Thomas Nagel on human rights and moral knowledge

In "London Review of Books" (June 3, 2021), Thomas Nagel revisits the old debate about consequentialist vs. deontological theories of morality:

"Types of Intuition. Thomas Nagel on human rights and moral knowledge"

"In some sense the moral point of view requires putting oneself in everyone else’s shoes and taking the separate point of view of each individual into account in deciding what to do. The question is: how?"

“The question I am asking is whether, looking at ourselves from outside, we should come to view our attachment to rights and deontology as an unnecessarily cluttered moral outlook.” 

Thomas M. Scanlon lecture on Tolerance

 Thomas M. Scanlon (Harvard) delivered the 2021 Knox Lecture on May 21, 2021:

"Further Reflections on Tolerance and its Difficulty" (video)

The lecture was based on Scanlon's paper "Further Reflections on Tolerance and Its Difficulty" (PDF, 2019),

Rainer Forst on Solidarity

* A new paper by Rainer Forst:

"Solidarity: Concept, Conceptions, and Contexts" (PDF, 2021)

Abstract:

The purpose of this chapter is to analyze the concept of solidarity and distinguish various conceptions of solidarity that differ depending on social and normative contexts. The analysis helps to clarify both the different meanings of the term “solidarity” (and the different normative conceptions) and to avoid some of its pitfalls. The latter stem from making false connections between these conceptions, such as the assumption that solidarity must always be of an ethical or nationalist nature, that it is categorially different from justice or is always supererogatory. Solidarity as a virtue comes in many forms and with many justifications and grounds, and one must not reduce this plurality, but instead describe it properly. As already indicated, this opens up the possibility of conflicts between these contexts and dimensions of solidarity. The (as argued) “normatively dependent” concept of solidarity does not tell us to which form we ought to accord priority.

* Discussion: "Zukunft der Solidarität" (Video, May 12, 2021)

Rainer Forst (Frankfurt), Nicole Deitelhoff (Leipzig), Stefanie Dimmeler (Frankfurt), Klaus Günther (Frankfurt), & Jan Pieter Krahnen (Leipzig).

* "Dialektik der Solidarität" (Frankfurter Rundschau, May 28, 2021)

A Theory of Justice at Fifty: An Anniversary Conference

The University of Notre Dame is hosting a conference in September marking the 50th anniversary of the publication of John Rawls's "A Theory of Justice":

"A Theory of Justice at Fifty"  

Organized by Paul Weithman (University of Notre Dame)

Registration is now open!

Conference Schedule

Day 1, September 24

* Session 1: Method in Political Philosophy

Aaron James (UC, Irvine) and Laura Valentini (KCL/Munich)

* Session 2: Rawls, Race and Non-Ideal Theory

Charles Mills (CUNY), Tommie Shelby (Harvard), Henry Richardson (Georgetown)

* Session 3: Rawls and Equality

Elizabeth Anderson (Michigan) and Michael Otsuka (LSE & Rutgers) 

* Session 4: Rawls and Public Reason Liberalism

Jonathan Quong (USC), Rainer Forst (Frankfurt), Kevin Vallier (Bowling Green)

Day 2, September 25

* Session 5: Rawls and the History of Political Philosophy

Daniel Brudney (Chicago), Sharon Lloyd (USC), Peter DeMarneffe (Arizona State)

* Session 6: Rawls and Moral Philosophy

Stephen Darwall (Yale) and Susan Neiman (Berlin)

* Session 7: Rawls and Democracy

Joshua Cohen (Berkeley & Apple) and David Estlund (Brown Univeristy)

* Session 8: A Theory of Justice vs. Political Liberalism

Samuel Scheffler (NYU) and Japa Pallikkathayil (Pittsburgh)

* Closing Panel: "What Can We Hope?"

Chair: Paul Weithman (Notre Dame); Speakers: Samuel Freeman (Penn), Erin Kelly (Tufts), Leif Wenar (Stanford)

See also my blog posts:

* John Rawls's lectures on Modern Political Philosophy (audio recordings)

* John Rawls's lectures on John Stuart Mill (audio recordings)

* John Rawls. Debating the Major Questions

* John Rawls at 100.

Neues Buch: Theologische Reaktionen auf "Auch eine Geschichte der Philosophie"

Wissen und Glauben. Theologische Reaktionen auf das Werk von Jürgen Habermas "Auch eine Geschichte der Philosophie"

Hrsg. von Franz Gruber & Markus Knapp

(Freiburg: Verlag Herder, 2021)

254 Seiten

Kurzbeschreibung

In seinem großen Spätwerk "Auch eine Geschichte der Philosophie" rekonstruiert Jürgen Habermas den Diskurs über Glauben und Wissen, aus dem nicht zuletzt die säkulare Welt resultiert. Ob und wie dieser Diskurs weitergehen kann, um die Moderne vor Entgleisungen zu bewahren, ist allerdings fraglich. Der Band setzt sich aus theologischer Perspektive kritisch und nach vorne gerichtet mit dem Werk auseinander. In einem eigenen Text antwortet Jürgen Habermas auf die Beiträge.

