The Philosophy of History: A Value-pluralist Response
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George Crowder
Abstract
Vittorio Hösle’s evaluation of the Soviet Revolution on the ground of the philosophy of history can be usefully examined from the value-pluralist perspective of Isaiah Berlin. Although Berlinwould agree with most ofHösle’s judgements on the Revolution, he would do so for very different reasons. Most importantly, Berlin would not accept the teleology that lies at the heart of the philosophy of history. For Berlin, the notion of a human telos to be realized at the end of history is a species of moral monism, and so falsified, indeed rendered incoherent, by the deeply pluralist reality of human values. However, Berlin’s pluralism also seems to present a problem for the justification of liberalism, and I consider a range of responses to this difficulty.
© 2017 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin/Boston
Articles in the same Issue
- Titelei
- Contents
- Editorial
- Focus: Evaluating Societies Morally?
- How Should One Evaluate the Soviet Revolution?
- The Philosophy of History: A Value-pluralist Response
- Evaluating Societies Morally: The Case of Development and ‘Developing’ Societies
- Strategies for the Justification of Law
- Legitimacy without Liberalism: A Defense of Max Weber’s Standard of Political Legitimacy
- General Part
- The Secularization Theory—Not Disconfirmed, Yet Rarely Tested
- Paths to Modernity and the Secularization Issue
- What Can we Learn from ‘Postmodern’ Critiques of Education for Autonomy?
- Discussion: Comments on J. Holt, Requirements of Justice and Liberal Socialism
- ‘Property-Owning Democracy’? ‘Liberal Socialism’? Or Just Plain Capitalism?
- Democratic Rights and the Choice of Economic Systems
- The Demands of Democratic Ownership
Articles in the same Issue
- Titelei
- Contents
- Editorial
- Focus: Evaluating Societies Morally?
- How Should One Evaluate the Soviet Revolution?
- The Philosophy of History: A Value-pluralist Response
- Evaluating Societies Morally: The Case of Development and ‘Developing’ Societies
- Strategies for the Justification of Law
- Legitimacy without Liberalism: A Defense of Max Weber’s Standard of Political Legitimacy
- General Part
- The Secularization Theory—Not Disconfirmed, Yet Rarely Tested
- Paths to Modernity and the Secularization Issue
- What Can we Learn from ‘Postmodern’ Critiques of Education for Autonomy?
- Discussion: Comments on J. Holt, Requirements of Justice and Liberal Socialism
- ‘Property-Owning Democracy’? ‘Liberal Socialism’? Or Just Plain Capitalism?
- Democratic Rights and the Choice of Economic Systems
- The Demands of Democratic Ownership
