Quick Thoughts on Raymond Geuss
So, let’s say you’re a political philosopher who wants to crticize the “neo-Kantian” idealistic theorizing of renonwned figures like John Rawls and Robert Nozick. One complaint you get is that you don’t have a model for other types of theorizing that aren’t “idealistic” and do a better job at taking into account the nature of power and of the real existing society that philosophers are in. After all, isn’t the job of a political philosopher to figure out what is just/virtuous/provides the most freedom et and then to hold that image up to a current society so as to better diagnose its ills? Or to provide a guideline or framework for citizens and policymakers in making their own polity more just? Well, those were two good points, but there are some political philosophers who take into account power and the real conditions of their society, and unlike those Harvard eggheads, they effected real change in their societies. OK, who is this great thinker? Lenin!
An oversimplification, obviously, but it goes to show why having a solid conception of justice is probably a good idea before you dive into improving your society. Just sayin’
Check out the rest of Adam Kirsch’s review of Raymond Geuss’s Philosophy and Real Politics. For more Geuss check out this discussion on Leiter Reports, and here’s the intro to his book.
