Justification and Critique (eBook)

Towards a Critical Theory of Politics

Rainer Forst (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2014 | 1. Auflage
240 Seiten
John Wiley & Sons (Verlag)
978-0-7456-9478-8 (ISBN)

Infos

Rainer Forst develops a critical theory capable of deciphering the
deficits and potentials inherent in contemporary political reality.
This calls for a perspective which is immanent to social and
political practices and at the same time transcends them. Forst
regards society as a whole as an 'order of
justification' comprising complexes of different norms
referring to institutions and corresponding practices of
justification. The task of a 'critique of relations of
justification', therefore, is to analyse such legitimations
with regard to their validity and genesis and to explore the social
and political asymmetries leading to inequalities in the
'justification power' which enables persons or groups
to contest given justifications and to create new ones.

Starting from the concept of justification as a basic social
practice, Forst develops a theory of political and social justice,
human rights and democracy, as well as of power and of critique
itself. In so doing, he engages in a critique of a number of
contemporary approaches in political philosophy and critical
theory. Finally, he also addresses the question of the utopian
horizon of social criticism.

Autor

Rainer Forst is Professor of Political Theory and Philosophy at the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main, and director of the prestigious 'Cluster of Excellence' programme funded by the German Research Foundation.

Inhalt

Sources

Preface

Introduction: On the Idea of a Critique of Relations of Justification

I. Radical Justice

1 Two Pictures of Justice

2 The Justification of Human Rights and the Basic Right to Justification: A Reflexive Approach

3 The Normative Order of Justice and Peace

II. Justification, Recognition and Critique

4 The Ground of Critique: On the Concept of Human Dignity in Social Orders of Justification

5 First Things First: Redistribution, Recognition and Justification

6 'To Tolerate Means to Insult': Toleration, Recognition and Emancipation

III. Beyond Justice

7 The Injustice of Justice: Normative Dialectics According to Ibsen, Cavell and Adorno

8 Republicanism of Fear and of Redemption: On the Topicality of Hannah Arendt's Political Theory

9 Utopia and Irony: On the Normativity of a Political Philosophy of 'No-where'

Bibliography

Index

Rezensionen

"In his ambitious masterpiece, Toleration in Conflict,
Rainer Forst laid the groundwork for an innovative concept, the
right to justification. Here, he has developed this prolific idea
further in a systematic manner, establishing a compelling and
original political theory. Forst, a brilliant scholar, deserves his
reputation as one of the leading political philosophers of his
generation."

Jurgen Habermas

"In this inspiring book, Rainer Forst covers a wide range of
important problems in contemporary moral and political philosophy,
including the relation between recognition and distribution, the
normative foundations of toleration and human rights, and the best
way to understand human dignity. His ambition is to resolve these
problems in a unified way by reflecting on the conditions under
which persons stand in relations of reciprocal and general
justification to one another. Elegant and synoptic, this work
exemplifies and advances the exciting confluence between Anglophone
and German political philosophy."

Thomas Pogge, Yale University

"Rainer Forst is one of the most penetrating social and political
theorists writing today. In these essays, he further elaborates his
theory of 'reflexive justification' in relation to questions of
just rule, legitimation, and domination. The essays sparkle with
insight and clarity."

Seyla Benhabib, Yale University

"Justification and Critique is a valuable contribution to the political-theory literature emerging at the intersection of Anglophone and German thought."
Political Studies Review

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 15.10.2014
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Geisteswissenschaften ► Geschichte ► Allgemeines / Lexika
• Themenwelt: Sozialwissenschaften ► Politik / Verwaltung ► Politische Theorie
• Schlagworte: Geschichte • Historical Methods & Historiography • History • Methoden der Geschichtsforschung u. Geschichtsschreibung
• ISBN-10: 0-7456-9478-0 / 0745694780
• ISBN-13: 978-0-7456-9478-8 / 9780745694788