If this is conceded then the central problem of political obligation becomes the question. Pdf on jul 30, 2018, rex martin and others published political obligation find, read and cite all the research you need on researchgate. This demand points the way toward a number of important problems for political research, many of which remain unsolved primarily because of the segregation of womens studies from the dominant concerns of political science. Hume, 1985 whatever did legitimize government eventually seemed not to depend on the governments consensual pedigree. To be sure, he subscribes to the view that some unjust laws are to be put up with in the face of the consequences of disobedience for the common good.
All plausible analyses of political legitimacy either build in the concept of political obligation, or else incorporate claims that require some account of political obligation. The authority of the state implies that those who exercise it have the right of action to issue orders and the right of recipience to have those orders obeyed, and that, corresponding to the second right, the citizens have a duty or obligation to obey the orders. Notwithstanding the valuable contribution his book makes to the philosophical debate, i argue that dagger does not defeat longstanding objections faced by fair playbased justifications of the duty to obey the law and of state punishment. This is not an example of the work produced by our essay writing service. John simmons, joseph raz and ronald dworkin, political obligation. Notice that the argument i just sketched does not presuppose the existence of political authority. Political obligations, then, pertain to what the subjects of state authority are morally required to do. The debate concerning political obligation has had a prominent place in political philosophy. Lectures on the principles of political obligation t.
I can see two main problems with this overall approach. Other challenges concern the practical matters of whether and to what extent. I first look at the idea that a promising strategy in dealing with the problem of political obligation is to show that the treatment of ordinary. Others, however, continue to believe that there is a solution to what is commonly called the problem of political obligation, and they are. A theory of political obligation paperback margaret.
The obligations in question are not moral requirements derived from general moral principles. An examination of the right to coerce and the duty to obey. Political authority pertains to what the state may do to us. Social contract theory and the problems of contract vitiation. Rortys political thought is a way of combining a rorty on democracy, irony, and moral education evinces a conception of democracy grounded in the plurality. Many have tried to solve it, and others, more recently, have dismissed it as a pseudoproblem which cannot be solved and need not be posed. Information about the openaccess article moral and political obligation in possessive individualism. Some of these challenges are conceptual, for they require explanations of what a political obligation is and how it differs from other obligations, duties, or responsibilities. Frequently, the terms political obligation and political authority get used interchangeably. Michael huemer, the problem of political authority. Publication date 1979 topics allegiance, democracy, liberalism, political obligation. Political obligation philosophy oxford bibliographies. By political obligation, theorists generally mean a moral requirement to obey the. Phil 116, january 22 and 25, 2010 political obligation.
A critique of michael huemers the problem of political authority danny frederick independent scholar 1. How could a state have the moral authority to promulgate and enforce laws that citizens are thereby obliged to obey. Precisely this last problem, however, shows why the question what is political philosophy. Read this article to learn about the 3 theories of the ground of political obligation. Political obligation, and the site and scope of justice. Social contract theory and the problems of contract vitiation in citizens and. Political obligation and the particularity problem political obligation and the particularity problem markie, p. Political obligation thus refers to the moral duty of citizens to obey the laws of their state. A genuinely original and distinctive theory of political obligation. Notwithstanding the valuable contribution his book makes to the philosophical debate, i argue that dagger does not defeat longstanding objections faced by fair playbased justifications of the duty to obey. Political obligation stanford encyclopedia of philosophy. The purpose of this dissertation is to address the problem of political obligation, a problem that revolves.
Available formats pdf please select a format to send. Chapter 16obligation obligation relationship between. Obligation relationship between legal and moral obligation o problem of political obligation to what extent do legal obligations entail moral obligations. Pdf political obligation, and the site and scope of justice. An examination of the right to coerce and the duty to obey book. The public life of political servants is characterized by other duties and obligations than private life. Conflicts can even arise between a persons public and private duties. Upon this theory the necessity which stands above and apart from the citizen and the governing authority is that of the divine will and ordinance.
To have a political obligation, then, is to have a moral duty to obey the law. Pdf political authority and obligation keith hyams. I have entitled the subject of the course political obligation. The problem of obligation in recent legal and political philosophy. But this should not prevent us from seeing that aristotle does defend the view not only that government is. But they can be distinguished, and the distinction can be. The central point of this paper is to examine whether this difference of duties can be regarded as an. Many have tried to solve it, and others, more recently, have dismissed it as a pseudo problem which cannot be solved and need not be posed. Others have claimed that citizens may have a duty to serve their country and possibly even to fight in its defense. I mean that term to include both the obligation of the subject towards the sovereign, of the citizen towards the state, and the obligations of individuals to each other as enforced by a political superior. Introduction the problem of political obligation is one of the prominent issues of political philosophy.
In either case, political legitimacy is possible only when a state successfully generates in its citizens an obligation to obey the law. The status of mores is ambiguous in hobbes, since they depend to a great extent on conventions and they do not have any direct link to natural law. Oct 15, 2019 richard dagger purports to solve the problem of political obligation and the problem of punishment simultaneously, by employing the principle of fair play. The debate concerning political obligation has had a. Political obligation internet encyclopedia of philosophy. Political authority and political obligation by stephen r.
