The Political Ontology of Rawls’ Model of Disobedience: Depoliticization Through Moralization
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Ervin Kondakciu
Abstract
The contribution examines Rawls’ model of disobedient politics from the perspective of political ontology. The phenomenology of disobedience yields that it is a form of collective action with high potential costs. Thus, every model of disobedient politics must provide solutions to this particular collective action problem. In Rawls’s case such solutions must be found in his conception of personhood. Rawls views persons as entities with two fundamental capacities: rationality and reasonableness. I argue that Rawls’s political ontological assumptions enable a form of disobedient collective action that I term moral disobedience. However, I maintain that there is a downside: Rawls’s ontology depoliticizes disobedient politics by overlooking the transformative and critical nature of disobedience in challenging established social practices and institutions. This, I contend, narrows the scope of disobedient politics and does not fully address the needs of social movements advocating for broader changes.
Abstract
The contribution examines Rawls’ model of disobedient politics from the perspective of political ontology. The phenomenology of disobedience yields that it is a form of collective action with high potential costs. Thus, every model of disobedient politics must provide solutions to this particular collective action problem. In Rawls’s case such solutions must be found in his conception of personhood. Rawls views persons as entities with two fundamental capacities: rationality and reasonableness. I argue that Rawls’s political ontological assumptions enable a form of disobedient collective action that I term moral disobedience. However, I maintain that there is a downside: Rawls’s ontology depoliticizes disobedient politics by overlooking the transformative and critical nature of disobedience in challenging established social practices and institutions. This, I contend, narrows the scope of disobedient politics and does not fully address the needs of social movements advocating for broader changes.
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- Introduction: From Social Movements to Philosophy (and Back Again) 1
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Section 1: At the Intersection Between Academia and Social Movements
- Critical Social Ontology and Social Movements 13
- Social Movements and Epistemic Injustice 35
- Feminist Research as a Response to Political and Epistemic Violences 45
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Section 2: Contemporary Approaches to the Philosophy of Social Movements
-
Social Ontology and Social Movements
- Toward a Liberatory Metaphysics of Sexuality 59
- The Political Ontology of Rawls’ Model of Disobedience: Depoliticization Through Moralization 77
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Social Movements and Epistemology
- How Social Movements Bear Collective Duties 103
- How Politics Shapes the Value of Perceptual Experience: From Epistemic to Prudential Value 121
- The Standpoint of the Oppressed Must Be Conquered by the Oppressed Class Itself: Standpoint Epistemology and Epistemic Autonomy 143
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Section 3: How Specific Social Movements Inform Philosophy
- Climate Social Movements and the Politics of Leadership 169
- Viral Social Movements, State(s) of Emergency, and the Insurgent Public Realm: A Philosophical Analysis of China’s 2020 – 2022 Social Movements 187
- Anchoring Disablement: Social Definitions and Social Ontology in Britain’s Disabled People’s Movement 207
- European Health Social Movements: An Introduction 229
- List of Contributors 251
- Index 253
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- Introduction: From Social Movements to Philosophy (and Back Again) 1
-
Section 1: At the Intersection Between Academia and Social Movements
- Critical Social Ontology and Social Movements 13
- Social Movements and Epistemic Injustice 35
- Feminist Research as a Response to Political and Epistemic Violences 45
-
Section 2: Contemporary Approaches to the Philosophy of Social Movements
-
Social Ontology and Social Movements
- Toward a Liberatory Metaphysics of Sexuality 59
- The Political Ontology of Rawls’ Model of Disobedience: Depoliticization Through Moralization 77
-
Social Movements and Epistemology
- How Social Movements Bear Collective Duties 103
- How Politics Shapes the Value of Perceptual Experience: From Epistemic to Prudential Value 121
- The Standpoint of the Oppressed Must Be Conquered by the Oppressed Class Itself: Standpoint Epistemology and Epistemic Autonomy 143
-
Section 3: How Specific Social Movements Inform Philosophy
- Climate Social Movements and the Politics of Leadership 169
- Viral Social Movements, State(s) of Emergency, and the Insurgent Public Realm: A Philosophical Analysis of China’s 2020 – 2022 Social Movements 187
- Anchoring Disablement: Social Definitions and Social Ontology in Britain’s Disabled People’s Movement 207
- European Health Social Movements: An Introduction 229
- List of Contributors 251
- Index 253