Inhalt 

Franz Gruber & Markus Knapp - "Einführung"

Markus Knapp - "Schwacher Naturalismus und Transzendenz. Theologische Überlegungen zu Jürgen Habermas' Rekonstruktion des Diskurses über Grauben und Wissen", 

Martin Breul - "Rede vom Handeln Gottes im nachmetaphysischen Denken, oder: Lässt sich mit Habermas Theologie treiben?"

Franz Gruber - "Problemanzeigen für eine Systematische Theologie im Anschluss an Jürgen Habermas' Befund der Trennung von Glauben und Wissen"

Martin Dürnberger - "Vernünftige Freiheit, vernünftiger Glaube. Über Glaubensbegriffe und Lernprozesse"

Hans-Joachim Höhn - "Religion - Ritus - Transzendenz. Lebensdienliche Illusionen?"

Saskia Wendel - "Die Unausdenkbarkeit der Verzweiflung. Theologische Anknüpfung an und Unterscheidung von Habermas' nachmetaphyscher Interpretation Kantischer Metaphysik"

Matthias Lutz-Bachmann - "Hoffnung aus Vernunft. Kants Hoffnung auf ein "ethisches Gemeinwesen"

Magnus Striet - "Verzweiflungsanalysen und der opake Kern der Religion. Jürgen Habermas liest Søren Kierkegaard"

Jürgen Habermas - "Versuch einer Replik"

Habermas turns down Sheikh Zayed Book Award

In a statement published in "Der Spiegel Online" Jürgen Habermas turns down the Sheikh Zayed Book Award: "The Cultural Personality of the Year" for 2021 (225.000 Euro).

"I declared my willingness to accept this year's Sheikh Zayed Book Award. That was a wrong decision, which I correct hereby. I didn't sufficiently make clear to myself the very close connection of the institution, which awards these prizes in Abu Dhabi, with the existing political system there."

Comments:

* Andreas Fanizadh - “Eine überfällige Kontroverse”

* Moritz Baumstieger - "Jürgen Habermas und die Emirate: Sehr enttäuscht"

* Dietmar Pieper - "Der 91-Jährige, der beweglich blieb und Nein sagte"

* Reinhard Schulze - "Eine Lanze für den Diskurs"

* Stefan Weidner - "Abu Dhabi möchte sich auf die Aufklärung berufen“

* Christian Weisflog - "Habermas ist doch kein nützlicher Idiot"

* "Reaktionen auf Habermas' Verzicht auf Sheikh Zayed Book Award"

Among the previous award winners are: Richard van Leeuwen (NL), Philip Kennedy (UK), Jaroslav & Suzanne Stetkevych (USA), Dag Nikolaus Hasse (DE), David Wirmer (DE), Sugita Hideaki (JAP), Pedro Martinez Montavez (ES), and Denys Johnson-Davies (CAN).

Juergen Boos, President of the Frankfurt Book Fair, is member of the scientific commitee.

Symposium II on "Auch eine Geschichte der Philosophie"

The new issue of "Constellations" (vol. 28, no. 1 ) features articles on Jürgen Habermas' "Auch eine Geschichte der Philosophie" (Suhrkamp Verlag, 2019):

Jürgen Habermas - "An Author's Retrospective View" [first page] (Originally published in "Deutsche Zeitschrift für Philosophie", vol. 69, no. 2 (2021), pp. 231-240.)

Thomas McCarthy - "On the Interest of Practical Reason in Hope"

Rainer Forst - "The Autonomy of Autonomy: On Jürgen Habermas's "Auch eine Geschichte der Philosophie"" [open access]

Cristina Lafont - "Remarks of a Young Habermasian on Jürgen Habermas’ "Also a History of Philosophy""

Seyla Benhabib - "Habermas's new "Phenomenology of Spirit": Two Centuries After Hegel

Peter E. Gordon - "Is There an Asymmetry Problem in the Genealogy of Postmetaphysical Reason?"

Maeve Cooke - "Existentially Lived Truth or Communicative Reason? Habermas’ Critique of Kierkegaard"

Eduardo Mendieta - "Enlightened Religion: The Alphabetization of Faith and the Linguistification of Freedom"

Jürgen Habermas - "Reply" [first page]