To avoid this problem, a theory of political authority must argue directly for the existence of the appropriate kind of moral power on the part of the state. Pluralistic models of political obligation philosophica. Fixed content of political obligations wiley online library. This article argues for the valuebased conception of a moral power, which states, very roughly, that one person holds a. The consequentialist explanation of political authority contends that great social. The problem of political obligation when you have an obligation to do something, that obligation is not an absolute moral claim on your actions. Can interdependent reasoning help provide a solution to. Professor huemer, aaron, and trevor tackle problems of political obligation, political legitimacy, and political authority, and explain the differences between each of these terms. Sep 23, 2011 it is perhaps for this reason that other contributors to the political obligation debate have focused on the obligation of obedience as the most pressing of philosophical problems it is without doubt a properly political problem, and seems much less philosophically tractable than those duties just discussed.
Hume, 1985 whatever did legitimize government eventually seemed not to depend on. To a lay man the word means to have a political obligation is to have a moral duty to obey the laws of ones country or state. This book argues for an affirmative answer, construing ones country as a political society of which one is a member, and a political society as a special type of social group. Drawing on a wide range of key works in political philosophy, from thomas hobbes, john locke, david hume and g.
Most people who talk of political obligation, however, have one thing in particular in mind. For green, and for almost everyone else who has pondered it, the problem of political obligation is a moral problem, and the obligation in question is a kind of moral obligation. Social contract theory and the problems of contract vitiation in citizens and constituted authority relationship. A critical introduction is an ideal starting point for those coming to the topic for the first time, as well as being an original and. The eponymous problem of political authority is the question of what the distinction between these cases might be on what basis, if any, might we justify this difference in treatment between the behavior we consider ethically justified from individual actors versus the power we accord to the state. In my next post, ill discuss the value of exploring political obligation.
Political obligation, in its primary sense, refers to a moral requirement to obey the directives of the state the government, law. The problems faced by theories of obligation based on gratitude and tacit consent in fixing the content of obligations are examined, while i show how a theory. Simmons, moral principles and political obligations political obligation a moral requirement to support and comply with the political institutions of ones country of residence. Political obligation and the particularity problem, ratio. In cases where an action or forbearance that is required by law is morally obligatory on independent grounds, political obligation simply gives the citizen an additional reason for acting accordingly. If you have an obligation or duty to do something, that is a very good reason for acting in a particular way, but not a conclusive reason for doing so. In developing his argument, however, he reveals three problems that have bedeviled social contract theory. Some have said, for example, that the citizen has an obligation or duty to vote. Political obligation and the particularity problem markie. Introduction michael huemers the problem of political authority addresses the question of whether the state is, or can be, legitimate. Recent years have witnessed an increasing demand by women for political representation of women. Moral and political obligation in possessive individualism.
A theory of political obligation membership, commitment, and the bonds of society margaret gilbert. It is perhaps for this reason that other contributors to the political obligation debate have focused on the obligation of obedience as the most pressing of philosophical problems it is without doubt a properly political problem, and seems much less philosophically tractable than those duties just discussed. In considering the justification for the state, a nagging question naturally arises. Many theorists assume that to solve the problem of political obligation it is necessary to appeal to one principle or argument which shows that all citizens have. Democracy and political obligation essay 4061 words. The argument of this paper, however, is that for the liberal some sort of twostage argument is inevitable. This essay is an attempt to clarify the problem of political obligation and to see why it is a problem. Mahesh jaiwantrao patil assistant professor political science m. Apart from the obvious prudential and selfinterested reasons to avoid punishment, loss of reputation, and so forth, is there a moral obligation to do what the law requires just because the law requires it.
Edward anderson harris 1989 dissertation, columbia university political obligation and the particularity problem. View enhanced pdf access article on wiley online library html view download pdf for offline viewing. By political obligation, theorists generally mean a moral requirement to obey the law of ones state or ones country. Although it is an ancient and muchdiscussed problem, political obligation continues to pose challenges to political and legal philosophers. Penguin, 1953 for the argument that the problem of political obligation is impossible to solve because there can be no general theory of political obligation. For a defense of the traditional position, see carole pateman, political obligation and conceptual analysis, political studies, 21 june, 1973, 199 218. Where legitimate political authority exists, so too will political obligations. Aristotles philosophy of law does not make sense if read as a plea for, or as taking for granted, unconditional political obligation. Their critics say they confront an insurmountable obstacle in. This should not be surprising if we reflect on what is at stake in how the problem of political. The problem of manners gabriela ratulea transilvania university of brasov abstract usually, the interpreters of hobbes and locke have discussed the two systems of political philosophy from the perspective of liberal political. But if the argument for redistributive taxation presupposes neither political obligation nor political legitimacy, then, contrary to huemers argument, the absence of political authority is quite compatible with the permissibility of. Richard dagger purports to solve the problem of political obligation and the problem of punishment simultaneously, by employing the principle of fair play. Does one have special obligations to support the political institutions of ones own country precisely because it is ones own.
I solve the particularity problem, by developing a version of the political obligation thesis, giving a natural duty argument for it and showing that the particularity problem does not arise for the argument. Pateman examines the notion of political obligation in. A case study of political dissidents and ethnic militia in nigeria dr adeyeye adewole 1 1senior lecturer, department of general and entrepreneurial studies ondo state university of science and technology, okitipupa, ondo state. It degrades authority over persons to the level of property in things. Social contract theory and the problems of contract. Sep 01, 2009 political obligation and the particularity problem political obligation and the particularity problem markie, p. We need not be anarchists to have deep concerns about what sorts of obligations a state may legitimately claim. Gilbert is widely admired for her work in this area. Political obligation 1 introduction political obligation is a broad notion and covers many things. Political philosophers have long been exercised by the problem of political obligation. Moreover it is a theory which has a sole application to monarchy.
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