version of political liberalism. In particular, Quong clarifies and develops political liberalism's central thesis: that political principles, in order to be_x000D_legitimate, must be publicly justifiable to reasonable people. Drawing on the work of John Rawls, Quong offers his own interpretation of this idea, and rebuts some of the main objections that have been pressed against it. In doing so, Quong provides novel arguments regarding the nature of an overlapping_x000D_consensus, the structure of political justification, the idea of public reason, and the status of unreasonable persons._x000D_ Table of Contents :- _x000D_
Acknowledgements_x000D_
Introduction_x000D_
1: What Kind of Liberalism?_x000D_
2: The Argument from Autonomy_x000D_
3: Paternalism and Perfectionism_x000D_
4: Justification and Legitimacy_x000D_
5: A Question Internal to Liberal Theory_x000D_
6: The Role of an Overlapping Consensus_x000D_
7: Disagreement and Asymmetry_x000D_
8: Truth and Scepticism_x000D_
9: The Scope and Structure of Public Reason_x000D_
10: Unreasonable Citizens_x000D_
Conclusion_x000D_
Bibliography_x000D_