Pluralism, equality and the problem of democracy

1. Pluralism, equality and the problem of democracy The argument(s) that form the background of the course • the relevance of pushing political philosophy and theory of democracy to the level a philosophical reflection on the political or of political ontology • the neglect of this dimension creates a domain of insufficiently problematised background assumptions that continues to inform and feed into normative theory • thus, these insufficiencies have non-neutral or (in other words) normative consequences • all normative argumentation rely on ontological and conceptual issues also  to focus on the presence and use of ontological/conceptual issues in normative argumentation

2. the political/political ontology, some names classics: Aristotle, Machiavelli modern: Carl Schmitt, Hannah Arendt an American line: William Connolly, Bonnie Honig, Nancy Fraser, Wendy Brown, Judith Butler the French, part one: Philippe Lacoue-Labarthe, Claude Lefort, Jean-Luc Nancy and (of course): Jacques Derrida, Gilles Deleuze, Michel Foucault the French, part two: Alain Badiou, Jacques Rancière, Etienne Balibar an European-South American connection: Ernesto Laclau, Chantal Mouffe another European: SlavoyZizek more European-Americans: Michael Hardt, Antonio Negri

3. political ontology • categories of legitimate appeal and their hierarchies (Colin Hay: “Political Ontology” in The Oxford Handbook of Political Science) - e.g.: conception of the people, nation-state as primary unit of political philosophy vs. global society - how these basic units are conceived of ≈ basic assumptions that comes to orient all further reflection • the subject of political agency - conception of human being (what kind of being is a human being): individuality, sociality, egoist, altruist, need, interests, values etc. - who are the agents that guarantees the permanence of the political world/of political transformation (who are the main subjects of history): states, groups, leaders, popular movements, nature etc. ≈ basic assumptions that comes to orient all further reflection

4. political ontology • the nature or mode of being of the political - conceptual and ontological - the concept of politics/political already means something, but its definition remains undecided - this concept refers to a region of being, what is it like? (remains also undecided) ≈ basic assumptions that comes to orient all further reflection ≈ this question is itself of a political nature • ontology of world-views - ‘politically enlightened cultural anthropology’ compare: - ontological assumptions that guide epistemological accounts (Western modernity, a scientific outlook) with: - ontological assumptions that steer general world-views - includes the possibility of several sufficiently well motivated world-views ≈ basic assumptions that comes to orient all further reflection ≈ concerns the politics of globalization Mario Blaser 2010, Storytelling Globalization Arturo Escobar 2008, Territories of Difference

5. Pluralism, equality and the problem of democracy continues: • all normative argumentation rely on and make use of ontological and conceptual issues also  to focus on the presence and use of ontological etc. issues in normative argumentation for example: ontological assumptions in Rawls theory of distributive justice: - concern a society of a nation-state type - already in existence as both democratic and well-ordered - a certain conception of the person Philip Pettit 2006, “Rawls’s political ontology”: Rawls’s theory is restricted to a certain kind of perspective on the people - civicity: liberal rights + social distributive justice vs. both - communitarian/republican solidarism (the people as a co-operative effort, corporation - liberal singularism (the people as a pluralistic multitude of rights bearers)

6. Pluralism, equality and the problem of democracy continues: • all normative argumentation rely on and make use of ontological issues normative: a political order in support of pluralism is a good thing conceptual-neutral: pluralism means that person have different conceptions of the good life normative: society and its political order should be in tune with our basic intuitions about human beings conceptual-normative: pluralism means that these differences should be respected conceptual: by ‘a political order’ is meant a unity ontological: human beings are persons that may need, want and choose a variety of different things in life ontological: a political order is a unity formed out of a certain plurality of human beings - it is constituted by a people, or: - it constitutes a people ontological: political order as a unity is constructed by human being from out of multiplicity; it has to overcome conflict in the name of co-operation (the unity ≈ co-operation)

7. normative argumentation and the is-ought: ontological normative not a valid deduction ontological normative normative may be a valid deduction

8. Pluralism, equality and the problem of democracy The argument(s) that form the background of the course • the relevance of political ontology and a philosophical reflection on the political • the neglect  insufficiently problematised background assumptions • in a non-neutral sense • focus on the use of ontological issues in normative argumentation • the theory of deliberative democracy aims and claims to be able to account for this dimension of the political, while remaining constructive (in contrast with being ‘merely critical’)

9. Pluralism, equality and the problem of democracy The argument(s) that form the background of the course • the relevance of political ontology and a philosophical reflection on the political • the neglect  insufficiently problematised background assumptions • in a non-neutral sense • focus on the use of ontological issues in normative argumentation • the theory of deliberative democracy • the route to final grounding (foundationalism) in political philosophy is barred - simultaneously as the question of grounding remain important  post-foundationalist mode of grounding

10. Pluralism, equality and the problem of democracy continues • the route to final grounding (foundationalism) in political philosophy is barred - simultaneously as the question of grounding remain important  post-foundationalist mode of grounding Excursus: philosophy and the question of ground Oliver Marchart 2007, Post-Foundational Thought: Political Difference in Nancy, Lefort, Badiou and Laclau, Edinburgh University Press) Foundationalism: a ground anchored outside a domain, and which enables one to secure the foundation of the domain. The ground should be singular and indubitable, e.g. laws of nature, mathematics, divine truth, natural law Post-foundationalism: the route to a secure, foundational ground is barred, but it is still possible and reasonable to advance arguments in favour of some positions to the exclusions of others. All options and answers are not of equal worth, there exist better and worse grounded positions. Good or better reasons vs. absolute ground. vs. anti-foundationalism: no foundational grounding is possible and all options are therefore of equal worth/a question of decision and preferences