Political liberalism and the value of autonomy

Meyer, Kirsten (October 2011): Political liberalism and the value of autonomy. XXII. Deutscher Kongress für Philosophie, 11. - 15. September 2011, München.

Abstract

Is there a conflict between the claim that the state ought not to promote any values and the idea that it ought to encourage autonomy? Colburn (2010) denies such a conflict. In this paper, I will argue that Colburn’s considerations fail to dissolve the dissent between political liberalism and an autonomy-minded perfectionism. In order to show this, I will focus on the question of whether or not the state may be committed to the value of autonomy in the educational system.

• Item Type: Conference or Workshop Item (Speech)
• Keywords: liberalism, perfectionism, autonomy
• Faculties: Philosophy, Philosophy of Science and Religious Science > XXII. German Congress of Philosophy; Philosophy, Philosophy of Science and Religious Science > XXII. German Congress of Philosophy > Political Philosophy
• Subjects: 100 Philosophy and Psychology > 170 Ethics
• Language: English

References

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Galston, W. 1995. Two Concepts of Liberalism. Ethics 105: 516–34.

Hurka, T. 1993. Perfectionism. New York: Oxford University Press.

Macedo, S. 1995. Liberal Civic Education and Religious Fundamentalism: The Case of God v. John Rawls? Ethics 105: 468-496.

Rawls, J. 1993. Political Liberalism. New York: Columbia University Press.

Raz, J. 1986. The Morality of Freedom. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

Wall, S. 1998. Liberalism, Perfectionism and Restraint. New York: Cambridge University Press.