Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
  1. Home
  2. Books
  3. Is Political Philosophy Impossible?
  • Cited by 53
      • Show more authors
      • You may already have access via personal or institutional login
    • Select format
    • Publisher:
      Cambridge University Press
      Publication date:
      19 September 2017
      07 September 2017
      ISBN:
      9781316091081
      9781107086050
      9781107450523
      DOI:
      https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316091081
      Dimensions:
      (228 x 152 mm)
      Weight & Pages:
      0.55kg, 288 Pages
      Dimensions:
      (228 x 152 mm)
      Weight & Pages:
      0.44kg, 288 Pages
      • Subjects:
      Political Theory, Politics and International Relations, Philosophy, Political Philosophy
      Series:
      Contemporary Political Theory
    You may already have access via personal or institutional login
    • Selected: Digital
    Add to cart View cart Buy from Cambridge.org
    Subjects:
    Political Theory, Politics and International Relations, Philosophy, Political Philosophy
    Series:
    Contemporary Political Theory
    Information

    Book description

    Political philosophy seems both impossible to do and impossible to avoid. Impossible to do, because we cannot agree on a single set of political principles. Impossible to avoid, because we're always living with some kind of political system, and thus some set of principles. So, if we can't do the philosophy, but can't escape the politics, what are we to do? Jonathan Floyd argues that the answer lies in political philosophy's deepest methodological commitments. First, he shows how political philosophy is practiced as a kind of 'thinking about thinking'. Second, he unpicks the different types of thought we think about, such as considered judgements, or intuitive responses to moral dilemmas, and assesses whether any are fit for purpose. Third, he offers an alternative approach - 'normative behaviourism' - which holds that rather than studying our thinking, we should study our behaviour. Perhaps, just sometimes, actions speak louder than thoughts.

    Reviews

    ‘Can political philosophy ever reach conclusions or does it just go round and round interminably? Is it, simply, impossible? Jonathan Floyd argues that indeed it is impossible - with current methods. He has a solution: normative behaviourism. Erudite, well-argued and controversial, this book is a must-buy for anyone interested in political philosophy.'

    Keith Dowding - Australian National University, Canberra

    ‘This is a fresh, inventive and deeply reflective approach to what political philosophy is capable. and incapable, of delivering. Dr Floyd argues meticulously for the need to jettison the principled preconditions of a broad spectrum of philosophical arguments. Instead, he holds, we should excavate our behavioural responses in the real world from which to derive political guidelines as members of our societies. In bold and erudite fashion, this book carves out valuable new space in a field some believe to be overcrowded.'

    Michael Freeden - University of Oxford

    Refine List

    Actions for selected content:

    Select all | Deselect all
    • View selected items
    • Export citations
    • Download PDF (zip)
    • Save to Kindle
    • Save to Dropbox
    • Save to Google Drive

    Save Search

    You can save your searches here and later view and run them again in "My saved searches".

    Please provide a title, maximum of 40 characters.
    Cancel
    ×

    Contents

    Contents
    References

    Metrics

    Altmetric attention score

    Full text views

    Total number of HTML views: 0
    Total number of PDF views: 0 *
    Loading metrics...

    Book summary page views

    Total views: 0 *
    Loading metrics...

    * Views captured on Cambridge Core between #date#. This data will be updated every 24 hours.

    Usage data cannot currently be displayed.

    Accessibility standard: Unknown

    Why this information is here

    This section outlines the accessibility features of this content - including support for screen readers, full keyboard navigation and high-contrast display options. This may not be relevant for you.

    Accessibility Information

    Accessibility compliance for the PDF of this book is currently unknown and may be updated in the future.